Diolcogaster pseudandamanensis Gupta & Sushil 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Gupta, Ankita
name: Sushil, S. N.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Braconidae
Diolcogaster
Diolcogaster pseudandamanensis

description: Diolcogaster pseudandamanensis Gupta sp. nov.
Key characters. Antenna/ body length ratio 1.27; fore wing with apical patch (margins not clearly defined); ratio of hind wing veins (1-M/ M+CU) 1.62; T1, T2 and T3 forming a carapace, median longitudinal groove present in T1, T2 and T3; T3 on lateral sides with strong longitudinal striations, few converging towards the middle of apical margin.
Description. Female body length 3.14 mm (Fig. 1A). Colour (Figs 1A–F). Body black except first metasomal tergite fully and partially second metasomal tergite; labial and maxillary palps off-white; eyes grey; ocelli pale testaceous; region below clypeus yellow; mandibles yellow with apical margins dark. Antenna with scape and pedicel yellow; first 4–5 flagellomeres yellowish-brown remaining dark brown; tegula yellowish-brown. Fore and mid leg light yellow (except coxa, trochanter, trochantellus and tarsi yellow testaceous); hind leg with coxa black, trochanter and trochantellus yellow testaceous; hind femur distinctly bi-coloured, with distinct diagonal demarcation between the two coloured regions, almost apical half of hind femur dark brown, basal half yellowish-brown; hind tibia with sub-basal off white ring, extreme base and apical half dark brown; fore wing infuscated with brown apical patch (margins not defined), pterostigma dark brown; T1 yellow testaceous, T2 yellow testaceous laterally and on entire basal one fourth, distinct black spot medially adjoining third tergite, T3 black.
Head (Fig. 1B). Head 0.84 × as long as wide, coarsely rugose punctate, with median longitudinal carina in dorsal half; eyes densely setose; face with sparse pilosity; antenna 1.27 × as long as body in profile view. Ocellar region smooth and shiny (Fig. 1C). OOL: POL: OD 0.10: 0.22: 0.08.
Mesosoma (Fig. 1E). Mesosoma coarsely punctate and setose; punctations clear; scutellar sulcus with 10 costulae; scutellum coarsely punctate; mesopleuron rugose and punctate except for smooth glabrous median patch; metapleuron mostly punctate. Propodeum with strong medial longitudinal carina; coarsely punctate. Measurements: mesosoma in dorsal view 1.13 × as long as wide; hind femur 1.16: 0.29; hind tibia 1.29. Wings (Fig. 1D). Fore wing dusky, with dark apical patch, 2.57 × as long as wide; areolet small, triangular, slit-like; pterostigma (length: height) 0.79: 0.28. Fore wing vein length measurements: r 0.34; 1-R1 0.88; M+CU1 1.27; 2-SR 0.19; 2-M 0.14; 1-CU1: 2-CU1 0.23: 0.32; 1-SR-M 0.65; 2-SR-M 0.15; m-cu 0.2. Hind wing vein length measurements: 1-M 0.63; M+CU 0.39.
Metasoma (Fig. 1F). T1 0.56: 0.64, T2 0.39: 0.67; T3 0.48. Hind coxa 1.1, 1.96 × as long as T1, distinctly punctate and pilose. Inner hind tibial spur length: hind basitarsus 0.47: 0.62, inner tibial spur 0.75 × as long as hind basitarsus. Hind coxa reaching beyond T2. T1–T3 forming carapace; T1 1.15 × as wide as long, widening posteriorly, with median longitudinal groove, median groove diverging at apical margin and merging with apical margin respectively; distinct crenulae at T1 apical and T2 basal margin; T2 median length 0.9 × as long as T1, subequal to T3 median length, T2 slightly widening posteriorly, T2 with median groove widest a little below middle; lateral fields of T2 coarsely rugose with prominent longitudinal rugae converging towards centre of apical margin. T2 and T3 separated by deep crenulae at apical margin of T2 which is distinctly convex medially. T3 completely black, with smooth and shiny longitudinal groove; lateral sides with strong longitudinal striations converging towards centre of apical margin. T4–T6 brown in basal half and yellowish at apical margin.
Comments. This new species differs from D. andamanensis Gupta & Fernández Triana, 2015 in the following set of characters: fore wing with apical patch without distinct borders; ratio of hind wing veins (1-M/ M+CU) 1.62; T2 with distinct median black patch covering majority of the area; T3 with prominent converging longitudinal rugae and without any punctations (vs fore wing with apical patch with distinct borders; ratio of hind wing veins (1-M/ M+CU) 1.24; T2 with median apical black patch confined to apical one third region; T3 with prominent punctations in D. andamanensis).
Holotype. Female; India: Himachal Pradesh: Chamba District: Khajjiar; 32.555795° N, 76.0655834° E; 24 Sept. 2014; Ankita Gupta leg; (NIM), code— NBAIR / Brac / Micg / Diol /24914A (NIM).
Paratype. India. one female, same data as holotype, code— NBAIR /Brac/Micg/Diol/24914B (NIM).
Etymology. The species epithet “pseudo” is derived from the key attribute of this species in misleading its morphological appearance to D. andamanensis.
description: Published as part of Gupta, Ankita & Sushil, S. N., 2025, Two new species of the genus Diolcogaster Ashmead 1900 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from Western Himalayas, India, pp. 194-200 in Zootaxa 5594 (1) on pages 195-196, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5594.1.11, http://zenodo.org/record/14953973