A new species of Triclistus Förster ( Hymenoptera , Ichneumonidae , Metopiinae ) parasitizing cone-borers from the Eastern Palaearctic part of China

A new species, Triclistus strobilius sp. n., belonging to the subfamily Metopiinae (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae), reared from Dioryctria pryeri Ragonot, D. rubella Hampson and Gravitarmata margarotana (Hein) in Liaoning, Hunan provinces and Beijing, is reported and described. Illustrations of the new species are provided.

In the study of parasitoids that attack tree borers in three forest areas of China, a new species of Triclistus has been found.The aim of this contribution is to describe and illustrate this species and provide biological data on its habitat and hosts.

Materials and methods
In the last five years the authors have been researching the parasitoids of borers of tree branches and cones in Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Hebei, Henan, Shanxi and Qinghai provinces, situated in the Eastern Palaearctic part of China and in Hunan and Jiangxi Provinces, situated in the northern border of the Oriental part of China.
To rear parasitoids, cones and twigs of naturally heavily infested trees of Pinus armandi Franch, P. massoniana Lamb., P. sylvestris L. var.mongolica Litv., and P. tabulaeformis Carr.were brought to the laboratory and maintained in large nylon cages at room-temperature.Water was sprayed over the cones and twigs twice a week and emerged insects collected daily.
The hosts were identified by Professor Hou-Hun Li, Nankai University, Tianjing, China.
Images of whole bodies were taken using a CANON Power Shot A650 IS.Other images were taken using a Cool SNAP 3CCD attached to a Zeiss Discovery V8 Stereomicroscope and captured with QCapture Pro version 5.1.
The morphological terminology is mostly that of Gauld (1991).Wing vein nomenclature is based on Ross (1936).
Description.Female.Body length 8.5-9.5 mm.Fore wing length 6.0-7.0 mm.Head.Face (Figure 2) evenly, strongly convex, with large, dense punctures; upper median part with reddish brown hairs.Dorso-posterior part of upper-median projection with shallow median concavity.Clypeal suture absent.Median part of mandible convex, with distinct dense punctures, lower tooth very short and small; upper tooth long and sharp, approximately 3.0-3.5 times as long as lower tooth.Cheek with indistinct punctures.Malar space 0.5-0.6 times as long as basal width of mandible.Gena strongly and straightly convergent backwards, with dense punctures, distance between punctures 0.5-1.0 times diameter of puncture.Postocellar line 2.0-2.1 times as long as ocular-ocellar line.Frons (Figure 3) with dense punctures; lower part strongly concave; dorso-posterior part of projection between antennal sockets with shallow median concavity.Antenna with 31-32 flagellomeres; first flagellomere approximately 1.5 times as long as second flagellomere.Occipital carina complete and strong.
Metasoma.First tergite with even punctures between median dorsal and dorsolateral carinae, smooth and shiny between median dorsal carinae; slightly longer than apical width, weakly convergent towards sub-base, combined points of median dorsal and dorsolateral carinae projecting as lower horns, abruptly narrowed towards base
specimens and hosts are deposited in the Insect Museum, General Station of Forest Pest Management, State Forestry Administration, P. R. China.ner.Fore wing 1cu-a distal of 1/M by 0.2-0.7 its length.Areolet usually present.Hind wing 1-cu longer than cu-a.Pterostigma broad.Epicnemial carina strong, upper end reaching anterior end of subalar prominence.Metapleuron smooth, polished.Front and mid femora rather thick.Mid tibia with two spurs.Fifth tarsomere of female with or without a ventral, subapical projection.Tarsal claw simple.Propodeal spiracle subcircular to elliptic.Metasoma short, robust.First tergite usually broad basally, its spiracle approximately at basal 0.25, its sternite reaching approximately to 0.2 length of tergum.Subgenital plate of female with or without apical-median notch.Ovipositor not projecting beyond tip of metasoma.Host.