Pleurotroppopsis dactylispae Cao & Zhu 2022, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Cao, Huan-Xi
name: Dale-Skey, Natalie
name: Burwell, Chris J.
name: Zhu, Chao-Dong
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Eulophidae
Pleurotroppopsis
Pleurotroppopsis dactylispae

description: Pleurotroppopsis dactylispae Cao & Zhu, sp. nov.
(Figs 2, 3)
Diagnosis. FEMALE. Antenna with base of scape whitish ventrally, pedicel metallic blue, and other parts dark brown. Fore wing broadly infuscate below MV, with speculum reduced (Fig. 3d). Frontal carina almost straight. Ocelli in a strongly acute-angled (equilateral) triangle. Postorbital groove strong and broad, forming a distinct carina along upper part of temple, visible on vertex (Fig. 2e). MLM with a narrow median groove posteriorly not reaching mid-length (Figs 2a, 3b). Scutellum with sublateral and posterior (narrowly interrupted in the middle) grooves expressed as broad punctures, and with a row of punctures outside sublateral grooves resulting in a narrow carina between row of punctures and sublateral groove (Fig. 3b). Axilla with numerous setae mainly in anterior metallic part and with transverse carinae in posterior dull part. Dorsellum entirely punctate and with a median carina (Fig. 2c). Propodeum with submedian areas sculptured with irregular transverse carinae and small fine punctures (Fig. 2c); spiracular areas setose posteriorly. Metafemur with teeth along ventral margin.
MALE. Differs from female in the following characters. Funiculars subequal in length, with distinctly long setae, and stalked apically. Fore wing hyaline. Tibiae and tarsomeres white with claws brown. Median groove of MLM in posterior 2/3 (Figs 2h, 3f). Dorsellum almost smooth (Fig. 2j). Metafemur with a few weak teeth along ventral margin.
Description. FEMALE. Body length 2.3–3.0 mm. Body metallic blue with strong violet tinge, especially on mesoscutum and scutellum. Scape (except for whitish ventral base) and pedicel with metallic tinge similar to body, flagellum brown with slightly metallic blue tinge. Legs, except for tarsomeres, similar in color to body; three basal tarsomeres whitish and the fourth tarsomere brown. Fore wing disc broadly infuscate below MV, hind wing slightly infuscate (Figs 2a, 2d).
Antenna with 3-segmented funicle and 2-segmented clava, funicle not clearly separated from clava; pedicel more than 2× as long as broad and almost as long as the first funicular; each funicular much longer than broad, weakly decreasing in length towards clava (1.0: 0.8: 0.7).
Face between frontal carina and toruli weakly depressed and strongly reticulate; frontal carina straight and weakly raised (Fig. 3c). Frontovertex piliferous-punctate, with a median groove extending from anterior ocellus to frontal carina (Fig. 3c). Head in dorsal view transverse, 3× as broad as its median length (6: 2), almost as broad as mesoscutum. Postorbital groove broad with distinct carina except in anterior 1/3. Ocelli in a distinctly acuteangled (equilateral) triangle. POL longer than OOL (0.8: 0.5). Occiput weakly margined between eyes, with short longitudinal carinae above transoccipital ridge (Figs 2a, 3b).
Pronotal collar sharply margined, with many evenly distributed short setae in addition to 6 long bristles; collar impressed in anterior 2/5 because of broad punctures, and smooth in posterior 3/5, and with sides diverging caudad so that lateral angle attached closely to side of mesoscutum (Fig. 2a). Mesoscutum with 4 pairs of setae: one pair on MLM, one pair on notaular depressions, and remaining 2 pairs on outer corners of LLM. MLM with weakly raised reticulation in anterior 1/3 and engraved reticulation in posterior 2/3; MLM with a distinct but narrow median groove in roughly posterior 2/5; notauli distinct and complete, with posterior 2/3 developed as inner margin of triangular and polished notaular depression. LLM with engraved reticulation transversely elongate (Figs 2a, 2b). Scutellum wider than long (4.8: 3.8), with engraved reticulation on disc surrounded by sublateral and posterior grooves expressed as distinct broad punctures, and with a row of punctures outside sublateral groove, resulting in a narrow carina between sublateral groove and row of punctures (Fig. 2b). Axilla with weak engraved reticulation and numerous setae in anterior metallic part, and with irregular short carinae in posterior dull part. Dorsellum entirely punctate, with a median carina and distinct lateral up-turned tooth. Propodeum with distinct plicae diverging posteriorly, forming obtuse angle with posterior margin (Fig. 2c); submedian areas of propodeum sculptured with irregular transverse carinae and small fine punctures, and with broad punctures along posterior margin; spiracular areas with irregular transverse carinae; spiracular area delimited by the plica and a carina lateral to spiracle; callus setose (Fig. 2c).
