Cladobethylus ceylonicus Krombein 1980

Cladobethylus ceylonicus Krombein

Cladobethylus ceylonicus Krombein, 1980:253–255, figs. 1, 7 [, misidentified; various localities in Sri Lanka; holotype in USNM]

This species occurs only in Wet Zone localities as noted above and is known only from males. Most of them are very similar except for the color variations noted in the description below. One small male from Kitulgala and another from Gilimale are included in C. ceylonicus, though with some doubt. The thoracic punctation, particularly on the pronotum, is sparser, most interspaces being half the diameter of a puncture rather than having subcontiguous punctation. The thorax of the Gilimale specimen is also unusual in being dark blue, whereas that of the Kitulgala specimen is dark bronze.

MALE.—Length 3.2–4.7 mm. Head and thoracic dorsum with bright green to dark bronze reflections, mesopleuron with darker green reflections; propodeum and most of metasoma usually black; antennal scape and legs above light red; palpi, mandible, and legs beneath testaceous; first flagellar segment and base of first metasomal tergum chestnut, although much of ventral metasoma and dorsal surface along sides occasionally light red. Dorsum of head, thorax, and second to fourth metasomal terga on sides with erect, light-brown setae. Wings clear, fore wing with relatively sparse microtrichiae within the cells and with quite dense ones beyond the cells, stigma and veins light brown.

Head in frontal view (Figure 6); height (apex of clypeus to occiput) 1.1 times width; frontal concavity very shallow, practically impunctate, transverse ridges lacking or very weakly and incompletely developed; front immediately in front of and laterad of ocelli with scattered small punctures; vertex with contiguous, somewhat larger punctures on either side of low, smooth median ridge; width of top of head 1.5–1.6 times length.

Median lengths of pronotum and scutum subequal and twice median length of scutellum and postscutellum; pronotum and scutum with subcontiguous, somewhat coarser punctures than vertex; fore wing (Figure 12); scutellum with punctation finer, becoming quite sparse posteriorly; median triangular area of postscutellum about as long as basal width, with subcontiguous punctures of same size as on scutellum, an adjacent narrow strip with about six ridges perpendicular to triangular area on each side; lower two-thirds of mesopleuron with punctation similar to that on pronotal dorsum, the upper third with smaller, more scattered punctures.

First metasomal tergum with only a few minute, very scattered punctures; second tergum with very small punctures on basal half or third separated by two or three times the diameter of a puncture anteriorly, more scattered or absent posteriorly.

FEMALE.—Unknown.

SPECIMENS EXAMINED.—CENTRAL PROVINCE. Kandy District: 1, Adams Peak, 6000 ft (1824 m), 6 mi (10.8 km) W Maskeliya (incorrectly labeled 6 mi S), 17 Feb, Davis et al. (USNM; holotype).

WESTERN PROVINCE. Colombo District: 1, Labugama, 18 Feb, Stubbs et al. (British Museum).

SABARAGAMUWA PROVINCE. Kegalla District: 3, Kitulgala, Bandarakele Jungle, 4 Feb, 17, 18 Mar, Gunawardane, Kurunaratne (USNM). Ratnapura District: 40, Gilimale, Induruwa Jungle, 2 Feb, 8, 14, 15, and 26 Mar, 3, 16–19 Apr, Krombein et al. (USNM); 2, Sinharaja Jungle, Waturawa Forest, 3 km S of Kudawe, on foliage 4–10 in (10.2–25.4 cm) above ground, 2 Jul, Kurunaratne (USNM); 5, Daminagala Hill, Sinharaja Jungle, 530 m, 5 km S of Kudawe, 20–23 Oct, on foliage 3–6 in (7.6–15.2 cm) above ground, Karunaratne (USNM).

SOUTHERN PROVINCE. Galle District: 2, Kanneliya section, Sinharaja Jungle, 14–16 Jul, Krombein et al. (USNM, Colombo Museum; paratypes).

Isegama, new genus

Cladobethylus Kieffer.—Krombein, 1980:253, figs. 2, 3, 5, 8, 9 [, not ; erroneous sex association].

