Research Article |
Corresponding author: Zubair Ahmad ( dzubair@gmail.com ) Academic editor: Jose Fernandez-Triana
© 2019 Hamed A. Ghramh, Zubair Ahmad, Kavita Pandey.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Ghramh HA, Ahmad Z, Pandey K (2019) Three new species of the genus Centistidea Rohwer, 1914 (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Miracinae) from India and Saudi Arabia. ZooKeys 889: 37-47. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.889.34942
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Centistidea acrocercopsi Ahmad & Pandey, sp. nov., C. cosmopteryxi Ahmad & Pandey, sp. nov., and C. tihamica Ghramh & Ahmad, sp. nov. are described as new to science. The genus Centistidea Rohwer (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Miracinae) is recorded for the first time from Saudi Arabia. Two species were reared from Acrocercops phaeospora Meyrick and Cosmopteryx phaeogastra (Meyrick) in India, while Centistidea tihamica was collected by Malaise trap in Saudi Arabia. Characters of these new species and their affinities with related taxa are discussed. Data on habitat, host records, and host plant species for all the parasitoid species are also provided.
Acrocercops phaeospora, Cosmopteryx phaeogastra, India, leafminer, parasitoids, Phaseolus cylindrica, Saudi Arabia, Syzigium cuminii
The subfamily Miracinae is a small cosmopolitan subfamily with two genera, Centistidea Rohwer, 1914 and Mirax Haliday, 1833, bearing 56 species worldwide (
Centistidea Rohwer is a small genus with 27 described species worldwide (
The Indian specimens were collected from western Uttar Pradesh (north India) in order to identify the parasitoids of leaf miners along the roadside at Aligarh Muslim University campus. Saudi specimens were collected by Malaise trap from Tihama in Asir region (southwestern Saudi Arabia). We have followed
Holotype: INDIA • ♀: Uttar Pradesh, Etah, 7.VIII.2004; ex. Acrocercops phaeospora (Meyrick) on Syzygyium cuminii, Z. Ahmad leg. (
Following the key to East Palearctic and Oriental species of the genus Centistidea Rohwer (
Female: body length: 1.7 mm; length of fore wing: 2.1 mm; length of antenna: 1.7 mm.
Head: ca. 2 × as wide as long in dorsal view; length of eye 1.3 × as long as temple in dorsal view; temple and vertex shiny with indistinct punctures; OOL: POL: AOL: OD = 6: 3: 2: 1.5; inner margin of eyes subparallel; face distinctly convex medially, flattened laterally and almost smooth and shiny; clypeus smooth and evenly convex; malar space ca. 2 × as long as basal width of mandible; antenna 14-segmented, F1 as long as F2, apical flagellomere pointed.
Mesosoma: 1.4 × as long as wide; mesoscutum shiny with indistinct punctures, notauli only anteriorly impressed and finely crenulate; prescutellar furrow poorly developed without any groove; scutellum smooth and shiny, medio-posterior depression of scutellum elliptical; propodeum somewhat smooth, with a complete median longitudinal carinae and two transverse carinae posteriorly, few rugosities adjacent to median longitudinal carina; meso- and metapleuron almost smooth and shiny.
Wings: Pterostigma with long and slender apical expansion, 2.7 × longer than wide, vein r issuing from its middle; vein 1-M 1.5 × longer than vein m-cu; vein 1-CU1 0.9 × as long as vein 2-CU1.
Legs: Hind coxa smooth, length of femur, tibia, and basitarsus of hind leg 3.0 ×, 7.1 ×, and 4.0 × their maximum width, respectively; length of hind tibial spur 0.30 × as long as hind basitarsus. Hind tarsal claw large and without acute lobe.
Metasoma: 1.5 × as long as wide; first tergite, smooth, widening medially, slightly narrowing basally and apically, 4.0 × as long as its maximum width; second tergite sclerotized with strong longitudinal striations; hypopygium small, membranous, desclerotized, sparsely setose at apex, not surpassing end of metasoma; ovipositor thick, setose, distinctly shorter than petiole and hind basitarsus.
Color: Largely yellow except for the following: antenna (except for scapus and pedicel yellow), veins, pterostigma, and ovipositor apically brown; wings moderately infuscate apically.
Unknown.
Acrocercops phaeospora (Meyrick).
India: Uttar Pradesh.
The new species is named after its host insect.
Holotype: INDIA • ♀; Uttar Pradesh, Etah, 5.x.2004; ex. Cosmopteryx phaeogastra (Meyr) on Phaseolus cylindrica (coll. Z Ahmad) (
Following the key to East Palaearctic and Oriental species of the genus Centistidea Rohwer (
Holotype: Female body length: 2.0 mm; length of forewing: 2.1 mm; length of antenna: 2.0 mm.
Head: 1.9 × as wide as long in dorsal view (12 : 23); length of eye 1.8 × temple (9 : 5) in dorsal view: head and vertex indistinctly punctate; OOL; POL : AOL: OD = 4: 2: 1: 2; inner margin of eyes subparallel; face distinctly convex medially, flattened laterally smooth; clypeus smooth and evenly convex; malar space 0.9 × as long as basal width of the mandible; antennae with 14 segments, F1 ca. 5 × as long as wide, 1.1 times longer than F2, penultimate flagellomere 2.5–3.0 × as long as wide and apical flagellomere pointed.
