Kerevata orientalia Ranjith, Quicke & Priyadarsanan 2022, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Ranjith, A. P.
name: Quicke, Donald L. J.
name: Belokobylskij, Sergey A.
name: Priyadarsanan, Dharma Rajan
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Braconidae
Kerevata
Kerevata orientalia

description: Kerevata orientalia Ranjith, Quicke & Priyadarsanan, sp. nov.
(Figs 1–2)
Material examined. Holotype, female, INDIA: Kerala, Ernakulum, Thattekad, 10°10.39 N, 76°70.04 E, 35 m a.s.l., sweep net, 3.ii.2017, coll. Ranjith, A.P. (AIMB). Paratypes, 4 males, INDIA: Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanical Garden, 08°45.03N, 77°01.38 E, 81 m a.s.l., 06.i.2020, sweep net, coll. Ranjith, A.P. (AIMB).
Description. Holotype female. Length of body 4.53 mm, fore wing 3.64 mm, ovipositor 1.28 mm.
Head. Antenna with 42 flagellomeres. First flagellomere 1.2 × longer than 2 nd and 3 rd. Width of head: width of face: height of eye = 2.5: 1: 1.6. Shortest distance between posterior ocelli: transverse diameter of posterior ocellus: shortest distance between posterior ocellus and eye = 1: 2.1: 1.7. Face 1.3 × as wide as long medially, smooth, setose (Fig. 1B), slightly convex in lateral view (Fig. 1D). Clypeus rugose with sparse setosity laterally (Fig. 1B). Inner margin of eyes emarginated (Fig. 1B). Transverse diameter of eye 2.5 × as long as temple in dorsal view (Fig. 1C). Frons with shallow medial longitudinal groove (Fig. 1C). Vertex and temple shiny, smooth sparsely setose (Fig. 1C). Occipital carina present, not pointed medially (Figs 1C, D).
Mesosoma. Mesosoma 1.9 × longer than high. Mesoscutum smooth, setose, rugose medio-posteriorly, carinate marginally, with crenulated groove laterally (Fig. 1F). Notauli complete, joined posteriorly (Fig. 1F). Scutellar sulcus with midlongitudinal carina (Fig. 1F). Scutellum smooth, sparsely setose with distinct lateral carina (Fig. 1F). Mesopleuron smooth except anterior part irregularly rugose and sparsely setose with widely crenulated precoxal sulcus (Fig. 1E). Epicnemial carina present (Fig. 1E). Metapleuron rugose, smooth anterior half, sparsely setose (Fig. 1E). Propodeum with short midlongitudinal carina anteriorly rest rugose without sublateral longitudinal carina (Fig. 2A).
Wings. Fore wing (Figs 2C, D). Lengths of fore wing veins r-rs: 3RSa: 3RSb = 1: 2.6: 4.2. Lengths of vein 2RS: 3RSa: rs-m = 2.4: 5: 1. Length of 1CUb 4.0 × 1CUa. Hind wing vein M+CU 1.6 × 1Ma+1Mb (Fig. 2C).
Legs. Lengths of fore femur: fore tibia: fore tarsus = 1: 1.3: 1.5. Lengths of hind femur: hind tibia: hind tarsus = 1: 1.3: 1.3. Hind femur 4.7 × longer than maximum width. Claws without basal lobe.
Metasoma. Length of first tergite 2.0 × longer than its apical width. Second tergite 1.4 × as long as third tergite. Second and third tergites 1.2, 0.9 × as long as its apical width respectively. First tergite longitudinally striate with midlongitudinal carina, sparsely setose (Fig. 2E). Second tergite longitudinally striate, sparsely setose (Fig. 2F). Third tergite longitudinally striate, sparsely setose (Fig. 2F). Remaining tergites largely unsclerotised. Ovipositor sheath sparsely setose. Ovipositor sheath approximately 1.1 × as long as hind femur (Fig. 1A).
Colour. Body yellow except apex of mandibles, ocellar area, vertex medially and laterally, pronotum dorsolaterally, mesoscutum laterally, mesopleuron except medially, metapleuron posteriorly, propodeum postero-laterally, distal wing veins, fore tibia, hind femora, tarsal claws, first metasomal tergite anteriorly and antero-laterally, metasomal tergite 4–7, ovipositor sheath brown.
Male. Same as female.
Distribution. Kerala, India.
Host. Unknown.
Ecology. The specimens were collected in the afternoon from grass land including some shrubby patches of Strobilanthes plants.
Etymology. Species is named after the first record of the genus from the Indomalayan (=Oriental) region.
Comparative diagnosis. Kerevata orientalia comes close to the other new species, K. kethai and K. longi based on general body colouration. However, this new species can be differentiated from K. kethai and K. longi in having completely yellow face, (vs with brownish or blackish patch), propodeum without smooth area near to anterior midlongitudinal carina (vs with smooth lateral areas), length of first metasomal tergite 2.0 × as long as its apical width (vs more than 2.0 × as long as its apical width), hind femur 4.7 × longer than maximum width (vs more than 6.6–7.5 × longer than maximum width).
description: Published as part of Ranjith, A. P., Quicke, Donald L. J., Belokobylskij, Sergey A. & Priyadarsanan, Dharma Rajan, 2022, Kerevata Belokobylskij (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Rogadinae) is no longer a Papua New Guinean endemic with descriptions of three new species from the Indomalayan Region, pp. 341-356 in Zootaxa 5091 (2) on pages 343-344, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5091.2.6, http://zenodo.org/record/5843735