Vol. 9(34), pp. 2590-2595, 21 August, 2014 DOI: 10.5897/AJAR2014.8734 Article Number: 3C709FB46744 African Journal of Agricultural ISSN 1991-637X Copyright © 2014 Research Author(s) retain the copyright of this article http://www.academicjournals.org/AJAR

Full Length Research Paper

Description of one new species of Haliday (: ) reared from the eggs and larvae of tortoise from India

S. Rawat*, M. A. Khan and M. Agnihotri

Department of Entomology, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar-262145, U.S. Nagar (Uttarakhand), India.

Received 3 April, 2014; Accepted 16 June, 2014

One new species of Tetrastichus Haliday (Tetrastichus burki sp. nov.) is illustrated and described from the eggs and larvae of tortoise beetle collected from Ipomoea sp. from Pantnagar Uttarakhand, India.

Key words: Tetrastichus, tortoise beetle, Ipomoea, new species.

INTRODUCTION

The Tetrastichus Haliday (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) and the fly Eucelatoriopsis Eulophidae) includes a large number of species of minute dimmocki (Diptera: Tachinidae) are known to attack chalcid-flies. These may be either primary parasites or golden tortoise beetle (Capinera, 2001). hyperparasites, and they attack a wide variety of hosts, In the present paper, the new species of Tetrastichus including such destructive pests as the Hessian fly and Haliday attacking the eggs and larvae of golden tortoise the cotton boll weevil and many kinds of thrips, aphids, beetle is described as Tetrastichus burki sp. nov. midges, leaf miners, scales, tent caterpillars, borers, roaches, , and -makers injurious to agriculture, horticulture, and forestry. They have been reared from MATERIALS AND METHODS the eggs, larvae, and pupae of other , as well as from many plant (Burks, 1943). The eggs and larvae of tortoise beetle were collected from the Ipomoea sp. from Pantnagar, district Udham singh nagar of Tortoise beetles form a morphologically distinctive sub- Uttarakhand, India. The length of whole specimen is given in family (Cassidinae) of the leaf eating beetles millimeters: all other measurements are relative and were taken (Chrysomelidae) (Heron, 1992). The eggs are attached directly from the divisions of a linear scale of a micrometer placed in singly to the underside of the leaves. Larvae are broad the eye piece of a compound microscope for slide mounted parts. and flattened and adorned with branched spines. Both Body colour of was noted before clearing and mounting the specimen on slide in balsam. The permanent slides were examined larvae and adults feed on foliage. The typical form of under Trinocular microscope in order to make drawings and injury is the creation of numerous small to medium sized. detailed study of each structure with the help of Camera Lucida. The wasp parasitoid Tetrastichus cassidus (Hymenoptera: The terminology given by Gibson (1997) and Graham (1987)

*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] Author(s) agree that this article remain permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License Rawat et al. 2591

is followed in this paper. ocellar-ocular distance; POL, post-ocellar Propodeum by a space less than of its own diameter, distance; SMV, submarginal vein; MV, marginal vein; PMV, Post spiracle rim not fully exposed. marginal vein; F1, F2,..., funicle segments 1, 2,...; C1-3, claval segments. Fore wings (Figure 1h): More than 2.2x times as long as wide (0.52:1.17), more than 1.2x longer than hind wing DIAGNOSIS length; costal cell long and broad; SMV with one long seta directed upwards and 5 small setae directed Description downwards, longer than MV (0.34:0.29); MV bearing 10 long strong setae on front edge; PMV rudimentary; Female MV(0.28) longer than SV (0.07); marginal fringe short; basal vein shortly present with 3 setae, basal cell bare; Body length about 1.71 mm; body colour predominantly speculum narrow, closed; cubital vein present, subcubital dark brown; head black with greenish metallic tinge and line of hairs starting from the base of cubital vein. eyes brown; antennae brown except scape yellow; thorax brown, reticulated with bluish green metallic tinge; wings Hind wings (Figure 1i): More than 5.6x times as long as hyaline with brown venation, basal cell of forewings wide (0.16:0.91) with acute apex; vein length more than broad; legs yellow: except; gaster petiolated, dark brown 1.7x of the length of wing; marginal fringe long. (Figure 1a to n). Forelegs (Figure 1l): Hairy, tibial spur short. Head (Figure 1c to d): More than 1.3x broader than long in frontal aspect(0.46:0.34), hairy; ocelli arranged in acute Mid legs (Figure 1m): Tibial spur small, shorter than angled triangle; POL slightly more than 1.8x times as basitarsi. long as OOL (0.11:0.06); antennal toruli inserted just above the lower level of eye margin; compound eyes Hind legs (Figure 1n): Tibial spur small, spur shorter large and smooth; malar sulcus prominent, straight; malar than basitarsi. space slightly longer than eye width (0.10:0.12), malar space is 1.66 length of eye; mandibles tridentate (Figure Gaster (Figure 1j): Elongate, petiolate, petiole broader 5) with characteristic falcate tooth acute teeth with than long, metasoma longer than mesosoma (0.97:0.57), outermost one being sickle shaped and inner two teeth; ovipositor sheath exserted, first valvifers semicircular; maxillary palp and labial palp each single segmented; anterior margin of basal part of second valvifers much lower margin of clypeus distinctly bilobed. curved; third valvulae distinctly present, outer plates of ovipositor slightly longer than second valvifers; cercal Antennae (Figure 1a): 8 segmented excluding 1 anellus; setae with one distinctly long. apical tip of antenna with spicule; antennal formula 11133; scape cylindrical about 5.2x as long as wide (0.04:0.21); pedicel as long as first funicle segment (0.07: Male 0.07); funicle three segmented, FSI 1.4x as long as wide (0.05:0.07), FS2 and FS3 are equal in length and wide Length 1.72 mm. Similar to female except as follows: about 1.6x as long as wide (0.06:0.07); club 3 Malar space 1.53 length of eye; Antenna hairy with long segmented, more than 3.1 times as long as wide setae on funicle segments and club segments; scape (0.06:0.19), larger than preceding two funicle segments cylindrical about 4x as long as wide (0.06:0.24), funicle 4 combined. segmented, pedicel slightly longer than first funicle segment (0.06:0.05), club more than 5.75 times as long Thorax (Figure 1g): Pronotum with distinctly raised as wide (0.04:0.23). Genitalia with digitus having hardly spiracles, anterior margin concave in the middle; curved spine (Figure 2). mesoscutum more than 1.6x as wide as long (0.16:0.27); mesoscutum bearing 3 pairs of setae, a single row of setae at each lateral margin, median longitudinal groove Type material present, notauli complete; axilla advanced; scutellum a little longer than mesoscutum, more than 1.4x times as Holotype 1 female and 1 male: Dissected and mounted wide as long (0.17:0.24) with submedian, sublateral on a slide, India, Uttarakhand., Pantnagar, 16-9-2013. longitudinal grooves and 2 pairs of setae; metanotum Hym. Eulo. Nr. SR11 (Sweta Rawat). broad with fine rugose carinae and about 2.4x of the length of propodium; propodeum with median carina and 40 females and 10 males Paratypes: India, with inverted Y shaped paraspiracular carinae, Uttarakhand, Pantnagar, 16-9-2013, reared from eggs Propodeum coarsely reticulated, propodeal spiracles and larvae of the golden tortoise beetle. Hym. Eulo. Nr. large and well separated from the anterior margin of SR11 (Sweta Rawat) (Figure 3 to 8). 2592 Afr. J. Agric. Res.

