Lytopylus melanoflavus Silva, Shimbori & Fernandes 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Silva, Antonielson B.
name: Shimbori, Eduardo M.
name: Fernandes, Daniell R. R.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Braconidae
Lytopylus
Lytopylus melanoflavus

description: Lytopylus melanoflavus Silva, Shimbori & Fernandes sp. nov.
(Figs 1 A– I)
Type material. Holotype female: Brazil, Amazonas, Manaus, Reserva Ducke, 2°57′S 59°55″W, L8-4500, Malaise 2, Período 24h, XI-2014. Azevedo, S.S. col. (INPA).
Diagnosis. May be distinguished from all other known members of the genus by the following combination of characters: antenna with 34 flagellomeres, mostly black with 15 apical flagellomeres pale yellow; fore wing and hind wing entirely infuscate; fore wing second submarginal cell quadrate; mesoscutum entirely orange-yellow; propodeum with areola wide and well developed, and anterior transversal carina absent; median tergites entirely orange-yellow; ovipositor 1.0× longer than metasoma.
Description of female. Body length 8.41 mm (Fig. 1A).
Head: Antenna with 34 flagellomeres, 8.3 mm; head transverse in dorsal view, about 2.1× wider than long. Mesosoma: Scutellar sulcus with one median longitudinal carina; median areola of metanotum well defined with lateral and centrally sharp carinae. Fore wing entirely infuscate, length 8.16 mm; second submarginal cell of fore wing quadrate, height 0.56 mm; (RS+M) a well-developed, almost complete but not tubular at midlength. Propodeum with well-defined median areola; areola wider anteriorly, length 4.4× its width; anterior transverse carinae absent. Metasoma: First median tergite with 2 distinct lateral longitudinal carinae extending 3/4 the length of the median tergite; median syntergite 2+3 1.2× longer than wide; metasoma 1.0× longer than the ovipositor. Color: Mostly orangish-yellow, except: antenna black (except 15 apical flagellomeres pale yellow, and pedicel and scape yellowish brown), mandible teeth, tarsal claws, apex of the posterior tibia, and the entire posterior tarsus, dark brown; vertex of head mostly yellowish brown, wings entirely infuscated, ovipositor and ovipositor sheath dark brown with light brown ovipositor apex.
Male. Unknown.
Distribution. Amazonas (Brazil) (Fig. 4)
Biology. Host unknown.
Etymology. The specific epithet “ melanoflavus ” was chosen because the species has the antenna mostly black (melano in Latin) but apically yellow (flavus in Latin).
Discussion. The new species is similar to Lytopylus chrysokeras (Sharkey, 2006), in having a yellow body, black antenna with apical flagellomeres pale yellow, and the propodeum with a well-defined median areola, which is wider anteriorly. It differs from L. chrysokeras in its larger size (body length 8.4 mm compared with 4.6 mm in L. chrysokeras), antenna with more yellow flagellomeres apically (15 compared with 4–6 in L. chrysokeras), second submarginal cell of fore wing quadrate (triangular and sessile in L. chrysokeras), and wings entirely infuscate (infuscate only apically in L. chrysokeras).
description: Published as part of Silva, Antonielson B., Shimbori, Eduardo M. & Fernandes, Daniell R. R., 2025, Three new species of Lytopylus Foerster, 1862 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Agathidinae) from Brazil, pp. 167-176 in Zootaxa 5594 (1) on page 169, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5594.1.8, http://zenodo.org/record/14954256