Mesopolobus askewi Todorov, 2024

Mesopolobus askewi Todorov sp. nov.

Materials

Type status: Holotype. Occurrence: recordedBy: Ivaylo Todorov leg.; sex: female; occurrenceID: DEF0892C-3067-52BB-8ACD-B3D528106BA5; Taxon: scientificName: Mesopolobus askewi ; Location: country: Bulgaria; locality: Western Rhodope Mts, near Pamporovo ; verbatimElevation: 1580 m; locationRemarks: coniferous forest; decimalLatitude: 41.62250; decimalLongitude: 24.70100; Event: eventDate: 23. VIII. 2018

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: recordedBy: Ivaylo Todorov leg.; sex: 4 females; preparations: whole specimens, mounted on card points; occurrenceID: 96752C8D-DA46-5DEE-BB45-62EB4C77E46F; Taxon: scientificName: Mesopolobus askewi ; Location: country: Bulgaria; locality: Western Rhodope Mts, near Pamporovo ; verbatimElevation: 1580 m; locationRemarks: coniferous forest; decimalLatitude: 41.62250; decimalLongitude: 24.70100; Event: eventDate: 23. VIII. 2018

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: recordedBy: Ivaylo Todorov leg.; sex: 1 female; preparations: dissected for SEM observation; occurrenceID: 3FBD0FDC-4838-56E2-AC29-B1A1BF174D41; Taxon: scientificName: Mesopolobus askewi ; Location: country: Bulgaria; locality: Western Rhodope Mts, near Pamporovo ; verbatimElevation: 1580 m; locationRemarks: coniferous forest; decimalLatitude: 41.62250; decimalLongitude: 24.70100; Event: eventDate: 23. VIII. 2018

Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Ivaylo Todorov leg.; sex: 4 females; occurrenceID: 1E4CECB3-0046-590B-92AC-30D06C8F118D; Taxon: scientificName: Mesopolobus askewi ; Location: country: Bulgaria; locality: Western Rhodope Mts, near Pamporovo ; verbatimElevation: 1580 m; locationRemarks: coniferous forest; decimalLatitude: 41.62250; decimalLongitude: 24.70100; Event: eventDate: 23. VIII. 2018

Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Ivaylo Todorov leg.; sex: 3 females; occurrenceID: 71B4F34A-C08E-59EB-98CE-AC9F046897E1; Taxon: scientificName: Mesopolobus askewi ; Location: country: Bulgaria; locality: Western Rhodope Mts, near Perelik hut ; verbatimElevation: 2000 m; locationRemarks: coniferous forest; decimalLatitude: 41.60518; decimalLongitude: 24.59265; Event: eventDate: 20. VIII. 2021

Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Ivaylo Todorov leg.; sex: 5 females; occurrenceID: 475AD205-C6E7-559E-A34C-68C080FB62BE; Taxon: scientificName: Mesopolobus askewi ; Location: country: Bulgaria; locality: Stara Planina: Shipchenska Mts, near Uzana hut ; verbatimElevation: 1243 m; locationRemarks: coniferous forest; decimalLatitude: 42.75800; decimalLongitude: 25.23427; Event: eventDate: 08. VII. 2020

Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Ivaylo Todorov leg.; sex: 1 female; occurrenceID: D878612E-EB2A-5481-8761-39CD48AF17E5; Taxon: scientificName: Mesopolobus askewi ; Location: country: Bulgaria; locality: Stara Planina: Troyanska Mts, near Beklemeto ; verbatimElevation: 1433 m; locationRemarks: coniferous forest; decimalLatitude: 42.78280; decimalLongitude: 24.62160; Event: eventDate: 17. VIII. 2021

Description

Length: 1.7–2.1 mm.

Colouration (Fig. 1 a View Figure 1 a ). Head blue to bluish-green. Mesosoma bluish-green dorsally, pro-, meso- and metapleuron, as well the lateral panels of pronotum, green with coppery reflections; propodeum bluish-green, shiny; gaster brownish, with bluish-green metallic tints dorsally. Antenna with scape, pedicel and anelli fulvous, funicular segments yellowish beneath, dorsally pale testaceous with weakly infuscate proximal half. Mandibles and palps pale yellow, mandibular teeth brown. Coxae dorsally coloured as mesosomal pleura, ventral surface light brownish. Legs with femora and protibiae fulvous, meso- and metatibiae mostly fulvous with distal one-fifth yellowish; protasi fully yellowish with only tarsal claws fuscous, meso- and metatarsal segments 1-4 yellowish, 5 th segments fuscous. Wings clear, venation pale testaceous.

