Parabioxys songbaiensis Shi & Chen 2001
Creators: name: Kim, Sangjin
name: Sohn, JuHyeong
name: Lee, Yerim
name: Yu, Yeonghyeok
name: Kim, Hyojoong
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Braconidae
Parabioxys
Parabioxys songbaiensis

description: Parabioxys songbaiensis Shi & Chen, 2001
Fig. 1 A – K
Parabioxys songbaiensis Shi & Chen, 2001.
Redescription.
Female. Length of body about 2.3–2.4 mm (Fig. 1 A). Length of forewing 1.8 mm (Fig. 1 K).
Head. Head wider than mesosoma (head and mesoscutum width ratio = 1.2) with sparse long setae. Eyes oval, sparsely setose. Face with sparse long setose, width / height ratio 1.3 (Fig. 1 D). Tentorial index 0.3 (Fig. 1 D). Clypeus oval with 6 long setae. Malar space 0.2 times as long as longitudinal eye diameter. Antenna 11 - segmented (Fig. 1 B). F 1 subequal to F 2 (length F 1 / F 2 = 1.0–1.1) (Fig. 1 C). F 1 and F 2 3.2–3.3 and 2.8–3.2 times as long as their width at the middle, respectively. F 1 and F 2 with one or two and two or three longitudinal placodes respectively. Maxillary palp with four palpomeres, labial palp with two palpomeres.
Mesosoma. Mesoscutum with notaulices on anterolateral margin, effaced dorsally; dorsal surface smooth, with two rows of 5–6 long setae along the dorsolateral part of mesoscutum (Fig. 1 E). Scutellum nearly triangular, bearing 3–4 long setae on each side. Propodeum with pentagonal central areolated, length / width of areola = 0.9–1.1 (Fig. 1 F). Pterostigma 3.0 times as long as width. Pterostigma longer than vein R 1 (= metacarpus) 0.5 times. Vein r & RS sclerotized.
Metasoma. Petiole long and slender, 3.3 times as long as wide at level of spiracles and 2.4 times as long as wide at level of secondary tubercles. Distance between spiracular and secondary tubercles is 1.2 times as long as width at level of spiracular tubercles. Distance between secondary tubercles and the apex of petiole is 0.6 times the width at level of secondary tubercles. (Fig. 1 I, J). Ovipositor sheath semi-circular, with 5–7 short and dense setae positioned at basal apex as in genus Diaeretus Förster, 1863. Prong long and straight, with the end curved upward, present deep incision on the apical metasomal sternite, four setae at dorsal and two setae at ventral part (Fig. 1 G), having three setae laterally on each side in dorsal view (Fig. 1 H).
Colour. Antenna brown; scape, pedicel, F 1 and F 2 yellowish brown, with F 2 sometimes partly dark brown. Head, face and clypeus with mouthparts light brown. 1 M and base of r & RS vein of forewing with brown spot. Mesosoma light brown and metasoma dark brown; petiole and sternite 2 light brown. Legs light brown with dark apices.
Note.
The maxillary palps are broken in the specimen that was collected in 1998. In original description, there is no setae in the surface of prong, and the same is observed in our dried specimens. However, when examined in alcohol, some pores at the apex of a prong are visible.
Remarks.
Davidian (2016) defined Parabioxys as having an immovable prong without a preapical spur (= deep incision at the apex) of the prong, while Sergeyoxys possesses an independent structure separated from the base of the last sternite, with a deep incision at the apex of the prong. In Shi and Chen (2001), there was neither a mention of deep incision at the apex of the prong nor any figure of the genitalia, even although it was first noted in Starý (2010). Upon examining the specimens used in the referenced papers, we confirmed, as mentioned in Davidian (2016), that the prong is an independent structure, movably connected. After comparing the traits commonly mentioned in the three references, we considered that the samples from Starý (2010), Davidian (2016), and our samples could potentially belong to the same species (Fig. 2). However, while Sergeyoxys may be a synonym of Parabioxys, we cannot confirm this with certainty without examining the holotype (personal communication with Dr. Davidian, Table 2). In addition, the samples from Starý (2010) and this study bear a “ two-segmented ” labial palp and “ no setiferous pore ” at the base of the prong, while Sergeyoxys in Davidian (2016) has “ three-segmented ” labial palp and “ a distinct setiferous pore ”. Since it is uncertain whether this trait falls within the range of variation, further specimens and molecular experiments are needed to reach a definitive conclusion in the future study.
Specimens examined.
North Korea • 3 ♀, Mt. Taesong, Phyongyan-si 22. Ⅵ. 1987. reared from Greenidea kuwanai (Pergande, 1906) on Quercus dentata Thunberg ex Murray, 1874. leg. J. Havelka. 1 dried specimen; 2 slide mounted specimen (original numbers: 617 a, 617 c). All specimens from North Korea are deposited in IECA, České Budějovice. South Korea • 1 ♀, Bibong-myeon, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, 01. Ⅵ. 1994. leg. DS. Ku; • 1 ♀, 57, Hoegi-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, 20. Ⅴ. 1998. leg. SH. Kang.
description: Published as part of Kim, Sangjin, Sohn, JuHyeong, Lee, Yerim, Yu, Yeonghyeok & Kim, Hyojoong, 2025, A new record of the genus Parabioxys (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Aphidiinae) and a redescription of Bioxys japonicus from South Korea, pp. 69-84 in Journal of Hymenoptera Research 98 on pages 69-84, DOI: 10.3897/jhr.98.131742