Holotype, female (Fig. 1). Body length (without the ovipositor) about 22.0 mm; ovipositor length about 24.0 mm; fore wing length about 17.0 mm. Body covered with short white pubescence.

Figure 1.  

Dolichomitus meii sp. nov. (holotype, female). Habitus in lateral view. Scale bar: 5.00 mm.

Head. Face about 0.7 times as high as wide, smooth and shiny, with small and setiferous punctures, distance between punctures greater than their diameter; compound eye slightly convergent ventrally (Fig. 2a). Frons smooth and shiny, impunctate; vertex and gena smooth and shiny, with small and setiferous punctures, distance between punctures greater than their diameter; in lateral view, gena about 0.4× as long as transverse diameter of compound eye; in dorsal view, temple linearly narrowed behind eye, about 0.60× as long as eye; distance between posterior ocellus and eye about 1.30× as long as its maximum diameter; interocellar distance about 0.90× the maximum diameter of posterior ocellus (Fig. 2b). Clypeus separated from face by a groove, smooth and impunctate, except for just a few isolated setiferous punctures along its anterior margin; clypeus about 3.50× as broad as medially high; posterior margin of clypeus impressed and bilobed, deeply excised in the middle. Malar space about 0.70× as long as basal width of mandible. Mandible with coriaceous microsculpture at the base and with setiferous punctures, smooth near teeth; mandible teeth equal. Occipital carina complete, slightly dipped dorsally, joining hypostomal carina clearly before mandible base. Antenna with 38 flagellomeres, first flagellomere about 3.60× as long as distally wide and about 1.50× as long as the second flagellomere.

a

b

c

d

e

f

Figure 2.

Dolichomitus meii sp. nov. (holotype, female). Scale bars: 0.50 mm (A, B, C and F); 1.00 mm (D and E).

a: Head in frontal view  
b: Head in dorsal view  
c: Mesosoma in lateral view  
d: Wings  
e: Propodeum and metasomal tergites I–III in dorsal view  
f: Apex of ovipositor in lateral view  

Mesosoma. Pronotum smooth and shiny, impunctate; epomia small (Fig. 2c). Mesoscutum smooth and shiny, with small setiferous punctures, distance between punctures greater than their diameter; notauli deeply impressed at anterior 0.33 of mesoscutum, dividing it into three distinct lobes; scutellum and postscutellum smooth and shiny, with small setiferous punctures, scutellum without lateral carinae. Mesopleuron smooth and shiny, upper anterior half with small and shallow punctures, distance between punctures greater than their diameter, upper posterior half impunctate; lower half of mesopleuron with small and shallow punctures, punctures scattered, distance between them more than three times their diameter; epicnemial carina present, but very thin, not reaching the anterior margin of mesopleuron; posterior transverse carina of mesosternum absent. Metapleuron smooth and shiny, with scattered small and shallow punctures on upper half, almost impunctate on lower half; submetapleural carina complete, reaching 0.75× metapleuron length, not produced into an evident lobe anteriorly, its anterior end curved up and reaching 0.2× metapleuron height. Propodeum smooth and shiny, in dorsal view about 1.10× as long as medially wide, with small and shallow punctures on basal 0.25, apical 0.75 impunctate; propodeal spiracle elongated; propodeal carinae absent, except for pleural carina thin. Fore wing with areolet trapezoidal, vein 2rs-m about 1.10× as long as 3rs-m, cu-a opposite M&Rs (Fig. 2d); length of CU between 1m-cu&M and 2cu-a about 2.60× as long as 2cu-a. Hind wing with distal abscissa of CU present; length of proximal abscissa of CU about 0.30× as long as cu-a, proximal abscissa of CU vertical, cu-a reclivous and straight. Hind coxa smooth and polished, almost impunctate dorsally and with few small, scattered and setiferous punctures ventrally; hind femur about 5.20× as long as its maximum width.

