Blacus (Blacus) flavimaculus Lu, Chai, Achterberg, Tang & Chen, 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Lu, Qian-Yu
name: Chai, Hong-Fei
name: Achterberg, Cornelis Van
name: Tang, Pu
name: Chen, Xue-Xin
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Braconidae
Blacus
Blacus flavimaculus

description: Blacus (Blacus) flavimaculus sp. nov.
(Figs 5–6)
Material examined. Holotype: ♀, China, Hebei, Xiaowutai Mtn, Shanjiankou, 22.VIII.2005, Shi Min, No. 200611949 (ZJUH). Paratype: 1♀, China, Ningxia, Liupan Mtn, Longtan Tree Farm, 5–6.VII.2008, Liu Jingxian, No. 200902174 (ZJUH).
Description. Female. Length of body 2.9 mm, length of fore wing 2.75 mm.
Head. Antennomeres 17, third-ninth antennomeres widened apically, tenth-sixth antennomeres parallel-sided and moniliform (Fig. 6C); length of first flagellomere 1.2 × length of second flagellomere; length of first, second and penultimate flagellomere 2.4, 1.8 and 1.3 × their width, respectively; length of maxillary palp 1.1 × height of head; occipital carina complete (Fig. 6A); frontal suture present; OOL: OD: POL = 11: 4: 7; length of eye in dorsal view 0.9 × length of temple; face transversely rugose, densely pubescence (Fig. 6B); malar suture absent, length of malar space 0.9 × basal width of mandible.
Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 1.45 × its height; side of pronotum largely rugose, smooth near dorsal carina (Fig. 6D); precoxal sulcus complete, wide and reticulate-rugose (Fig. 6D); notauli complete and wide, rugose superficially (Fig. 6E); mesoscutal middle lobe densely setose, lateral lobes sparsely setose (Fig. 6E); scutellum smooth, its lateral carina complete, not protruding apically; propodeal tubercles large, distinct; surface of propodeum reticulate-rugose (Fig. 6G).
Wings. Fore wing: parastigma distinctly differentiated from vein C+SC+R, first discal cell widely truncate anteriorly; vein 3-SR+SR1 of fore wing straight or indistinctly curved; vein CUla of fore wing distinctly bent basally, distinctly below level of vein 2-CU1; 1-CU1: 2-CU1 = 5: 11; vein 2-M present (Fig. 6H).
Legs. Hind coxa rugose dorsally, remainder smooth; length of femur, tibia and basitarsus of hind leg 4.7, 9.2 and 6.9 × their width, respectively.
Metasoma. Length of first tergite 1.7 × its apical width, widened apically, longitudinally rugose (Fig. 6F); remainder tergites smooth (Fig. 6F); length of ovipositor sheath 0.27 × length of fore wing, 1.2 × length of hind femur, 0.9 × length of hind tibia.
Colour. Reddish-brown; half of basal antenna, clypeus and mandible dark yellow; palpi, tegulae and all legs yellow; metasoma, pterostigma, parastigma and veins brown; mesoscutal lobes partly yellow; wing membrane subhyaline.
Variation. Length of first flagellomere 1.1–1.2 × length of second flagellomere; length of first, second and penultimate flagellomere 1.8–2.4, 1.8–2.0 and 1.0–1.3 × their width, respectively; length of ovipositor sheath 0.25– 0.27 × length of fore wing; scutellum brown to reddish-brown.
Male. Unknown.
Biology. Unknown.
Distribution. China (Hebei, Ningxia).
Etymology. The specific name flavimaculus refers to the partly yellow mesoscutal lobes and is derived from “ flavus ” (Latin for yellow) and “ macula ” (Latin for spot).
Notes. The new species is similar to B. (B.) forticornis Haeselbarth, 1973 because antenna is rather robust and moniliform apically, basal antennomeres yellow, body reddish-brown, scutellar sulcus with some weak or indistinct rugae beside medio-longitudinal carina, parastigma distinctly differentiated from vein C+SC+R, first discal cell widely truncate anteriorly, and vein CUla of fore wing distinctly bent basally, distinctly below level of vein 2-CU1, but differs by having large propodeal tubercles (small in B. (B.) forticornis), length of first tergite 1.7 × its apical width, widened apically, and longitudinally rugose (2.5 × its apical width, parallel-sided, and aciculo-rugose), thirdsixth segments of antenna less truncate apically and less robust (widely truncate apically and very robust), and mesoscutal lobes partly yellow (reddish-brown).
description: Published as part of Lu, Qian-Yu, Chai, Hong-Fei, Achterberg, Cornelis Van, Tang, Pu & Chen, Xue-Xin, 2024, The first report of subgenus Blacus Nees, 1819 (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Brachistinae) from China, pp. 501-535 in Zootaxa 5471 (5) on pages 506-508, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5471.5.1, http://zenodo.org/record/12207563