Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 March 2021 | 13(3): 18011–18014
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.6167.13.3.18011-18014
#6167 | Received 15 May 2020 | Final received
21 June 2020 | Finally accepted 15 March 2021
A new species of braconid wasp Meteorus Haliday (Hymenoptera:
Braconidae: Meteorinae)
from India
Zaheer Ahmed 1, Altaf
Hussain Mir 2 & Mohammad
Shamim 3
1,2Entomology Research Laboratory,
Department of Zoology, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir
190006, India.
3 Section of Entomology, Department
of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh 202002, India.
1 zaheermir1979@gmail.com
(corresponding author), 2 draltaf_786@yahoo.com, 3 drmshamim@gmail.com
ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7BBB9780-97A2-4304-A654-41BED566DDFB
Editor: Farmanur Rahman Khan, Qassim University, Buraidah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Date
of publication: 26 March 2021 (online & print)
Citation: Ahmed, Z., A.H. Mir & M.
Shamim (2021). A new species of braconid wasp Meteorus Haliday
(Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Meteorinae)
from India. Journal of
Threatened Taxa 13(3): 18011–18014. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.6167.13.3.18011-18014
Copyright: © Ahmed et al. 2021. Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and
distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the
author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: None.
Competing interests: The authors
declare no competing interests.
Acknowledgements: We thanks Dr.
Mohd Kamil Usmani Professor and Head, Section of Entomology,
Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim University for providing laboratory
facilities
Abstract: A new species of braconid wasp, Meteorus rubrum Ahmed & Shamim sp. nov. (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Meteorinae), is described from India. The new species is closely related with M.
dichomeridis (Wilkinson, 1930) and M. kotanni (Maeto, 1986).
Keywords: Meteorus dichomeridis,
M. kotanni, Rajouri, wasp.
Haliday (1835) erected the genus Meteorus with its type species Ichneumon pandulator Latreille. The genus is distinguished by maxillary palp
six segmented, forewing vein SR1 usually long and straight, first metasomal tergite slender and long. This genus is studied well by Muesebeck (1936), Nixon (1943), Huddleston (1980, 1983,
1986), and Maeto (1986, 1988a,b, 1989a,b, 1990). It includes 412 species from all over the
world (Yu 2020), out of which 11 species have been described and reported from
India so far, viz.: Meteorus arcticida (Viereck, 1912), M.
dichomeridis (Wilkinson, 1930), M. spilosomae (Narendran &
Rema, 1996), M. etawahiana (Shamim &
Ahmad, 2008), M. poonchiensis (Shamim &
Ahmad, 2008), M. aurayyus (Shamim, 2011), M.
hayati (Shamim, 2011), M. indicus (Shamim,
2011), M. narendrani (Shamim, 2011), M. sharifi (Shamim, 2011), and M. aligarhensis
(Shamim & Usmani, 2012). All of these species are koinobiont endoparasitoids, usually attack young exposed-feeding
caterpillars, but some of the species parasitize grubs (Shaw & Huddleston
1991; Shaw 1997). Meteorus
species are famous for their diverse silk-spinning, and cocoon-forming
behaviours (Zitani et al. 1997). In this paper a new species Meteorus rubrum is illustrated and described
from India.
Material and Methods
The specimens were collected by
using sweep net. The slides and card
mounts of specimens were examined through stereo zoom binocular microscopes
(Nikon SMZ1500 and Nikon SMZ 25). The
ocular micrometer was used for the measurement (linear
side of 100 divisions) of body parts.
The ocular micrometer was calibrated with the
help of stage micrometer under 8x10x
magnification. Photographs were taken at
different magnifications (4–16x) by the camera attached to Stereozoom
binocular microscope. The general
terminologies and venation terminologies followed given by Achterberg
(1993) and for the surface sculpture followed Eady
(1968). The following acronyms are used
to denote the various body parts: AOL= Anterior ocellar
line; POL= posterior ocellar line; OOL= ocello ocular line; OOD= ocellus diameter; F: flagellomere;
T= thoracic terga; 1-CU1= first cubitus, 2-CU1= second cubitus, 3-CU1= third
cubitus. Acronym for type depository MDZUK= Museum Department of Zoology,
University of Kashmir
Results and
Discussion
Meteorus rubrum Ahmed & Shamim, sp. nov.
(Image 1 A–K)
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:7A0A16B7-C7BF-4D1C-9620-6E248392F9E3
Material examined
Holotype: ZoKU
Art/06179, 25.vi.2019, Female, Palma, Rajouri, Jammu
& Kashmir (UT), India, coll. Zaheer Ahmed, deposited in MDZUK.
Paratype: ZoKU
Art/06179a, 1 Female, data same as holotype.
Female: Body length: 8.87mm; Forewing:
8.45mm.
