Spathius pseudaphareus, Tang & Belokobylskij & Chen, 2015

Spathius pseudaphareus sp. nov.

( Fig. 32 View FIGURE 32 )

Description. Female. Body length 5.0 mm; fore wing length 3.5 mm.

Head. Antennae filiform, 42-segmented. Scape 1.8 × as long as its maximum width. First flagellar segment 5.5 × as long as its apical width, 1.3 × as long as second segment. Penultimate segment 3.2 × as long as wide, 0.9 × as long as apical segment. Head width (dorsal view) 1.5 × its median length, 1.25 × as wide as mesoscutum. Head behind eyes (dorsal view) weakly roundly narrowed; transverse diameter of eye 1.6 × length of temple. Ocelli medium-sized, arranged in triangle with base 1.15 × its sides; POL: Od: OOL = 3.5: 4.0: 1.1. Vertex coarsely and weakly curvedly striate, with distinct oblique striae laterally, with fine to very fine reticulation between striae. Frons entirely, distinctly, densely and weakly curvedly transversely striate. Eye almost glabrous, 1.2 × as high as broad. Malar space 0.45 × eye height and equal to basal width of mandible. Temple smooth in anterior half and distinctly subvertically striate in posterior half. Face densely and distinctly transversely striate, almost without additional reticulation, smooth in subround medial lower area. Face width 1.15 × eye height and almost as long as height of face and clypeus combined. Hypoclypeal depression medium-sized and round, its width 0.9 × distance from edge of depression to eye, 0.4 × width of face. Occipital carina complete dorsally, ventrally joined with hypostomal carina upper base of mandible by additional rugae.

Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 1.9 × its height. Pronotal keel distinct, its posterior branch coarse, fused with posterior margin of pronotum on rather wide distance; anterior branch of carina distinct and situated behind middle. Mesoscutum highly and roundly elevated above pronotum, its median lobe convex anteriorly and without anterolateral corners. Mesoscutum distinctly and densely granulate on narrow median areas of lobes, its median lobe anteriorly without granules situated in transverse lines, with long or very long and dense rugae situated along notauli and laterally, with two distinct and weakly convergent posteriorly carinae in medioposterior half; mostly glabrous, with rather dense, long and semi-erect pale setae arranged in wide stripe along notauli and in almost single line laterally. Notauli wide, coarsely and densely crenulate, deep anteriorly and more shallow posteriorly. Prescutellar depression shallow, long, with three carinae, additionally finely rugulose, 0.25 × as long as scutellum. Scutellum finely to very finely granulate in anterior half and densely distinctly granulate in posterior half, almost without rugae, weakly convex, with fine lateral carinae. Mesopleuron wide and densely curvedly striate with fine granulation partly, with two small smooth areas. Subalar depression rather deep, wide, coarsely rugose-striate. Precoxal sulcus rather wide, straight, oblique, deep, running in anterior 0.6, with additional very shallow, curved and densely rugulose depression in posterior 0.4. Propodeum with distinct and wide lateral tubercles, with basolateral areas distinctly delineated by carinae and densely finely granulate with rugosity along carinae, rest part of propodeum sparsely striate and with dense and finely reticulation; areola rather narrow and long; basal carina present in basal 0.15, 0.4 × as long as anterior fork of areola.

Wings. Fore wing 3.4 × as long as wide. Vein r arising weakly behind middle of pterostigma. 3-SR: r: SR1: 2-SR = 16: 6: 39: 18. Second submarginal cell not narrowed distally, its length 2.5 × maximum width, 1.2 × length of first subdiscal cell. Vein CU1a not interstitial, arising almost from anterior third of posterior margin of first subdiscal cell. Hind wing vein M+CU 0.7 × as long as vein 1-M. Vein m-cu weakly postfurcal, oblique towards base of wing, faintly infuscate.

Legs. Hind coxa dorsally densely undulately transversely striate with additional reticulation, finely and densely granulate-reticulate laterally, almost smooth below, with distinct basoventral corner and tooth. Hind femur elongate-oval, finely and densely striate dorsally, 3.4 × as long as wide. Hind tibia apically without spines on outer side. Dorsal surface of hind tibia with medium length, rather dense and semi-erect setae, their length 0.8–1.2 × maximum width of tibia. Hind tarsus almost as long as hind tibia. Hind basitarsus 0.7 × as long as second-fifth segments combined. Second segment of hind tarsus 0.5 × as long as basitarsus, 1.2 × as long as fifth segment (without pretarsus).

Metasoma. Petiole (lateral view) weakly curved ventrally, dorsally distinctly arched in basal 0.5 and almost straight in apical 0.5, thickened in basal 0.3; distinctly widened in apical fifth (dorsal view), with weak spiracular tubercles in weakly widened basal third. Length of petiole 2.5 × its apical width, 1.4 × length of propodeum. Second tergite without laterotergites. Median length of second and third tergites combined 1.6 × basal width of second tergite, 0.75 × as long as their maximum width. Second suture absent. Petiole distinctly and rather sparsely longitudinally striate, with dense and distinct reticulation between striae. Remaining tergites entirely smooth. Ovipositor straight. Ovipositor sheath 2.8 × as long as petiole, almost as long as metasoma, 1.55 × as long as mesosoma, 0.8 × as long as fore wing.

Colour. Head yellow, face brownish. Mesosoma and metasoma light reddish brown to yellowish brown, mesoscutum brownish yellow, petiole reddish brown. Antennae yellow to brownish brown in basal half, brown submedially, with 15 pale subapical segments and dark single apical segment. Palpi whitish. Legs yellow to brownish yellow, white to whitish yellow basally, hind femur in apical two-thirds brown, hind tibia almost entirely pale yellow, faintly darkened basally. Ovipositor sheath brown to pale brown, yellowish brown basally. Fore wing faintly and evenly infuscate. Pterostigma brown, pale yellow in basal quarter and apically.

Male. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype. female, China, Guangdong Prov., Yunan Tongledashan , 12–13.VIII.2003, Xu Zaifu, No. 20054574 ( ZJUH).

Comparative diagnosis. This new species belongs to the S. fasciatus Walker species group. Spathius pseudaphareus sp. nov. is similar to S. aphareus Nixon , but differs in having the head and hind coxa yellow or whitish yellow (rust red or reddish brown in S. aphareus ), head behind eyes in dorsal view weakly narrowed and temple rather long (head strongly narrowed and temple short in S. aphareus ), malar space longer (shorter in S. aphareus ), posterior branch of pronotal keel distinctly fused with posterior margin of pronotum (not fused in S. aphareus ), basal carina of propodeum very short (long in S. aphareus ), and petiole short (long in S. aphareus ).

Etymology. From “pseudo” ( Greece for “false”) and the name of related species, because new species is similar to S. aphaereus Nixon.

Distribution. China (Guangdong).