Petiole transverse (Fig. 2c). Gaster subcircular, slightly longer than broad (8.0: 7.3) and longer than mesosoma (8.0: 6.3), with obtuse but pointed apex (Fig. 2d). Gt 1 longer than other tergites, comprising about 0.36× gaster length; with distinct median groove in inclined part, with most of dorsal surface smooth, but piliferous-punctate laterally and with setae much longer than those on other tergites; and with an incomplete row of setae near posterior margin, interrupted in the middle; with an eye-like patch on each side close to base (Fig. 2d). Gt 2–6 distinctly piliferous-punctate, and Gt 7 almost smooth. Gt 5 with posterior margin distinctly arched, and Gt 5–6 with punctures much stronger than the other tergites.
Fore wing densely setose with a large infuscate area below MV, apex of fore wing hyaline distad STV; speculum reduced, quite small (Fig. 3d); relative length of SMV: MV: PMV: STV = 3.1: 9.5: 1.4: 0.7. Legs strong, metafemur broad and with distinct teeth along ventral margin.
MALE. Besides sexual characters, the male differs from the female in the following characters. Body length 1.6–1.9 mm. Body less metallic. Tibiae and tarsomeres white with claws brown (Fig. 3f). Wings hyaline. Funiculars subequal in length, with distinctly long setae, and stalked apically (Fig. 2i). Occiput with carina between eyes. Collar of pronotum less setose, especially in smooth posterior 3/5 (Fig. 2j). MLM with a median groove in posterior 2/3 (Fig. 3f). Axilla less setose. Scutellum longer than broad. Dorsellum without lateral up-turned teeth and distinct punctures. Submedian areas of propodeum with superficial carinae or rugosity, almost smooth (Fig. 2j). Gt 1 polished, Gt 2–7 without punctures and less setose (Fig. 2k). Metafemur with a few weak teeth along ventral margin.
Type material. Holotype ♀, CHINA: Guangxi, Guangxi Agricultural College, coll. Yang, ex. Dactylispa setifera (Chapuis) (IOZ(E)221446, IZCAS). Paratypes: 3♀ 3♂, same data as holotype (IOZ(E)221447–IOZ(E)221452, IZCAS).
Etymology. From the host genus name “ Dactylispa ”.
Biology. Type specimens were reared from Dactylispa setifera (Chapuis) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Hispinae) attacking Zea mays L. (Poaceae).
Distribution. China: Guangxi.
Remarks. Pleurotroppopsis dactylispae runs to P. podagrica using Bouček’s (1976) key to the Asiatic and African species. Besides the features given in the key above, P. dactylispae differs from P. podagrica in the following characters: mesoscutum and scutellum with smaller meshes of engraved reticulation; dorsellum mainly punctate; and submedian areas of propodeum with more rugosity. Pleurotroppopsis dactylispae, P. javana and P. podagrica are the only known species having the scutellum punctate outside the sublateral grooves. In these three species, 2 rows of punctures on each side of scutellum form a narrow carina, which is much narrower and less distinct in P. dactylispae than in P. javana and P. podagrica. Additionally, the row of punctures outside sublateral groove is more distinct in P. dactylispae than in the other two species. Pleurotroppopsis javana is readily distinguished from the other two species by having no median groove on the MLM. The three species form a clade in the most parsimonious tree (MPT) of this study, though with low bootstrap support, which indicates they may have a close relationship (Fig. 19). See also remarks under P. podagrica.
description: Published as part of Cao, Huan-Xi, Dale-Skey, Natalie, Burwell, Chris J. & Zhu, Chao-Dong, 2022, Review of the genus Pleurotroppopsis Girault (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) with interspecific phylogenetic relationships based on morphological characters, pp. 451-484 in Zootaxa 5190 (4) on pages 457-460, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5190.4.1, http://zenodo.org/record/7138395