TAXONOMIC STUDIES ON A COLLECTION OF PTEROMALIDAE ( HYMENOPTERA : CHALCIDOIDEA ) FROM PATNAAND NEARBY DISTRICTS OF BIHAR WITH THE DESCRIPTION OF TWO NEW SPECIES

Pteromalidae is one of the largest and taxonomically difficult families of Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera Parasitica) members of which are distributed in all biogeographical regions of the world. Majority of Pteromalidae are primary or secondary parasitoids attacking a large range of insect orders in their various stages of development, thereby playing a vital role in the control of insect pests in nature. Many species of Pteromalidae were employed successfully in biological control programmes all over the world hence they also form a rewarding group of insects for various aspects of scientific studies like systematics, Biology, Ethology, ecology etc.


INTRODUCTION
Pteromalidae is one of the largest and taxonomically difficult families of Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera Parasitica) members of which are distributed in all biogeographical regions of the world.Majority of Pteromalidae are primary or secondary parasitoids attacking a large range of insect orders in their various stages of development, thereby playing a vital role in the control of insect pests in nature.Many species of Pteromalidae were employed successfully in biological control programmes all over the world hence they also form a rewarding group of insects for various aspects of scientific studies like systematics, Biology, Ethology, ecology etc.
The family Pteromalidae contains over 3500 described species under 588 genera world wide (Noyes, 2003).When compared to the other parts of the world, the knowledge on the Pteromalid fauna of Indian subcontinent is still far from satisfactory.Boucek et 01.(1979) provided a more complete picture of the Pteromalid fauna of Indian subcontinent which was supplemented by works of Farooqi & Subba Rao (1985,  1986), Sureshan (2003Sureshan ( , 2007)),and Sureshan & Narendran   (2003,2004).Currently 224 species of Pteromalidae under 101 genera and 18 subfamilies are reported from the Indian subcontinent, out of which Indian fauna is represented by 196 species under 91 genera and 18 subfamilies.When compared to the other parts of the country only fragmentary information is available on the Pteromalid fauna of the state of Bihar. 10 species of Pteromalidae belonging to 10 genera and 5 subfamilies are reported from the state of Bihar (including the present state of lharkhand).
The present paper is based on the study of collection of Pteromalidae made from some southern districts of Bihar near to Patna viz.Vaishali, Patna, Muzaffarpur, Gaya, Nalanda, Samasthipur, Chapra, Saran, Bhojpur and lahanabad.Collections were made from the field employing an insect net specially made for the purpose and an aspirator.Specimens were also collected by rearing the suspected hosts (immature stages such as pupae, larvae, egg, etc.) in the laboratory.The specimens were properly preserved following standard procedures.The preserved specimens were identified following recent literature on Pteromalidae (Boucek, 1988, Boucek & Rasplus, 1991,  Gibson et 01., 1993, Sureshan, 2003, Sureshan &   Narendran, 2004 and Graham, 1969).The morphological terminology and the classification of the family given by Boucek 1988 is followed here.Altogether 34 species of Pteromalidae belonging to 25 genera and 7 subfamilies are reported here from Bihar which includes the species already known from the state.Two new species are described based on the present collections.
The collections are deposited in Zoological Survey of India, Gangetic Plains Regional Centre, Patna, Bihar.
Following abbreviations are used in the text: ANIC-Australian National Insect collection, Canberra, Australia; BMNH-The Natural History Museum, London, UK; F, Female, FI-F6-Funicular segments 1 to greenish with metallic reflection.Coxae concolorous with thorax, femora brown except distal part and remainder of legs testaceous.Anterior margin of clypeus shallowly emarginate.Antennae with 3 anelli and 5 funicular segments, third anellus largest.Propodeum with short but distinct nucha, median carina indicated only anteriorly; plicae indicated only by the anterior plical foveae.Gaster with Tl subangularly produced, Tl-T3 covering most of gaster.
Remarks : First record of the species from Bihar subsequent to the original description.
Diagnostic characters: Female: Length 2.1-3.3 mm.Dark metallic blue; coxae concolorous with thorax, femora and rest of legs brown, hind femora blackish; anterior margin of clypeus with two small teeth; antennae with third anellus not longer than second, pedicel as long as Fl; propodeum with nucha long; forewing with PMV as long as MV; gaster short, non collapsing, O.7x as long as head plus thorax combined.