Mesosoma: 1.5 × as long as wide; mesoscutum shiny with few distinct punctures, notauli only anteriorly impressed and finely crenulate; prescutellar furrow distinct as a narrow groove with few crenulations; scutellum almost smooth and shiny, medio-posterior depression of scutellum oval and moderately close to each other; propodeum almost smooth (except few rugosity on anterior part of median longitudinal carina) with a complete median longitudinal carina bifurcate posteriorly near the end of propodeum, median carina of propodeum absent behind level of costulae; pair of membranous white spots at side of pronotum distinct, mesopleuron and metapleuron smooth.
Wings: Pterostigma with a long slender, apical expansion, 2.4 × longer than wide; vein 1-R1 of fore wing distinctly vein-like; vein r issuing from its middle; vein 1-M 1.6 × longer than vein m-cu; vein 1-CU1 of fore wing 0.9 × as long as vein 2-CU1.
Legs: Hind coxa smooth, lengths of hind femur, tibia, and basitarsus of hind leg 3.0, 7.0, and 4.5 × their maximum widths, respectively; length of hind tibial spurs 0.26 × and 0.33 × as long as hind basitarsus.
Metasoma: Ca. 2.0 × as long as wide; first tergite smooth, widening medially, distinctly narrowing basally and apically, 3.2 × as long as its maximum width; T2 subtriangular, smooth, laterally membranous and longitudinally striated; T3 longitudinally striated; ovipositor sheaths setose at apical half 0.1 × as long as forewing; hypopygium smooth medially folded, truncate apically, weakly sclerotized and setose.
Color: Yellowish brown except for the following: antennae, mesonotum, and metasoma dark brown to blackish brown; propleuron, mesopleuron, metapleuron, and ovipositor brown; T3, laterotergites yellow; wings infuscate.
Unknown.
Cosmopteryx phaeogastra (Meyrick).
India: Uttar Pradesh.
The new species is named after its host insect.
Holotype: Saudi Arabia • ♀; Abha, Tihama, 5.x.2015; malaise trap (coll. Z Ahmad). Paratype: 3 ♀; with same data as holotype (HB-139,
Following the key to East Palaearctic and Oriental species of the genus Centistidea Rohwer (
Holotype: Female: body length: 1.8 mm; length of forewing: 1.9 mm; length of antenna: 1.8 mm.
Head: 2.0 × as wide as long in dorsal view, distinctly wider than the mesosoma dorsally; length of eye 1.5 × temple in dorsal view: head and vertex indistinctly punctate; OOL: POL : AOL: OD = 4: 2: 1: 2; inner margin of eyes subparallel; face distinctly convex medially, flattened laterally smooth; clypeus smooth and evenly convex; malar space 0.9 × as long as basal width of the mandible; antenna with 14 segments, F1 ca. 6 × as long as wide, 1.25 × longer than F2, penultimate flagellomere 2.5–3.0 × as long as wide, and apical flagellomere pointed.
Mesosoma: 1.5 × as long as wide; mesoscutum shiny with few distinct punctures, notauli only anteriorly impressed; prescutellar furrow distinct, present as a narrow groove and crenulations; scutellum almost smooth and shiny, medio-posterior depression of scutellum semicircular; propodeum almost smooth with a complete median longitudinal carina bifurcate posteriorly, median carina of propodeum absent behind level of costulae, posterior part clearly differentiated from dorsal part of propodeum; mesopleuron and metapleuron smooth.
Wings: Pterostigma with a long slender, apical expansion, 2.2 × longer than wide; vein r very prominent and 0.2 × as long as the height of pterostigma, vein 1-M 1.5 × longer than vein m-cu; vein 1-CU1 of fore wing 0.7 × as long as vein 2-CU1.
Legs: Hind coxa smooth, lengths of hind femur, tibia, and basitarsus of hind leg 3.0, 7.0, and 4.0 × their maximum widths, respectively; length of hind tibial spurs 0.23 × and 0.32 × as long as hind basitarsus.
Metasoma: Ca. 2.0 × as long as wide; first tergite, smooth, widening medially, distinctly narrowing basally and apically, 4.0 × as long as its maximum width; T2 subtriangular, smooth, laterally membranous, and longitudinally striated; T3 longitudinally striated; ovipositor sheaths 0.15 × as long as forewing; hypopygium smooth, medially folded, truncate apically, weakly sclerotized, and setose.
Color: Yellowish brown except for the following: head and legs yellowish; antennae, mesosoma, and metasoma dark brown to blackish brown; laterotergites yellowish; wings slightly infuscate.
Unknown.
Unknown.
Saudi Arabia: Abha.
The new species is named after its locality.
In this study, Centistidea tihamica sp. nov. is described from the southwestern region of Saudi Arabia, thus increasing the distributional range of the genus Centistidea to the Afrotropical region. The genus Centistidea is very well represented in almost all zoogeographical regions except for Northwestern Palearctic and the Afrotropical region (
The first two authors (HAG and ZA) extend their appreciation to the Research Center of Advanced Material, King Khalid University, Abha, KSA. The second author (ZA) extends his gratitude to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Khalid University for funding through research program (RGP1)-194/39. We also thank the editor, associate editor, and anonymous reviewers for their valuable and helpful comments to improve the quality of the manuscript.