Psyttalia antenervis Oanh & Long & Xuan & Tinh & Nghiep 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Oanh, Nguyen Thi
name: Long, Khuat Dang
name: Xuan, Trinh Thi
name: Tinh, Duong Van
name: Nghiep, Hoang Thi
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Braconidae
Psyttalia
Psyttalia antenervis

description: Psyttalia antenervis Long, sp. nov.
Figures 1, 2
Type material. Holotype, ♀, “Opii. 322” (IEBR). NC Vietnam: Ha Tinh, Huong Son, 18°22’N 106°13’E 450m, April 14–21 1998, Malaise (trap), AMNK, K. Long.
Comparative diagnosis. Easily recognizable species because fore wing vein cu-a is antefurcal, vein 1-SR angularly connecting with vein 1-M, and vein r emitted far before middle of ventral margin of pterostigma (Fig. 2I). Psyttalia antenervis sp. nov. is similar to P. sonla sp. nov. but differs from the latter by having: 1) pterostigma wide triangular in shape, 3.2 × as long as wide medially (vs 4.4 × in P. sonla); 2) vein cu-a of fore wing antefurcal (vs postfurcal in P. sonla); 3) hypoclypeal depression deep; and 4) propodeum with distinct reversed Y-shaped median carina (vs indistinct or absent reversed Y-shaped median carina in P. sonla).
Description. Female, body length 2.0 mm, fore wing length 1.8 mm, length of visible ovipositor sheath 1.0 mm (Fig. 1).
Head. Antenna incomplete, with 20 flagellomeres remaining, flagellomeres bristly; first flagellomere 1.25 × as long as second; length of first and second flagellomeres 3.3 and 2.7 × their width, respectively; length of maxillary palp 1.2 × height of head; length of eye in dorsal view 6.7 × temple (Fig. 2A); temple shiny, smooth except for some punctures posteriorly and with sparse setae; OOL: OD: POL = 6: 4: 3 (Fig. 2A); in lateral view, medially eye 1.75 × as long as wide and 2.7 × as wide as temple (Fig. 2C); ventral margin of clypeus straight medially, width of clypeus 3.6 × its maximum height, 0.3 × height and 0.2 × width of face, respectively (Fig. 2B); hypoclypeal depression rather wide and deep (Fig. 2B); distance between tentorial pits 5.7 × distance from pit to eye margin; malar suture largely absent; malar space narrow, 0.3 × longer than basal width of mandible; clypeus rugulosepunctate; face roughly coriaceous, with distinct raised carina medially (Fig. 2B); mandible nearly not twisted, apically moderately narrowed and with both teeth wide, normal basally and with narrow ventral carina; occipital carina remains far removed from hypostomal carina and dorsally largely absent; frons nearly flat, slightly depressed anteriorly and laterally, with round pit between antennal sockets; vertex and temple smooth (Fig. 2A).
Mesosoma. Laterally, length of mesosoma 1.25 × its height; pronotal side largely smooth (Fig. 2E); propleuron flattened; epicnemial area smooth dorsally; precoxal sulcus only medially present, narrow and punctate (Fig. 2E); remainder of mesopleuron smooth and shiny; pleural sulcus smooth ventrally; mesosternal sulcus shallow, narrow and finely crenulate; mesoscutum very shiny and nearly entirely glabrous, more or less flat posteriorly, with long sparse setae anterior-laterally (Fig. 2D); notauli only anteriorly as pair of partly short impressions and absent on disc; scutellar sulcus deep, crenulate, 0.3 × as long as scutellum, its posterior margin slightly curved medially (Fig. 2D); scutellum slightly convex and smooth, sparsely setose apically; metanotum without median carina; surface of propodeum smooth, with reversed Y-shaped median carina and lateral sinuate carinae above spiracle (Fig. 2G).
Wings. Vein 1-SR of fore wing angled with 1-M; vein 1-M curved basally; pterostigma rather broad triangular in shape (Fig. 2I); pterostigma 4.8 × as long as width medially and 2.2 × vein r; r exiting far before middle of pterostigma, not linear with anterior-ventral margin of pterostigma and 3-SR; vein 1-SR+M thin but sclerotized; second submarginal cell elongate; subdiscal cell strongly narrowed anteriorly; cu-a short, antefurcal; 1-CU1: 2- CU1: cu-a = 2.5: 23: 2; r: 2-SR: 3-SR: r-m: SR1 = 6: 15: 30: 6: 48; vein 2-SR+M of fore wing 1.3 × as long as its maximum width; r: 3-SR: SR1 = 6: 30: 48; 2-SR: 3-SR: r-m = 15: 30: 6; vein 2-SR widened medially; vein m-cu narrowly antefurcal, widened apically, strongly curved and linear with vein 2-SR+M (Fig. 2I); 2-SR+M short and widened; vein SR1 slightly curved medially; subdiscal cell strongly narrowed anteriorly and widened posteriorly; vein M+CU1 apically and 2-CU1 basally widened (Fig. 2I). Hind wing: M+CU: 1-M: 1r-m = 13: 24: 14; cu-a straight; m-cu and SR absent (Fig. 2K).
Legs. Length of femur, tibia and basitarsus of hind leg 4.0, 9.7 and 5.0 × as long as their width, respectively; hind basitarsus 0.3 × hind tibia, and 0.5 × second–fifth tarsus combined; inner and outer spurs 0.45 and 0.35 × as long as basitarsus, respectively; hind tibia and tarsus with long setae.
Metasoma. Length of first tergite 1.3 × its apical width, convex medio-posteriorly, its surface largely smooth (Fig. 2F), dorsal carinae in basal 0.7 of tergite; second suture weakly indicated; second tergite 0.9 × as long as third tergite; combined length of second and third metasomal tergites 0.3 × the remaining tergites posteriorly; first tergite superficially sculptured; second and following tergites smooth, shiny and sparsely setose.
Colour. Whitish yellow; antenna yellow; head pale yellow but stemmaticum black; palpi ivory or white; propleuron and mesopleuron whitish yellow; mesonotum and propodeum yellow; all legs pale yellow, except all coxa ivory or white; tegula yellow; pterostigma brown medially, yellow basally and apically; wing membrane subhyaline, veins brownish yellow; first tergite yellow; second-third tergites brownish yellow, remaining tergites yellow; sternites and hypopygium ivory or white; ovipositor sheath pale brown; ovipositor yellow.
Male. Unknown.
Distribution. NC Vietnam: Ha Tinh (Huong Son).
Biology. Unknown.
Etymology. From “ante” (Latin for “before”) and “nervus” (Latin for “nerve, vein”), in reference to vein cu-a of the fore wing anteriorly situated.
description: Published as part of Oanh, Nguyen Thi, Long, Khuat Dang, Xuan, Trinh Thi, Tinh, Duong Van & Nghiep, Hoang Thi, 2024, The genus Psyttalia Walker (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) in Vietnam: descriptions of seven new species and their host information, pp. 1-26 in Zootaxa 5477 (1) on pages 3-6, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5477.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/12681370