Metasoma. Metasoma smooth and shiny, impunctate, only last tergites with barely discernible setiferous punctures (Fig. 2e). Tergite I about 2.20× as long as posteriorly wide, dorsolateral carina absent, but replaced by an angulation that runs from anterior to posterior margin, median longitudinal carina distinct on anterior 0.2; in lateral view, tergite I with anterior 0.33 reclivous, posterior 0.66 straight, spiracle near its anterior 0.4; tergite II about 1.60× as long as posteriorly wide, with strong oblique grooves running from anterior margin to half the tergite, that outline a clearly raised median area; tergite III about 1.10× as long as posteriorly wide, with less defined oblique grooves and a slightly raised median area; tergite IV with small tubercles laterally, near the anterior margin. Ovipositor sheath about 1.10× as long as body and 4.70× as long as hind tibia; ovipositor downcurved posteriorly, ovipositor tip with subapical dorsal lobe of lower valves not delimited posteriorly, but gradually developing into the apical teeth, dorsal lobe with an anterior groove reclivous, followed by three ridges, the first two almost vertical and the third inclivous (Fig. 2f).

Colour. Head, including clypeus and mandible, black, with blue reflections; palps brownish-black with last segment yellowish-brown at the proximal 0.75; antenna, scapus and pedicel black. Mesosoma, including scutellum, postscutellum, tegula and propodeum black with blue reflections. Fore wing yellowish with a distal darkened area that covers the fourth submarginal cell almost entirely; hind wing yellowish; veins and pterostigma orange. All coxae, trochanters and trochantelli black with bluish reflections, inner distal margin of all trochantelli yellowish-brown; fore femur black with bluish reflections, with a yellow line on outer surface running from proximal 0.75 to the apex; mid-femur black with blue reflections, with a yellow spot on outer side at apex; fore and mid-tibiae yellow, fore and mid-tarsi with segments yellow to gradually darker distally, last segment brown; hind femur entirely black with blue reflections, hind tibia and tarsus dull black. Metasoma with tergites I–V orange, tergite II orange with two small black spots on posterior margin just near hind corners, tergites VI+ bluish-black. Ovipositor sheath black.

Dolichomitus meii sp. nov. can be distinguished from the other Neotropical species of the genus by the combination of the following characteristics: 1) body length ca. 22.0 mm, 2) bluish-black head, mesosoma and metasomal tip, with orange metasomal tergites I–V, 3) wings yellowish with distal darkened area, 4) ovipositor sheath length ca. 4.70× as long as hind tibia and 5) ovipositor tip strongly decurved, with subapical dorsal lobe of lower valves not delimited posteriorly, but gradually developing into the apical teeth, dorsal lobe with an anterior groove reclivous, followed by three ridges, the first two almost vertical and the third inclivous.

The specific epithet is in honour of Maurizio Mei, a great entomologist and dear friend of FDG.

Ecuador

Host unknown. Both type specimens have been collected approximately at the same altitude (2000 m a.s.l.).

Dolichomitus meii sp. nov. resembles D. orejuelai Araujo & Pádua, 2020 in colour pattern, with body partly dark and metasomal tergites I-V predominantly orange, but it differs from the latter in having mesosoma entirely black with blue reflections (mesosoma mostly reddish-black with red marks in D. orejuelai), metasomal tergite I and III–V entirely orange and metasomal tergite II orange with two small black spots on posterior margin just near hind corners (metasomal tergites yellowish-brown with posterior margins of tergites II–V reddish-black in D. orejuelai) and wings yellowish-orange with distal darkened area (wings yellowish, but without distal darkened area in D. orejuelai). In case of the wing colouration, D. meii sp. nov. keys out with D. pimmi Araujo & Pádua, 2020 in the updated key to the South American species of the genus, but it can be distinguished from the latter in having mesosoma entirely black with blue reflections and metasomal tergites I–V orange (mesosoma and metasoma yellow with black marks in D. pimmi).

Unknown.