Tegument. Head with upper face and vertex reticulate; lower face and genae reticulate to strigulate-reticulate; clypeus striate, striation not extending beyond sclerite margins; supraclypeal area reticulate; antennal scape and pedicel imbricate; Mesosoma: Pronotal collar and mesonotum reticulate, metanotum with lateral panels and dorsellum smooth and shiny; propodeum with median area between plicae weakly sculptured, shiny, median carina complete; propodeal plicae complete, sharp anteriorly and posteriorly, more rounded in the anterior third (Fig. 2 f View Figure 2 f ); nuchal strip short and smooth; upper mesepimeron faintly, but visibly reticulate (Fig. 1 e View Figure 1 e ), lower mesepimeron and mesepisternum moderately finely reticulate; Gaster: Tergite 1 smooth and shiny, second and third tergites in proximal 1 / 4 th, fourth tergite in proximal half – with very shallow alutaceous sculpture, tergites 5-7 finely alutaceous on entire surface; all sternites finely alutaceous.

Head. 1.11-1.16 x breadth of mesosoma, in dorsal view 1.94-2.0 x as broad as long, temples 0.24-0.27 x the length of eye (Fig. 1 b View Figure 1 b ), head in facial view 1.17-1.24 x as broad as high; POL 2.0-2.5 x OOL, OOL 1.5-2.0 x diameter of ocelli; compound eyes with scattered, very short setae (Fig. 2 a View Figure 2 a ); lower edge of antennal toruli at the level or even slightly below lower ocular line, 2.2-2.7 x closer to clypeal margin than to median ocellus; clypeus moderately emarginated (Fig. 2 b View Figure 2 b ); malar space 0.43-0.55 x eye height; width of oral fossa 2-2.13 x malar space. Scape 0.8-0.9 x height of eye, extending far below median ocellus (Fig. 1 c View Figure 1 c ); pedicel plus flagellum 0.9 x breadth of head; pedicel 1.6-2.0 x as long as the first funicular segment; antenna with 3 anelli, first anellus strongly transverse, second and third anellus nearly equal in length, less transverse and about 2 x longer than the first (Figs 1 c View Figure 1 c , 2 c View Figure 2 c ); funicular segments 1-3 or 1-4 hardly to slightly longer than broad, 4 th to 5 th subquadrate to quadrate; flagellum subclavate, clava in lateral view 1.6-2.0 x as broad as first funicular segment, with narrow strip of micropilosity on the ventral surface of third segment (Fig. 1 d View Figure 1 d ); placoid sensilla in one row on each segment (Fig. 2 c View Figure 2 c ); funicular segments with scattered, but well visible basiconic capitate pegs (Fig. 2 d View Figure 2 d ).

Mesosoma. 1.52-1.58 x as long as broad; pronotal collar long medially, about 1 / 6 to 1 / 5 (0.17 to 0.2 x) length of mesoscutum (Figs 1 b View Figure 1 b , 2 e View Figure 2 e ), not carinate anteriorly, with only slightly raised front margin, sloping vertically to dorsal plane of mesoscutum (Fig. 1 c View Figure 1 c ), pronotal neck not visible in dorsal view (Fig. 2 e View Figure 2 e ); mesoscutum 1.46-1.55 x broader than long, 1.17-1.2 x as long as scutellum; Propodeum (Fig. 2 f View Figure 2 f ) medially less than half (0.35-0.45 x) as long as scutellum; median area between plicae 1.80-2.14 x broader than long; spiracles ellipsoid in shape, separated by their minor diameter from the hind margin of metanotum; callus setose, with 15-20 setae. Legs rather stout, hind femora 3.4-4.0 x as long as broad.

Fore wing. Marginal vein 1.10-1.23 x as long as postmarginal vein and 1.60-1.75 x as long as stigmal vein (Fig. 1 f View Figure 1 f ). Upper surface of costal cell bare; lower surface with one complete row of setae extending to humeral plate and with some setae scattered over distal third; basal vein with complete row of setae, basal cell bare or having at most one seta close to the basal vein; cubital setal line not developed; speculum open below, extending beyond 0.24-0.39 x length of marginal vein; marginal setae presented on the entire apical margin; disc rather densely setose.

Gaster. 1.3-1.7 x longer than wide, usually 0.72-0.92 x shorter than, sometimes as long as head plus mesosoma; tip of hypopygium situated usually about at middle, rarely slightly before or slightly beyond the middle of gaster length; ovipositor sheaths well visible in ventral view, but hardly or not projecting beyond the last tergite.

Male. Unknown.

Diagnosis

Mesopolobus askewi sp. nov. belongs to the group of species that have three anelli, long pronotal collar, which is one-sixth to one-fifth the length of mesoscutum and gaster usually slightly shorter than head plus mesosoma. It runs to couplet 36 in Graham’s key ( Graham 1969), but clearly differs from M. longicollis (Figs 3, 4) by a combination of characters presented in Table 1 View Table 1 .

Etymology

The first author is pleased to name this species after Dr. Richard Robinson Askew, one of the most prominent experts in the field of entomology, especially in the studies on Chalcidoidea. His works have been an inspiration for me since the beginning of my interest in the family Pteromalidae . In our correspondence Dr. Askew has always demonstrated his responsiveness and natural modesty and that have impressed me many times.

Biology

Unknown.