Dinarmus colemani (Crawford)
Holotype : Female: Length 3.1 mm.Color black without metallic reflection, gaster slightly brownish ventrally with metallic reflection.Scape, pedicel and anelli pinkish brown, rest of atenna brownish black; ocelli brownish black; eye dark coffee brown.All coxae and femora concolorous with thorax, tibiae and tarsi pale yellowish white with base of tibia slightly darker, tips of tarsi black.Tegulae black, wings hyaline, veins pale brown.Hairs on the body silvery white.
Head: (Fig. 1) 1.2x as broad as mesoscutum, 2.4x as broad as long (in dorsal view); POL 1.6x OOL; temple length 0.5 eye length.Head uniformly and minutely reticulate, reticulation sharp.In front view head width 1.3x height; eyes separated 1.3x their length, eye length l.4x width (in profile); gena minutely but distinctly reticulate, malar groove faintly indicated.Scrobe moderately deep.Anterior margin of clypeus deeply incised, clypeus radiately striated, striae extending little to the genal area, face with distinct white hairs, moderately dense.Antennae (Fig. 2) inserted slightly below middle of face, scape exceeding median ocellus, little more than the ocellar diameter.Scape length 0.8x eye length, pedicel plus flagellum slightly longer than width of head; pedicel length 2.4x width, anelli three, Gaster (Fig. 4) sessile, spindle shaped, in dorsal view 1.8x as long as broad, as long as head plus thorax combined; posterior margins of T1 and T2 slightly curved, other tergites straight, hypopygium reaching middle of T 4; tergites covered with white hairs on the sides.
Holotype : Female : India: Bihar, Vaishali district, Hajipur, 15.x.2009, colI. P.M.Sureshan, (Reg. No. A.1338) Remarks : This species differs from the only described species Ischyroptyx ligusticus (Masi) in having forewing with long MV which is 1.7x STY and 5x as long as the basal width; antennae inserted slightly below middle of face and general body colour.(in ligusticus MV short only lAx as long as STY and 3.8x as long as basal width.Antennae inserted slightly above middle of face and general body colour different.Diagnostic characters : Body bluish black, coxae concolorous with thorax, rest of legs yellowish brown.Clypeus narrowly emarginate.Head finely reticulate, densely pubescent.Malar space about two thirds the height of eye.Apical margin of forewing without cilia.
Remarks : A widely distributed parasite of beetles associated with stored grain.Head: (Fig. 6) finely engraved reticulate, little coarser on face above lower margin of eyes and vertex.Pubescence sparse and small.Anterior margin of clypeus sharply angulate, almost finely reticulate except for the short striae not extending out.In dorsal view head 1.2x as broad as thorax and 2.24 x as broad as long; POL slightly longer than OOL.In front view head width 1.2x height.Eye length 1.5x width; malar space OAx eye length (in profile).Antennae (Fig. 5) with scape 0.7x eye length, just short of reaching median ocellus, pedicellus plus flagellum 0.8x head width, club lAx as long as two preceding segments combined, funicular segments gradually broadening towards tip, pedicel slightly longer than F1, all funicular segments almost equal in length, each with one row of long sensillae, anelli transverse, third little thicker than others.Head   Material examined: 2 F, Gaya dist., Chakand, 100 km south of Patna, 6.ii.2008, 2 F, Patna, dist., Fathua, 9.i.2008, (Reg. No. 1320)  Distribution: India: Kerala, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Delhi.

O.25mm
Remarks : Originally described from the material collected from Pusa , Bihar with Dactylopius sp. on cotton (Boucek et al., 1979) Diagnostic characters : Length: 1.5-2 mm.Body shiny black, slender; Legs black; antennae with all funicular segments transverse, F1 shorter than pedicel; gaster oval, shorter than mesosoma, petiole length nearly 3 x width, hind margin of T1 with middle portion truncate or virtually so.

Uniclypea kumarani
Remarks: Parasitoids of various coccids.Reported earlier from Sabour, Bihar (Boucek et al., 1979).Diagnostic characters: Length 1.9 mm.Head and thorax honey brown, antennae brown except scape pale yellow, remainder yellowish brown, Fore coxae yellowish white, femora yellowish brown, mid legs yellowish brown, hind legs pale whitish yellow, gaster honey brown with base and sub apical part paler.Forewing hyaline with three brown infuscations, setae on head and thorax black.Remarks: Parasitoid of leaf mining dipterous larvae, uncommon species reported for the first time from Bihar.

