Yelicones andamanensis Gupta & Pattar & Hemanth Kumar & Sushil 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Gupta, Ankita
name: Pattar, Rohit
name: Hemanth Kumar, H. M.
name: Sushil, S. N.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Braconidae
Yelicones
Yelicones andamanensis

description: I. Yelicones andamanensis Gupta & Pattar sp. nov.
(Figs 3–5)
Holotype, female; INDIA: Little Andamans, Hutbay, 10.594755° N, 92.536248° N, 16.ii.2024, Rohit Pattar, sweep net; ICAR-NBAIR (NIM), Bengaluru, India (code- NIM/ NBAIR /Hym/Brac/Yel/16224H). Paratype, one female and one male, INDIA: Little Andamans, Hutbay, 16.ii.2024, Rohit Pattar & Hemanth Kumar H. M., sweep net; ICAR-NBAIR (NIM), Bengaluru, India (code- NIM / NBAIR /Hym/Brac/Yel/16224 P 1, NIM / NBAIR /Hym/Brac/ Yel/16224 P 2).
Description. Holotype (Fig. 3A) (female paratype measurement in parenthesis). Length of body 4.38 (4.44) mm, length of fore wing 3.54 (3.46) mm. Antenna with 29 antennomeres (27 flagellomeres) (Fig. 5A); terminal flagellomere 3.0 (2.8) × longer than wide; first flagellomere 1.1 (1.36) × and 1.2 (1.38) × longer than 2 nd and 3 rd flagellomere, respectively; first flagellomere 1.8 (1.8) × longer than wide; third flagellomere 1.38 (1.25) × longer than wide; height of clypeus: inter-tentorial distance: tentorio-ocular distance (relative) = 11.9 (11.8): 36.4 (36.6): 15 (17); clypeus without conspicuous rugosity; face mostly deeply transverse rugose striate with mid-longitudinal carina between antennal sockets and beyond (Fig. 4A); inner eye margin adjacent to antennal sockets indented; height of eye: width of face: width of head (relative) = 60.4 (59.1): 71.7 (73): 114.6 (117.1); length of face 0.53 (0.52) × width of face; face distinctly transverse rugose striate, with mid-longitudinal carina in anterior two-third of face; temple region moderately setose. Head in dorsal view transverse, 1.8 × as wide as long, eye 2.5 (2.6) × as long as temple; post-ocellar length (POL): transverse diameter of posterior ocellus: shortest distance between posterior ocellus and eye (OOL) = 0.57 (0.55): 0.9 (0.8): 1.5 (1.6); with complete occipital carina; OOL 2.6–2.9 × POL. Vertex areolate-rugulose on sides, rugose transverse striate in the middle above occiput (Fig. 4B). Antennal socket in depression with transverse striations.
Mesosoma areolate-rugulose and setose, 1.6 × longer than high; mesoscutum with mid-longitudinal carina, posteriorly with prominent longitudinal irregular rugae; notauli not clear (with faint impressions) (Fig. 4E); scutellar sulcus with 7 carinae; scutellum with few longitudinal striations (visible near edges), setose; mesopleuron distinctly bicolored (brownish-black in diagonal posterior half) (Fig. 4D), deeply rugulose, anterior half with irregular striations; mesopleural suture distinctly crenulate; propodeum distinctly aerolate-rugose (Fig. 5D).
Fore wing (Fig. 5B) (relative measurements): Length of vein SR1: 3-SR: r = 7.86: 2.65: 2.9; vein 2-SR+M interstitial; vein r arising 0.42 distance along pterostigma; lengths of veins 2-SR: 3-SR: r-m = 1.52: 2.6: 1.8; lengths of veins 2-SR+M: 2-M: m-cu = 1.84: 4.18: 2.4; lengths of veins 2-CU1: 1-CU1 = 5.0: 1.0 (5.11: 1.0).
Hind wing (relative measurements): lengths of veins 1-rm: SC+R1 = 2.7: 1.2; veins 2+SC+R distinctly transverse (Fig. 5C); vein SR reduced distally; marginal cell, basal cell and base of wing evenly setose.
Length of fore femur: tibia: tarsus = 0.65: 0.73: 0.38; fore femur 2.24 × longer than maximally deep; fore tibia without mid-longitudinal ridge. Hind femur 2.7 × longer than maximally deep; lengths of hind femur: tibia: basitarsus = 0.75: 0.9: 0.34; hind basitarsus 2.3 × longer than maximally deep.
Metasomal tergites moderately setose; first metasomal tergite coarsely longitudinally striate (Fig. 5E), 1.36 (1.24) × longer than wide, anteriorly with smooth triangle formed by uniting dorsal carinae, with median carinae extending to posterior margin of tergite; second metasomal tergite finely striate in anterior half, posteriorly smooth without striations (Fig. 5F), 2.2 × wider than medially long, without median carina; second suture slightly convex; third metasomal tergite 2.7 × wider than long, smooth; metasomal tergites 4–7 shiny and smooth. Ovipositor sheath very short (Fig. 5G).
Colour: Body largely yellowish ivory; antenna yellowish brown (darker apical and basal flagellomeres); greyish-black eyes; mandibular tip and inter-ocellar region dark brownish-black; brown infuscation near occiput; mesoscutum anterio-medially and posterio-laterally brown; diagonal posterior half of mesopleuron dark brown; propodeum in posterior margin; wings infuscated in patches, pterosigma pale yellow with brown infuscation in anterior one third; first, second and third metasomal tergites dark brownish-black except for ivory patch in mid posterior region of first, middle region of second and third; fourth, fifth and sixth metasomal tergites dark brown; seventh and eighth brown with ivory patches.
Male. Body length 4.58 mm (Fig 3B). Antenna with 27 flagellomeres. Head in dorsal view transverse, eye 2.08 × as long as temple, OOL 2.4 × POL. Fore wing 2-CU1: 1-CU1 - 4.6: 1.0. First metasomal tergite coarsely longitudinally striate, 1.5 × longer than wide.
Comments. Yelicones andamanensis sp. nov. seems nearest to Y. contractus Papp, 1991 in having similar colour appearance, 29 antennomeres, sculpture on head and metasoma however differs in having temple only subtly constricted (vs strongly constricted in Y. contractus); eye 2.5–2.6 × as long as temple (vs 3.0 × in Y. contractus); 2M 2–2.3 × 2-SR+M (vs almost equal in Y. contractus); OOL 2.6–2.9 × POL (vs 5 × in Y. contractus); 2-Cu1 5 × as long as 1-Cu1 (4 × in Y. contractus).
Etymology. The species epithet ‘ andamanensis ’ is derived from the collection locality ‘Little Andamans’ which comes under the Andaman & Nicobar group of islands.
description: Published as part of Gupta, Ankita, Pattar, Rohit, Hemanth Kumar, H. M. & Sushil, S. N., 2024, A taxonomic revision of the genus Yelicones Cameron (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from India with description of two new species, pp. 35-52 in Zootaxa 5512 (1) on pages 37-41, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5512.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/13848409