Sericopimpla sericata

Sericopimpla sericata (Kriechbaumer, 1895) Figs 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 Pimpla (Sericopimpla) sericata Kriechbaumer, 1895: 135. Holotype female, Mozambique (lost) Pimpla areolaris Szépligeti, 1908: 81. Lectotype female (designated by Townes and Townes 1973), Tanzania (NHRS) Exeristes areolaris occidentalis Roman, 1910: 161. Lectotype female (designated by Townes and Townes 1973), Democratic Rep. of Congo (NHRS) Philopsyche abdominalis Morley, 1916: 388. Lectotype female (designated by Townes and Townes 1973), South Africa (SAMC) Diagnosis. This species can be distinguished from all other species of the genus by the combination of the following characteristics: scape and pedicel ventrally black; mesoscutum, other than margins, aciculate and with coarse punctures separated by less than their own diameter; propodeum coarsely punctate (except for mostly smooth metapleuron); ovipositor projecting beyond apex of metasoma by about 1.6–1.7 × length of hind tibia; hind leg blackish; metasoma reddish in female and orange in male, occasionally with basal tergites black-marked. Material examined. Type material: • lectotype Philopsyche abdominalis Morley, 1916 (designated by Townes and Townes 1973), female, Type CM [in small white circle bordered by red], [South Africa, Eastern Cape Province], Kentani, C. C. [= Cape Colony], [-32.505, 28.314], Miss Pegler 1909, Bred from Psychid moth, Chaliodes junodi [= Kotochalia junodi] (SAMC). • Philopsyche abdominalis, Morl. co-type male, sp. nov., TYPE female, Morley 1915, IMAGED WaspWeb LAS 4.9 SAMC 2025, SAM-HYM-P 000049 a (SAMC); paralectotype, 1 male, ditto except for co-type CM [in small white circle bordered by yellow], SAM-HYM-P 000049 b (SAMC). Non-type material. • 1 female, [South Africa, Kwazulu-Natal Province], Clan Syndicate, Natal, VI- 25-14 [= 25 June 1914], C. B. Hardenberg, W. 699, Sericopimpla abdominalis Morl., Tow. 1970, SAM-HYM-P 000050 (SAMC). • 1 male, [South Africa, Eastern Cape Province], Burghersdorp [-30.992 26.325], C. P., SA Museum, Mus. Staff, Nov 1939, Charitopimpla sericata Kriechb., P. L. G. Benoit det., 1955, SAM-HYM-P 000051 (SAMC). • 1 female, [South Africa, Kwazulu-Natal Province], Mfongosi [-28.712, 30.831], Zulul., W. E. Jones, Feb. 1917, SAM-HYM-P 000052 (SAMC). • 2 females, ditto except for Mch. 1917, SAM-HYM-P 000053 (SAMC). • 1 female, [South Africa, Kwazulu-Natal Province], M’fongosi, Zululand, W. E. Jones, Apr. – Nov. 1934, Charitopimpla sericata Kriechb., P. L. G. Benoit det., 1955, SAM-HYM-P 000054 (SAMC). • 2 females. Uganda, Kibale National Park, Kanyawara; Tapani Hopkins leg; malaise traps; ZMUT: http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.19931, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.13804. Distribution. Democratic Republic of Congo (Roman 1910; Benoit 1953), Kenya (Townes and Townes 1973), Madagascar (Townes and Townes 1973), Mozambique (Kriechbaumer 1895), Rwanda (Benoit 1955), South Africa (Morley 1916; Benoit 1956), Tanzania (Szépligeti 1908; Townes and Townes 1973), Uganda (new record). Biological notes. Idiobiont ectoparasitoid of Kotochalia junodi (Heylaerts, 1890) larvae (Smithers 1956). Variation. The two Ugandan specimens have black-marked basal metasomal tergites, similar to S. kibalensis sp. nov., whereas the holotype only has the apico-lateral corners of tergite 2–4 black. One Ugandan specimen has, like the holotype, an entirely white tegula and at most weakly brownish postero-lateral fore and mid femurs (Figs 12, 14: http://mus.utu.fi/ ZMUT.19931). The other Ugandan specimen has a mostly black tegula and clearly blackish postero-lateral fore and mid femurs (Figs 11, 13: http://mus.utu.fi/ ZMUT.13804), resembling the pattern of S. kibalensis sp. nov. Overall, the five South African females match the lectotype in colouration, but four of them have some of the tergites darker (in one specimen the apical three tergites are darker, in the other three the darkening is present on the first or second tergite); the single male matches the paratype in colouration.