Microleptes chiani Ranjith & Humala 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Ranjith, Avunjikkattu P.
name: Humala, Andrei E.
name: Priyadarsanan, Dharma Rajan
name: Butcher, Buntika A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Ichneumonidae
Microleptes
Microleptes chiani

description: Microleptes chiani Ranjith & Humala sp. nov.
Figs 1, 2
Material examined.
Holotype • female, India: Tamil Nadu, Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR), tropical wet evergreen forest, understorey, Malaise trap, 5.x.2008, coll. Priyadarsanan, D. R. (ZSIK) Regd. No. ZSI/WGRC/IR/INV.27406.
Description.
Holotype, female. Body length 6.2 mm, fore wing length 3.7 mm.
Head. Head 1.6 × as wide as long in anterior view (Fig. 1 B) and 1.4 × as wide as long in dorsal view (Fig. 1 C); face flat, punctate, elevated anteriorly below antennal sockets, setose, 1.7 × as wide as long (Fig. 1 A, B, D); clypeus strongly transverse, smooth, with lower margin slightly convex (Fig. 1 B); tentorial pits transverse (Fig. 1 B); malar space strongly reduced, 0.3 × basal width of mandible (Fig. 1 B, C); mandible broad with single broad tooth (Fig. 1 B); temple smooth, setose (Fig. 1 D); frons and vertex smooth and sparsely setose (Fig. 1 C); eye glabrous, 1.5 × as long as temple in dorsal view (Fig. 1 B – D); OOL: diameter of lateral ocellus: POL = 1.4: 1.0: 1.2; antenna with 14 flagellomeres; scape subcylindrical, pedicel bulb-shaped (Fig. 1 B, D); medial flagellomeres strongly transverse (Fig. 1 A); first flagellomere 2.0 × as long as second flagellomere, 1.3 × as long as wide; second flagellomere 0.6 × as long as wide.
Mesosoma. Mesosoma 1.8 × as long as high (Fig. 1 F); dorsal part of pronotum rugose-punctate medially, transversely wrinkled posteriorly (Fig. 1 E), pronotum laterally smooth and polished (Fig. 1 F); mesoscutum flat in lateral view, punctate, setose with a pair of elongate pits postero-laterally (Fig. 1 F); notaulus present anteriorly (Fig. 1 E); scuto-scutellar groove smooth without wrinkles (Fig. 1 E); scutellum smooth, setose (Fig. 1 E); mesopleuron smooth, setose (Fig. 1 F); mesopleural furrow widely crenulated (Fig. 1 F); epicnemial carina present, joining with subtegular ridge and forming a smooth continuous groove anteriorly (Fig. 1 F); metapleuron entirely rugulose, sparsely setose, sternaulus absent (Fig. 1 F); propodeum rugulose, area superomedia smooth medially, faintly crenulated postero-laterally, slightly narrowing anteriorly, parallel-sided posteriorly; costula present (Fig. 2 A); posterior transverse carina present, area dentipara slightly longer than wide, smooth medially; rest rugulose; pleural carina complete (Fig. 2 A).
Legs. Femora slender (Fig. 1 A); hind coxa smooth (Figs 1 A, 2 C); hind femur 2.5 × as long as wide; hind tibia 3.3 × as long as wide; hind basitarsus 3.8 × as long as wide.
Wings. Wings hyaline (Fig. 2 B); pterostigma 2.8 × as long as wide; fore wing vein 2 r & RS joining to pterostigma before its middle, 1.1 × as long as 2 rs-m; vein 2 rs-m 2.5 × as long as M between 2 rs-m and 2 m-cu; and 0.9 × as long as 2 mc-u; vein 1 cu-a slightly postfurcal (Fig. 2 B); hind wing with nervellus (vein CU) intercepted in middle.
Metasoma. First tergite faintly sculptured medially, setose with indistinct dorsal carina, 2.3 × as long as its maximum width, spiracle situated at middle of tergite (Fig. 2 C, D); second tergite with distinct thyridium, smooth, setose, 1.1 × as long as wide posteriorly (Fig. 2 D); third tergite smooth, setose, as long as wide posteriorly (Fig. 2 D); tergites 4–7 smooth, setose (Fig. 2 D); hypopygium straight posteriorly; ovipositor hardly exposed, sheath apically setose, 0.1 × as long as hind tibia (Fig. 2 C).
Colour. Body predominantly black; antenna, mandible, tegula; pterostigma, wing veins, coxae and metasoma dark brown; maxillary and labial palps, legs (except coxae) yellow.
Male. Unknown.
Distribution.
India.
Etymology.
The new species is named after our field assistant Mr. Thamilselvan, whom we fondly call ‘ Chian’, who contributed much in establishing insect collection from the difficult terrain of KMTR.
Comparative diagnosis.
Apart from the differences given in the key, the new species differs from M. gowrishankari sp. nov. by the following characters: head 1.6 × as wide as long in anterior view (1.3 × in M. gowrishankari sp. nov.), face 1.7 × as wide as long (2.4 × in M. gowrishankari sp. nov.), epicnemial area with complete groove behind epicnemial carina (incomplete in M. gowrishankari sp. nov.) and area dentipara of propodeum longer than wide (wider than long in M. gowrishankari sp. nov.).
description: Published as part of Ranjith, Avunjikkattu P., Humala, Andrei E., Priyadarsanan, Dharma Rajan & Butcher, Buntika A., 2024, Discovery of the subfamily Microleptinae (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) from India and Thailand with the description of five new species, pp. 1257-1284 in Journal of Hymenoptera Research 97 on pages 1257-1284, DOI: 10.3897/jhr.97.131822