Alysia melasoma Zhu & Achterberg & Chen 2018, sp. n.
Creators: name: Zhu, Jia-Chen
name: Achterberg, Cornelis Van
name: Chen, Xue-Xin
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Braconidae
Alysia
Alysia melasoma

description: Alysia melasoma sp. n.   
Figs 5–6  
 Type material. Holotype, ♀ (ZJUH), “ [SE. China:] Hubei, Dashenlongjia, 27.?.1982, He Junhua, 2890m, No.825692”. Paratype: 1♀ (ZJUH), same data as holotype, but No. 825692; 1♂, same data as holotype, but No. 925699.   
 Diagnosis. Body black or dark brown (Fig. 5); third antennomere (including annellus) 1.5 × longer than fourth segment (Fig. 6G); eye in dorsal view 0.8 × as long as temple; eye in lateral view 1.4 × higher than wide (Fig. 4I); frons around antennal sockets rugose, vertex and temple smooth (Fig. 6I); face weakly punctate, 2.5 × wider than high, rather convex medially, with a short medio-longitudinal ridge (Fig. 6J); clypeus small and semi-ellipitcal, with some punctures and long setae (Fig. 6J); precoxal sulcus narrowly crenulated, almost reaching anterior edge of epicnemial area and middle coxa (Fig. 6C); notauli sculptured and incomplete, only present anteriorly; medioposterior depression deep and linear, not extending to middle of mesoscutum, mesoscutum smooth, with some long setae along notauli (Fig. 6D); surface of propodeum densely reticulate-rugose, with medio-longitudinal carina and several transverse carinae, areola absent posteriorly (Fig. 6E); pterostigma wide and elliptical, 4.0 × longer than its maximum width (Fig. 6A); hind coxa smooth (Fig. 6N); length of first tergite almost equal to its apical width, its surface finely longitudinally striate (Fig. 6E), dorsal carinae widely separate medially; setose part of ovipositor sheath 0.88 × as long as fore wing (total visible sheath 0.9 times), and 2.4 × as long as hind tibia (Fig. 6H).   
 Description. Holotype, ♀, length of body 5.3 mm, of fore wing 5.7 mm.   
Head. Transverse, width of head 2.1 × its lateral length, and 1.4 × wider than mesoscutum (Fig. 6I); antenna with 47 antennomere, third antennomere (including annellus) 1.5 × longer than fourth antennomere, length of third, fourth and penultimate antennomere 3.8, 2.5 and 1.7 × their width, respectively (Fig. 6G); length of maxillary palp 1.3 × height of head (Fig. 5); eye in dorsal view 0.8 × as long as temple; eye in lateral view 1.4 × higher than wide (Fig. 6I); frons around antennal sockets rugose, vertex and temple smooth (Fig. 6I); OOL:diameter of ocellus:POL= 19:5:7; face weakly punctate, 2.5 × wider than high, rather convex medially, with one short mediolongitudinal ridge (Fig. 6J); clypeus small and semi-elliptical, with some punctures and long setae (Fig. 6J); mandible enlarged apically, dorsal tooth enlarged, lobe-shaped (Fig. 6L), ventral tooth medium-sized and lobeshaped, separate from first tooth (Fig. 6M), middle tooth curved and acute, with small incision between first and second tooth (Fig. 6M), medial length of mandible 1.4 × its maximum width.  
Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 1.5 × its height (Fig. 6C); pronope absent (Fig. 6I); medio-anteriorly pronotum widely crenulate, remainder of pronotum smooth; epicnemial area crenulated and rugose; precoxal sulcus narrowly crenulate, almost reaching anterior edge of epicnemial area and middle coxa; pleural sulcus distinct crenulated; episternal scrobe linear and deep; metapleuron densely rugose ventrally, remainder smooth (Fig. 6C); notauli sculptured and incomplete, only present anteriorly; medio-posterior depression deep and linear, not extending to middle of mesoscutum, mesoscutum smooth, with some long setae along imaginary course of notauli; scutellar sulcus deep and narrow, with one medio-longitudinal carina, sulcus 5.0 × wider than its maximum length; scutellum smooth (Fig. 6D); surface of propodeum densely reticulate-rugose, with medio-longitudinal carina present and several transverse carinae, areola absent posteriorly (Fig. 6E).  
Wings (Figs 6A–B). Pterostigma wide and elliptical, 4.0 × longer than its maximum width. r:3-SR:SR1 = 1:4:11; 1-SR+M slightly sinuate; SR1 curved; r 0.5 × as long as width of pterostigma, vein r issuing from posterior part of pterostigma; cu-a postfurcal; 1-CU1:2-CU1 = 5:14; 3-CU1 as long as CU1b; 2-SR:3-SR:r-m = 22:20:11; mcu weakly antefurcal, converging to 1-M posteriorly; first subdiscal cell 2.8 × as long as wide; M+CU1 sclerotized. Hind wing: M+CU: 1-M: 1r-m = 22:20:16; m-cu distinct antefurcal.  
Legs. Hind coxa smooth (Fig. 6N), without ventro-basal tubercle, with densely long setae; tarsal claws slender, longer than arolium; length of femur, tibia and basitarsus of hind leg 4.3, 11.2 and 8.0 × their width, respectively; apical appendages of hind tarsal segments absent, segments ventrally with dense bristles (Fig. 6N).  
Metasoma. Length of first tergite almost equal to its apical width, its surface finely longitudinally striate, dorsal carinae widely separate medially (Fig. 6E); dorsope distinct; convexity of upper valve of ovipositor steep basally; setose part of ovipositor sheath 0.88 × as long as fore wing (total visible sheath 0.9 times), and 2.4 × as long as hind tibia (Fig. 6H).  
Colour. Black or dark brown (Fig. 5); pterostigma and veins brown; wing membrane hyaline.  
Variation. Body length of male 3.3 mm, and length of fore wing 4.0 mm, antennal segments of male 44 (1); body length of female 4.3–5.3 mm, and length of fore wing 5.3–5.7 mm, antennal segments of female 45 (1) or 47(1).  
 Comparative diagnosis. This species is similar to A. luciella Stelfox but differs by having a comparatively transverse head (width of head 2.1 × its lateral length versus 1.5 × in A. luciella), long ovipositor (setose part of ovipositor sheath 0.9 × as long as fore wing versus 0.6), and body entirely black (versus brown to light brown partly).   
 Etymology. Named “ melasoma ” because of the entirely black body: “ melas ” is Greek for “black” and “ soma ” is Greek for “body”.
description: Published as part of Zhu, Jia-Chen, Achterberg, Cornelis Van & Chen, Xue-Xin, 2018, Review of the genus Alysia Latreille (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Alysiinae), with description of six new species from China, pp. 1-42 in Zootaxa 4500 (1) on pages 10-12, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4500.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5755225