Grotea santandereana sp. n.

(Figs 5–8)

Material examined. Holotype: female, COLOMBIA: Santander: Mun. Gambita, Vereda Cuevas: 5°56´44´´N 73°20´39´´ W, 2400 m., 28-VI-1994, leg. Juan Manuel Vargas (ICN).

Paratype: female, COLOMBIA: Norte de Santander: Pamplona, Universidad de Pamplona, Campo Experimental CISBEV: 7°23´21´´N 72°39´0´´ W, 2.347 m., 31-X-2017, Jama, leg. Marcela Patricia Sierra-Bello (Colección de Entomología de la Universidad de Pamplona, Código 7502).

Diagnosis. Head in dorsal view with gena flat behind eyes, postgenal process present, laterally indistinct, ventroposteriorly evident, apex spatulate; antenna with 32 flagellomeres. Propodeum with anterior transverse carina indented centrally, thus not forming a smooth arc from side to side; area spiracularis enclosed (lateral longitudinal carina present and complete); area lateralis enclosed (pleural carina present).

Description. Female. Fore wing 11.5 mm long. Head. In dorsal view with gena behind eyes flat, not concave; posterior ocellus separated from eye by 1.1 × its own maximum diameter; postgenal process laterally indistinct, ventroposteriorly present (i.e. horizontally oriented to inside of the oral cavity) apex of lobe spatulate; antenna with 32 flagellomeres.

Mesosoma. Mesoscutum smooth with isolated inconspicuous punctures, scutellum in profile convex; hind wing with 1A not reaching the margin as a pigmented vein; propodeum about 1.6 × as long as broad; anterior transverse carina indented centrally, not forming a smooth arc from side to side; pleural carina present; posterior transverse carina, centrally absent; lateral longitudinal carina complete; area spiracularis enclosed, area lateralis fully enclosed, elongately rectangular, about 3.0 × as long as broad.

Metasoma. Tergite I slender, slightly shorter than mesosoma from pronotal collar to posterior margin of pronotum; ovipositor, at rest, extending beyond the apex of metasoma by 2.4 × the length of the hind tibia.

Coloration. A mostly reddish species. Head: antenna, mandible, frons, vertex, interocellar area, gena and occiput black; maxillary palp, labrum, most of the clypeus, most of the face yellow. Mesosoma: pronotum mostly reddish, with longitudinal yellow stripes; propleuron black; mesopleuron mostly reddish with a dorsal longitudinal yellow stripe; mesosternum mostly reddish with two longitudinal yellow stripes; metapleuron mostly reddish; mesoscutum mostly reddish, scutellum laterally yellow, centrally reddish, posteriorly black; postscutellum yellow; metanotum anteriorly yellow; propodeum: area basalis, externa, superomedia and dentipara black, area lateralis reddish, area petiolaris, postero-externa and most of the area spiracularis yellow. Fore legs: coxa, trochanter and trochantellus yellow; femur with outer and inner sides yellow, the rest black, tibia mostly yellow, tibial spur reddish, tarsi yellowish. Mid legs: coxa, trochanter, trochantellus, most of the femur,, most of the tibia, tibial spurs and most of the tarsi yellow. Hind legs mostly black. Wings hyaline (Fig. 7). Metasoma mostly reddish: tergite I and II with laterotergites and posterior margin yellow, middle area black, tergites III, IV and V with laterotergites yellow, posterior margin yellow, middle part reddish, remaining tergites reddish; ovipositor sheaths black.

Remarks. Both Grotea santandereana sp. n. and G. villosissima Herrera-Flórez 2014 have been found in high altitudes. However, G. santandereana occurs around 2.400 m and G. villosissima above 3.400 m. Besides this altitudinal difference, the color pattern between the two species is clearly different (predominantly reddish in G. santandereana, predominantly black in G. villosissima). They also differ in the number of flagellomeres: 32 in G. santandereana sp. n. and 35 in G. villosissima and in fore wing length: 11.5 mm in G. santandereana sp. n. and 7.4 mm in G. villosissima. Recently two females of G. villosissima were identified from Ecuador (Filippo Di Giovanni, personal communication); the specimens conserve the same general color pattern of the female Holotype.

Etymology. The name refers to the type locality: Santander Department of Colombia.