Microleptes depressus 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 depressus

description: Microleptes depressus Ranjith & Humala sp. nov.
Figs 3, 4
Material examined.
Holotype • female, Thailand: Kamphaeng Phet, Malaise trap, 3–10.ix.2007, coll. Chumpol Piluk & Aram Inpuang (QSBG).
Description.
Holotype, female. Body length 6.5 mm, fore wing length 4.0 mm.
Head. Head 1.5 × as wide as long in anterior view (Fig. 3 B) and 1.1 × as wide as long in dorsal view (Fig. 3 D); face flat, sparsely punctate, elevated anteriorly below antennal sockets, setose, 2.7 × as wide as long (Fig. 3 A, B, C, E); clypeus strongly transverse, smooth, lower margin weakly convex (Fig. 3 B, C); tentorial pits rounded (Fig. 3 B); malar space short, 0.5 × basal width of mandible; mandible broad with two teeth, upper tooth longer and wider than lower tooth (Fig. 3 B, C); vertex and temple strongly enlarged, temple 1.1 × as long as eye in dorsal view, sparsely punctate laterally, with sparse setae (Fig. 3 D, E); frons and vertex polished, sparsely punctate and setose (Fig. 3 D); eye glabrous (Fig. 3); OOL: diameter of lateral ocellus: POL = 1.8: 1.0: 1.1; antenna with 14 flagellomeres; scape subcylindrical, pedicel bulb-shaped (Fig. 3 A, E); medial flagellomeres distinctly transverse (Fig. 3 A, E); first flagellomere 1.5 × as long as second flagellomere and 1.3 × as long as wide; second flagellomere 0.9 × as long as wide.
Mesosoma. Mesosoma elongate, 2.8 × as long as high (Figs 3 A, 4 A); dorsal part of pronotum crenulated medially (Fig. 4 B), pronotum laterally smooth and polished, crenulated medially (Fig. 4 A); mesoscutum flat in lateral view (Fig. 4 A), smooth, setose only medially (Fig. 4 B); notaulus present anteriorly (Fig. 4 B); scuto-scutellar groove smooth without wrinkles (Fig. 4 B); scutellum smooth, setose laterally and posteriorly (Fig. 4 B); mesopleuron coriaceous, setose (Fig. 4 A); mesopleural furrow indistinct (Fig. 4 A); epicnemial carina present, joining with subtegular ridge (Fig. 4 A); metapleuron rugose with transverse wrinkles medially, sparsely setose (Fig. 4 A); propodeum punctate in anterior half, transversely striate-rugose in posterior half, combined area basalis + superomedia narrowed in anterior 0.3, with irregular transverse wrinkles, costula absent, posterior transverse carina present; pleural carina complete (Fig. 4 C).
Legs. Femora robust (Fig. 1 A); hind coxa smooth (Fig. 4 D); hind femur 2.9 × as long as wide (Fig. 4 A, D); hind tibia 3.3 × as long as wide; hind basitarsus 4.7 × as long as wide (Fig. 4 D).
Wings. Wings hyaline (Fig. 4 F); pterostigma 3.2 × as long as wide; fore wing vein 2 r & RS joining to pterostigma before its middle, 2.3 × as long as 2 rs-m (Fig. 4 F); vein 2 rs-m 1.7 × as long as M between 2 rs-m and 2 m-cu; vein 1 cu-a distinctly postfurcal (Fig. 4 F); hind wing vein with nervellus (CU) intercepted in middle.
Metasoma. First metasomal tergite strongly convex in lateral view (Fig. 4 D), sparsely punctate, setose with pair of weak dorsal carinae, twice as long as its maximum width; spiracle situated at middle of tergite (Fig. 4 D – F); second tergite polished with distinct thyridium, sparsely punctate, setose, 1.1 × as long as wide (Fig. 4 E, F); third tergite polished, as long as wide (Fig. 4 E, F); tergites 4–7 polished, scarcely setose laterally; hypopygium straight posteriorly; ovipositor hardly exposed; sheath setose, 0.2 × as long as hind tibia (Fig. 4 D, E).
Colour. Body predominantly black; antenna, mandible, tegula, fore leg (excluding tibia and tarsus), hind leg (except tarsus) and tergites 3–7 reddish brown; flagellomeres 1–4, fore tibia and tarsus, mid leg, hind tarsus, posterior margin of hypopygium and ovipositor sheath yellow.
Male. Unknown.
Distribution.
Thailand.
Etymology.
The new species is named after the distinctly depressed body.
Comparative diagnosis.
The new species is similar to M. tibialis, but differs from this species by antenna as long as mesosoma length (1.4 × as long as mesosoma in M. tibialis), first flagellomere longer than second flagellomere (as long as second flagellomere in M. tibialis), temple 1.1 × as long as eye in dorsal view, hind tibia not swollen, not wider than hind femur (hind tibia strongly swollen, 1.1 × as wide as hind femur in M. tibialis), distinct thyridium (lacking in M. tibialis).
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