A new species of parasitic wasp Neastymachus Girault (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Encyrtidae) collected by fogging Vateria indica L. (Dipterocarpaceae) canopy in the Western Ghats of India

Acknowledgements: The first author is thankful to Dr. S.S. Negi, the Director, Forest Research Institute, and Dr. Mohd. Yousuf, the Head, Forest Entomology Division for providing the necessary laboratory facilities. We are also thankful to Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education for funding the research work. First author is thankful to Dr. Mohd. Hayat, Department of Zoology, AMU, Aligarh for his comments and verifying the material during his visit to FRI, Dehradun. Thanks are also due to the two unknown reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions for improving the quality of the paper. Rainforest canopies are a treasure trove of biodiversity, adaptations and complex interactions (Mitchell 1986). Forest arthropods contribute majority of this species diversity which in turn is due to large number of insects in the canopy (Erwin 1982, 1983). Tropical rainforest insects are more abundant in the Abstract: A new species of the encyrtid genus Neastymachus (N. punctatiscutellum Singh, sp. nov.) is described from a female specimen collected from the Western Ghats of India. It was collected by fogging the canopy of Vateria indica L. (Dipterocarpaceae). A key to the females of the Afrotropical, Australian and Oriental species is also given.

canopy than near the forest floor (Erwin 1982;Smythe 1982;Erwin 1983;Sutton et al. 1983;Stork 1991).A number of insect diversity works have been done in the rainforests of South America and elsewhere in the world, but in India studies on canopy biodiversity are negligible.Srinivasa et al. (2004) has done some work on insect diversity in the canopies of two rainforest species Vateria indica L. and Dipterocarpus indicus Bedd.(Dipterocarpaceae) from linear tree increment plot that lay undisturbed since the 1920s.From this collection chalcids were also recovered, some of which were found new to science.Singh, in Singh & Srinivasa (2010) has already described a new species of Eutrichosomella Girault (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) collected during this study.In the present work a new species of the genus Neastymachus Girault (1915) (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Encyrtidae) is described.
A key to some species of this genus is also given.
Diagnosis: Head in frontal view wider than high; antennal scrobes shallow or moderately impressed with lateral margins rounded, not longer than half the distance between a torulus and median ocellus.Funicle 6-segmented; club 3-segmented, apex rounded.Mandibles tridentate or with two sharp teeth and a truncation.Wing hyaline, marginal vein at least two times as long as wide.Hypopygium not extending more than two-thirds length along gaster; ovipositor either not exserted or only slightly exserted.Body generally yellow, orange or brownish-yellow to dark brown; gaster darker than rest of the body.Antenna yellowish, with scape and club may be brown.Legs completely pale yellow.
Comments: The type species of Neastymachus and the Palaearctic and Costa Rican species have short notaular lines (=parapsidal furrows) on the mesoscutum (Dahms & Gordh 1997;Noyes 2010).The Indian species lack notaular lines on the mesoscutum.But a short curved darker line is present on either side of mesoscutum just behind the pronotum which is a narrow gap in the underlying muscles visible through translucent mesoscutum.However, reflections from sculptural patterns from this area show no sign of any groove or ridge.Similar pattern was also seen in the holotypes of N. axillaris and N. latiscapus.On the basis of setation on base of the fore wing, shape of gaster and location of the cercal plates and colour pattern of the pronotum, Hayat (1999) divided Indian species into two groups: the cerococci group with four species (angustifrons, burksi, cerococci and latiscapus) and the delhiensis group with two species (axillaris and delhiensis).Hayat did not elaborate on the colour of pronotum.It has been observed that all the species from India and Australia have a black spot or band on anterior face of pronotum and a corresponding dark band or spots on the occiput (same may be present on the African species but due to its darker colour these characters may not be distinguishable.All the species in cerococci group usually have a dark brown spot on the pronotum, whereas delhiensis group has a narrow dark brown band on the pronotum and also brown spots or band on the occiput of head behind eyes. The genus belongs to tribe Discodini (Hayat 2006;Noyes 2010).They are parasitoids of families Aclerdidae and Asterolecaniidae of Hemiptera (Noyes & Hayat 1984).

Species and distribution
Neastymachus is an old world genus with 14 described species (including the new one).The genus is represented by two undescribed species in the Nearctic region (Noyes et al. 1997).The region wise distribution of species is as follows: Afrotropical (1): Neastymachus dispar Prinsloo, 1996.

Etymology
Named after the distinct punctate reticulate sculpture of the scutellum.

Comments
This is a distinct species and can be separated from other known species by shape (flat and apically v-shaped), colour (dark brown with lateral narrow white stripes) and sculpture (prominently deep punctuate reticulate) of the scutellum; flattened scape and the asetose scutellum.(See key to species.) Singh, sp.nov.(Images 1-10) Material examined: Holotype: 26.vi.2003, female (on card, with both antennae, wings, fore and middle legs and left hind leg mounted on a slide under five cover slips), (12 0 04'39.2"N& 75 0 43'33.6"E) in the Western Ghats; ex.canopies of Vateria indica, located at an altitude of 128m; collected by canopy fogging, Makuta near Virajpet, Bannadapaare, Karnataka, India, coll.Y.B. Srinivasa.(NFIC-FRI, Dehradun.Accession No. 21906).Diagnosis: Female: Body pale yellow except scutellum and middle portion of scape brownish.Scutellum asetose, with distinct punctate reticulate sculpture and with conical distal margin, basal portion of fore wing naked.Description: Female, length 1.65 mm (holotype).Colour, setation and sculpture: Body completelypale yellow except central part of scutellum and middle portion of scape brownish.Head completely pale yellow with very faint and shallow reticulate sculpture, sculpture much distinct at ocellar region than around scrobes; setae translucent and very inconspicuous, along the inner margins of eye setae longer; eyes naked, light grey in colour, ocelli colourless; mandible with teeth reddish-brown; maxillary and labial palpi pale yellow.Antenna white, except scape with basal two-thirds of brown, ventral margin and apical third white; pedicel slightly pale yellow; funicle segments with translucent, fine and long setae.Mesosoma pale yellow except central area of scutellum brownish; collar of pronotum with about 20 moderately strong setae; mesoscutum pale yellow with faint and very shallow sculpture which is larger than that on head, with about 100 pale, inconspicuous and scattered setae; axillae pale yellow and smooth, with one or two setae; scutellum brown, except narrow pale yellow stripes on sides; brown area of scutellum with prominent punctate reticulate sculpture (Image 8), setae absent; lateral pale stripes of scutellum smooth.Wings hyaline, venation almost translucent; setae transparent and hardly visible even under higher magnification of compound microscope; basal portion of fore wing naked.All legs pale yellow, lighter than mesosoma.Metasoma pale yellow, lighter than mesosoma, with inconspicuous setae.