In my 1976 manuscript I mistakenly placed two female species as the previously unknown opposite sex of Cladobethylus Kieffer. One was described subsequently as the opposite sex of C. ceylonicus Krombein, 1980, and the other, known only from females, was described as C. aridulus Krombein, 1980. Now that I have recognized the true males of the misidentified female of C. ceylonicus, I am describing here the new genus Isegama for the reception of females of the two species assigned in error to Cladobethylus. Isegama is also known from undescribed species from Nepal (), Thailand (, ), Laos (, ), Viet Nam (), Malaya (), Sarawak (), North Borneo (), and Hong Kong (, ).

The species of Isegama exhibit very little sexual dimorphism. Both sexes are fully winged and the antennae are remarkably similar in morphology, being stout, short, tapering toward apex, flagellum flattened on lower surface, and intermediate flagellar segments slightly broader than long. Normally, males of Ceylonese Amiseginae have long filiform antennae with the flagellar segments two to three times as long as broad. Perissosega, new genus, is the only other Ceylonese genus exhibiting a similar lack of sexual dimorphism. The two sexes of Isegama and Perissosega may be readily distinguished by examination of the abdomen; the female has only four exposed segments and the tubular telescoped ovipositor is partially exserted, whereas the male has five exposed segments and lacks an ovipositor.

Isegama is a relatively short compact form as compared with most other Ceylonese genera, only Perissosega sharing the same body form. Isegama is distinguished by a combination of the rounded posterolateral angle of the dorsal propodeal surface, the mesopleuron with a groove on the anterior margin and another oblique groove about a third of the length below the wing base, the radial vein curved evenly outward and continued toward the costal margin by a darkened curved streak, and the narrow elongation of the stigma along the costal margin.

Specimens of Isegama are most frequently collected as they alight on foliage 0.5 m above the ground; one male was collected when it alighted upon the trunk of a kumbuk tree 2.5 m above the ground. Specimens are also frequently captured in Malaise traps. Inasmuch as they are not found on leaf litter, I presume that they may parasitize walking stick eggs glued on leaves or perhaps deposited in bark crevices or beneath loose bark.

TYPE-SPECIES:—Isegama meaculpa, new species.

ETYMOLOGY.—The generic name is feminine, and an anagram of Amisega Cameron.

FEMALE.—Head (Figures 7, 8) width 1.0–1.22 times height (apex of clypeus to occiput); eyes bulging, clothed with very short microtrichiae; sides of front converging below; apex of clypeus not thickened; frontal concavity moderately deep, with close, short transverse rugulae; malar space with a deep groove running from lower eye margin to mandibular articulation; interocular distance at anterior ocellus 0.42–0.44 times head width; front rounding more gradually into vertex than in Cladobethylus, the vertex without smooth median ridge; occipital carina complete, more strongly developed dorsally; scape a bit longer than pedicel and first two flagellar segments combined, flagellum short, stout, tapered toward apex, lower surface flattened, intermediate flagellar segments 0.78–0.89 times as long as wide, flagellar setae short, subappressed.

Thorax short, compact (Figures 13, 14); pronotal disk with extremely weak median groove; notauli straight posteriorly, curved outward anteriorly; postscutellum with a short median area with rounded outer margin, narrow adjacent strip weakly obliquely ridged, lacking apical appressed teeth; mesopleuron anteriorly with a groove and with an oblique discal groove about one-third below wing base; fore wing with elongate stigma whose distal end is quite attenuate along costal margin, radial vein curved, relatively short, continued toward costal margin by a curved, darkened streak; tibiae with sparser, shorter, erect setae than in Cladobethylus; hind coxa above lamellate along inner margin; hind femoral ratio of 2.8:1; tarsal claws with a small erect tooth along inner margin; posterolateral angles of propodeal dorsum rounded.

First two metasomal terga dorsally (Figure 10), and second sternum with small subcontiguous punctures and a narrow median impunctate strip.

MALE.—Characters as in female except intermediate flagellar segments as long as wide, and hind femoral ratio 2.4:1.