Trichacis magnifica Arias-Penna & Masner, new species

Trichacis magnifica Arias-Penna & Masner, new species

Figures 11 H; 12A–12E

Female. Body length: 2.60 mm (holotype); 2.80–3 mm (paratypes, n=2); mean length ± SD = 2.80 ± 0.20 mm.

Black; A1 yellow; A2–A3 brown; A5–A10 dark brown; mandible brown with base and apex dark brown; fore and mid legs yellow; hind leg brown; fore and mid coxae brown; hind coxa dark brown; fore wing infuscate.

Head, in dorsal view, 2.2 times as wide as long; EH <IOS; interocellar area finely coriaceous; OOL = LOL; antennal clava 5-segmented; A1 surpassing vertex dorsal margin; A2–A10 longer than wide; base of mandible smooth; frons above interantennal process and torulus with transverse striae, with apex Λ -like and reaching, but not surpassing, ventral border of torulus; clypeus exposed; clypeal margin truncate; gena striate; vertex laterally coriaceous and medially smooth; temple projection absent; hyperoccipital carina incomplete: in dorsal view, hyperoccipital carina fading before reaching level of imaginary line connecting eye inner margin to posterior cephalic margin; distance between posterior ocellus and hyperoccipital carina longer than posterior ocellus diameter.

Mesosoma slightly arched; antero-admedian line present; notaulus anteriorly incomplete; lateral notaular area with coriaceous sculpture along its anterior margin and inter-notaular area with 1/3 anterior coriaceous; posteromedial region of inter-notaular area convex; parapsidal line present; central pronotal area smooth; specialized area of mesoscutellum cone-like and markedly elevated; mesopleural carina incomplete (length of mesopleural carina/length of mesopleuron = 0.35); fore wing slightly surpassing apex of metasoma.

Metasoma moderately elongate; combined length of T3–T6 <T2; T1 slightly longer than wide; T2 longer than wide; T3–T6 wider than long; anteromedial area of T2 smooth and concave; T3–T6 deeply and densely punctured; T6 subtriangular.

Male. Body length: 2.40 mm (allotype).

Similar to female except the following: A1 yellow; A2–A10 brown; T3 posterior margin smooth and rest densely covered by shallow punctuation; T3–T7 densely covered by deep punctuation.

Etymology. The name of the species refers to the splendid specialized area of the mesoscutellum.

Diagnosis. Trichacis magnifica is the single species possessing the following combination of characters: OOL = LOL; specialized area of the mesoscutellum cone-like and markedly elevated; hyperoccipital carina incomplete and running until the external margin of posterior ocellus; distance between posterior ocellus and hyperoccipital carina longer than posterior ocellus diameter.

Material examined. Holotype: 1 Ƥ, MEXICO, 20 km W Xititla, 1600 m, June 12 1983, M. Kaulbars (CNCI); allotype: 1 3, Aguascalientes, Calvillo, 0.25 mi. S. hwy.70, July 26–August 8 2002, MT, M. Provance (CNCI); paratypes: 1 Ƥ, Michoacan, 10 mi. S. Uruapan, July 6 1985, SS, J.B. Wooley (CNCI); 1 Ƥ, with same data as holotype (ICN).

Holotype is deposited in CNCI.