g

b

a f

c

k j d e

l h m n

i

Figure 1. Tetrastichus burki sp.nov. female. a, Antenna; b, Antennal part showing one anellus; c, head in dorsal view; d, head in frontal view; e, mandible; f, pronotum; g, mesosoma; h, fore wing; I, hind wing; j, metasoma; k, female genitalia; l, fore leg; m, mid leg; n, hind leg. Rawat et al. 2593

a

b

Figure 2. Tetrastichus burki sp.nov. male. a, Antenna; b, Male genitalia.

Figure 3. Parasitized egg case of tortoise beetle. Source: Photographs by Sweta Rawat G.B. Pant University of Agriculture Figure 4. Adult of tortoise beetle. Source: Photographs by Sweta and Technology, Pantnagar Rawat G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar

Etymology Conclusions

The species is named after Dr. B. D. Burks for his T. burki sp. nov. comes close to T. cassidus on the outstanding contribution on taxonomy of . following shared characters: Mesoscutum bearing a 2594 Afr. J. Agric. Res.

Figure 5. Larvae of tortoise beetle. Source: Photographs by Sweta Rawat G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar

Figure 6. of tortoise beetle. Source: Photographs by Sweta Figure 7. Damage symptoms of tortoise beetle adult. Source: Rawat G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Photographs by Sweta Rawat G.B. Pant University of Agriculture Pantnagar and Technology, Pantnagar

single row of setae at each lateral margin; surface of T. burki sp. nov. differs from T. cassidus as follows: POL propodium is reticulated, legs yellow and all funicle slightly more than 1.8x as long as OOL (T. cassidus with segments equal in length, larval of golden POL as long as OOL), antennal toruli situated just above tortoise beetle. the lower level of eye margin (T. cassidus with antennal Rawat et al. 2595

Capinera JL (2001). Handbook of vegetable pests. Academic press, San Diego. P. 729. Gibson GAP (1997). Chapter 2. Morphology and Terminology. In: Gibson, G.A.P., Huber, J.T. & Woolley, J.B. (Eds), Annotated Keys to the Genera of Nearctic Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera). National Research Council Research Press.Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 794 pp. Graham MWR de V (1987). A reclassification of the European Tetrastichinae (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), with a revision of certain genera. - Bull. Br. Mus. Nat. His. (Ent.) 55:1-392. Heron HDC (1992). Cycloalexy in two South African tortoise beetles (Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae). Chrysomela 27:3-4.

Figure 8. Larvae of tortoise beetle and damage symptoms of larvae of tortoise beetle. Source: Photographs by Sweta Rawat G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar

toruli situated at level of ventral margin of compound eyes), pedicl as long as first funicle segment (T. cassidus with pedicel slightly shorter than the first funicle segment), paraspicular carinae distinctly present (T. cassidus with paraspicular carinae vague or absent), propodeal spiracles are non-contigous with the anterior margin (T. cassidus with propodeal spiracles contiguous with anterior margin) and gaster elongate and longer than the thorax (T. cassidus with elongate gaster and slightly shorter than the thorax).

Conflict of Interests

The author(s) have not declared any conflict of interest

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We are thankful to Department of Entomology, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology and the National coordinator of Network Project on Biosystematics, Division of Entomology, IARI New Delhi for providing research facilities and financial assistance.

REFERENCES

Burks BD (1943). The North American parasitic wasps of the genus Tetrastichus, contribution to biological control of insects. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 93:505-608.