Eusterinx ( Ischyracis ) gamka van Noort & Humala, 2025

Eusterinx ( Ischyracis) gamka van Noort & Humala sp. nov.

Figs 3 View Figure 3 , 4 View Figure 4

Material examined.

Holotype: South Africa • ♀; Western Cape, Gamkaberg Nature Reserve ; 33°39.941'S, 21°53.505'E; 315 m; 4 Oct 2010 – 25 Jan 2011; S. van Noort; Yellow pan trap; Gamka Thicket; GB 09 -SUC1-Y 71; Eusterinx ( Ischyracis) det. G. Broad 2015; IMAGED WaspWeb LAS 4.9, SAMC 2025 View Materials ; SAM-HYM-P 059233 ( SAMC) GoogleMaps .

Description.

Female ( holotype). Body length 3.9 mm (Fig. 3 A View Figure 3 ), fore wing length 2.5 mm (Fig. 4 D View Figure 4 ).

Head. Head 1.37 × as wide as high in anterior view; eyes glabrous, large; inner orbits somewhat convergent downwards; face nearly polished with sparse setae; maximum face width at level of antennal sockets 1.4 × as high, 0.4 × as wide as head (Fig. 3 E View Figure 3 ). Antenna with 24 flagellomeres, all flagellomeres longer than wide, except for terminal 3 flagellomeres which are c. as long as wide; first flagellomere 6 × as long as wide; second flagellomere 0.73 × as long as first flagellomere. Malar space about 1.2 × as long as basal width of mandible, subocular sulcus distinct in proximal half; anterior tentorial pits open; clypeus convex, small, 0.75 × as high as wide, apical margin strongly convex. Mandibles slender, strongly twisted inwards and tapered apically, lower tooth strongly reduced and invisible in front view. Maxillary palps very long, almost reaching middle coxa (Fig. 4 A View Figure 4 ). Occiput polished; occipital carina present dorsally, absent laterally. Ocelli of moderate size; ratio of OOL: maximum diameter of lateral ocellus: POL as 22: 22: 25 (Fig. 3 C View Figure 3 ). Head distinctly narrowed behind eyes, temple short, 0.33 × as long as eye width (Fig. 3 C View Figure 3 ).

Mesosoma. Mesosoma 1.5 × as long as maximum height; pronotum polished with strong epomia; mesoscutum finely punctured, covered with dense setae; notauli well developed as crenulated furrows, meeting in the center of mesoscutum (Fig. 3 D View Figure 3 ) and continuing as a fine median longitudinal carina not reaching scutellum. Epicnemial carina complete ventrally, reaching half the height of the mesopleuron; mesopleuron polished and mostly glabrous with short sternaulus; metapleuron granulate. Propodeum nearly smooth with all carinae developed except for anterior portions of dorsal longitudinal carinae, with a pair of strong, short apophyses flattened dorsoventrally formed by posterior transverse carina and lateral carinae (Fig. 4 A, C View Figure 4 ); area basalis not developed; area superomedia 1.6 × as long as maximum width and slightly narrowing posteriorly (Fig. 4 C View Figure 4 ). Spiracles small and rounded.

Legs. Legs slender, hind coxa granulate, hind femur 4.0 × as long as wide, tibial spurs short, hind basitarsus 0.4 × as long as hind tibia; ratio of hind tarsomeres as 25: 15: 12: 8: 10; claws simple (Fig. 4 F View Figure 4 ).

Wings. Fore wing without areolet (vein 3 rs-m absent), radius (vein 2 r & Rs) originates from middle of stigma, nervulus (vein 1 cu-a) interstitial (Fig. 4 D View Figure 4 ); postnervulus intercepted nearly in middle; in hind wing nervellus strongly reclivous, not intercepted, discoidella lacking.

Metasoma. T 1 slender, 4.8 × as long as maximum width posteriorly, with longitudinal striae; dorsal carina lacking; small spiracle at 0.4 of tergite (Fig. 4 E View Figure 4 ); sternite fused with tergite, reaching 0.7 of tergite; T 2 coriaceous, 1.6 × as long as maximum width posteriorly, with irregular longitudinal striae in anterior 0.6, and weak small thyridium in dorsolateral corner (Fig. 4 E View Figure 4 ); T 3 weakly coriaceous to granulate, T 4 granulate, T 5 & T 6 granulate to subpolished. Ovipositor nearly straight, tapered at apical third; ovipositor sheath 0.58 × as long as hind tibia (Fig. 4 F View Figure 4 ).

Colour. Head and mesosoma dark-brown to black; palps pale, basal antennomeres, tegula and wing bases yellowish; mandible, propleuron, lower pronotum reddish-brown; metasoma mostly dark brown, posterior margins of T 2 – T 3 light brown (Fig. 3 A View Figure 3 ). Fore and mid legs and hind trochanters yellowish, hind leg predominantly dark brown, excluding yellowish-brown trochanters (Fig. 3 A View Figure 3 ); ovipositor sheaths yellowish, dark brown in apical half (Fig. 4 F View Figure 4 ). Wings hyaline, veins including pterostigma brown (Fig. 4 D View Figure 4 ).

Male. Unknown.

Comparison.

The new species E. gamka sp. nov. differs from the closely related E. kirkwoodi and E. africana by the shape of the area superomedia – 1.6 × as long as maximum width (vs. 1.3 × in E. kirkwoodi and 2.4 × in E. africana ), hind tarsus distinctly longer as in E. africana (hind tarsus nearly as long as hind tibia in E. kirkwoodi ), shorter malar space 1.2 × (vs. 1.75 × in E. kirkwoodi and 1.5 × in E. africana ).

Distribution.

Currently only known from South Africa ( Western Cape Province).

Etymology.

The species is named after the type locality Gamkaberg which means “ lion mountain ” in Khoisan. Noun in apposition.