Head: The width of head in dorsal view
1.6x of its length and 1.4x of height; occipital carina complete; length of eye
in lateral view 1.4x of its width and 1.8x of temple; temple setose,
OOL:POL:AOL:OOD= 7:10:5:9; vertex smooth and densly
setose, width of vertex 2.5x of its length; frons smooth and shiny with median longitudional carina, width of frons 3.5x of its length;
face rugose and densely setose; width of face 1.8x of its length; tentorial
pits deep and broad; intertentorial line 4.3x of tentorio-ocular line; length of malar space 3.3x of basal
width of mandible; clypeus convex and sparsely setose, length of clypeus 2.7x
of its width; antennal segments 38; length of scape 1.2x of its width, pedicel
as long as wide, length of F1- F4 :3.4x: F5-F9 3x: F5-F9 2.8x: F10 –F13 2.2x:
F14 –F26 2x: F27- F28: 2.6x: F29: 2.3x:
F30 -F34 :2x: F35: 1.6x: F36 3.5x of their widths respectively.
Mesosoma: Length of mesosoma 2.6x of its
width and 2.8x of its height; dorsal surface of pronotum smooth, laterally rugulose punctate; notauli deep, anteriorly crenulate,
posteriorly rugose; mesopleuron anteriorly rugose, medially with some
crenulation and posteriorly longitudinally striate, metapleuron reticulate and
sparsely setose; scutellar sulcus shallow without any
carina; scutellum smooth, sides of scutellum rugose; metanotum
anteriorly smooth, laterally crenulate; sternulus
smooth and shallow; propodeum entirely reticulate rugose.
Legs: Hind coxa 1.4x as long as wide;
length of hind femur, tibia, and basitarsus 5.7x, 12x, and 1.8x their widths
respectively; length of hind tibial spurs 0.28x–0.35x of hind basitarsus.
Wings: Length of forewing 2.9x of its
width, length of pterostigma 3.3x of its
width, length of vein 1-R11.4x length of pterostigma; vein 3-SR of forewing
1.8x length of r; vein SR1+3-SR curved;
r arising 1/3rd of the pterostigma; r:
2-SR:S-R1+3-SR= 10:20:112; 1-CU1: 2-CU1: 3-CU1 = 1:42:15; m-cu and cu-a post
furcal; length of hind wing 3.5x of its
width; 1-M: 1-r-m: 2-SC+R= 12:28:7.
Metasoma: Length of metasoma 3.1x of its
width and 2.8x of its height; length of first metasomal
tergite 4.3x of its apical width; apical width 2x its basal width; first metasomal tergite smooth apically, medially some striae; dorsope present;
spiracles present just middle of first metasomal
tergite; second metasomal tergite smooth, long; rest
of tergite smooth and sparsely setose; ovipositor very long and pointed, length
of ovipositor sheath 0.36x forewing.
Colour: Head reddish-brown, eyes
greyish, ocelli yellowish, ocellar area reddish,
wings hyaline with brown venation, scape, pedicel, F1–F17 segments
reddish-yellow, remaining antennal segments dark brown, legs reddish-yellow
except tarsus pale yellow and claw dark brown femur, mandibles yellow with
black dentation, maxillary and labial palpi yellowish, pronotum, scutellum,
propodeum, first metasomal tergite and remaining terga
reddish-yellow, ovipositor yellow and ovipositor sheaths dark brown.
Etymology: The new species is named after
the red colour of the body of the type specimen.
Male: Unknown
Host: Unknown
Diagnosis: The new species Meteorus rubrum Ahmed & Shamim, sp.
nov. closely resembles with Meteorus
dichomeridis (Wilkinson, 1930). It, however, differs from this species in
certain peculiar characters which are as follows:
Meteorus dichomeridis Wilkinson, 1930 |
Meteorus rubrum Ahmed & Shamim, sp. nov. |
Antennal segments 26–28 |
Antennal segments 38 |
Vein 3-SR of forewing equal to r |
Vein 3-SR of forewing 1.8x length of r |
First metasomal tergite 2x
its apical width |
First metasomal tergite
4.3x its apical width |
Face minutely punctate and aciculate |
Face rugose and densely setose |
Meteorus rubrum Ahmed & Shamim, sp. nov. also closely resembles Meteorus
kotanni (Maeto, 1986);
however, it differs as follows:
Meteorus kotanni Maeto, 1986 |
Meteorus rubrum Ahmed & Shamim, sp. nov. |
Antennal segments 41 |
Antennal segments 38 |
Vertex punctate |
Vertex smooth and densely setose |
Propodeum with median longitudinal carina anteriorly
and transverse carina posteriorly |
Propodeum entirely reticulate rugose |
First metasomal tergite
apically reticulate rugose, medially longitudinally striate rugose |
First metasomal tergite
apically smooth, medially some striae |
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