DISCUSSION
The present paper deals with the record of 34 species of Pteromalidae belonging to 25 genera under 7 subfamilies from P atna and near by districts of South Bihar.Two species viz.Ischyroptyx biharensis sp.nov and Merismomorpha intermedia sp.nov.are described new to science.Some of the remaining species are reported for the first time from the state of Bihar.The genus Ischyroptyx Delucchi is a monotypic genus known for the speices 1. ligusticus Masi, 1956 described from Italy.Boucek et al. (1979)
Fig. 7) length 2x width; marginal fringe small, discal pubescence sparse, less distinct, few long hairs just below the marginal vein.Costal cell with one row of hairs in the middle, basal half of forewing almost bare, PMV O.5x as long as MV.Relative lengths of SMV 20, MV 14, PMV 7, STY 4. Gaster (Fig. 8) Petiole shorter than hind coxae, with a longer extension of first gasteral sternite.in dorsal view 2.5x as long as wide.Gaster (including petiole) 0.9x as long as head plus thorax combined in profile.Hind margin of T1 and T2 incised in the middle, hind margin of T3 emarginate, exposed part of T4 2x T3 dorsally.Ovipositor exerted out.Male: Unknown.Holotype : Female : India : Bihar, Chapra district, Sonepur (Scrub jungle), l1.vii.2009,colI.P.M. Sureshan ( Reg.No. A. 1323).Remarks : In having distinctly angulate clypeus, similar forewing venation, short gastral petiole with longer extension of gastral sternite, distinctly convex lower face, and posterior margins of T1 and T2 incised in the middle this species resembles M.minuta Sureshan but differs from it in having gaster with exposed part of T3 equal to T4 (in profile), and 0.5x T4 medially and propodeum with median carina distinct.(in minuta gaster with exposed part of T3 medially 2 .. 6x T4 and distinctly longer than T 4 (in profile), propodeum with median carina not indicated.This species resembles M.elongate Sureshan in the nature of propodeum, angulate clypeus but differs in having shorter petiole, different gaster and forewing venation.In the nature of forewing venation and gaster it also resembles M.
reported Ischyroptyx from the Indian subcontinent mentioning the occurrence of an undescribed speices from Delhi and Bihar.The description of a new species of Iscyroptyx viz. 1. biharensis sp.nov.from Bihar is interesting since it represents the second described species and the extension of the distribution of the genus in the Oriental region.The genus Merismomorpha Girault is distributed in the Australian region and India and four species are known from India.A new species of Merismomorpha viz.M.intermedia sp.nov,is described here from Bihar.According to Mani, 1974 the fauna of the Gangetic plains (which includes the present study area) is largely a spill over that of the Peninsula.The eastern parts of the plains are largely dominated by the derivatives from the South Chinese, Indo-Chinese and Malayan region and in the West Mediterranean and Ethiopian elements are dominated.Autochthonous or endemic elements are very poorly represented in the region.The genera Uniclypea Boucek and Oniticellobia Boucek are Ethiopian elements.Two species of Uniclypea and one species of Oniticellobia are are known from the Indian subcontinent.The occurrence of these genera and their species in the Gangetic plains is interesting.Ischyroptyz Delucchi is a Mediterranean element and is reported diversity of Parasitic Hymenoptera is comparatively less in the agro ecosystems of P atna and near by districts which is revealed by the limited number of specimens in the collection.Excessive use of chemical pesticides and intense agricultural practices are very common in the area and the same may be the reason of the occurrence of less populations of parasitic hymenoptera in the agroecosystems.Though the present paper deals with a collection of Pteromalidae from a small part of Bihar, it throws some light on the distributional patterns of fauna in the Gangetic plains.Further serious attempts of field exploration and collection of Pteromalidae and other Paratisic hymenoptera from the Gangetic plains will provide more information on their distribution, endemism, intra-specific variations, biocontrol potential etc.

truncata
Sureshan but truncata has a truncate clypeus, longer petiole and hind margin of T1 and T2 not incised in the middle.M. yousufi Ahmad & Agarwal differs from this species in having POL 1.6x OOL, eye length 2 x width, mesoscutum with notauli not complete, pronotum anteriorly carinate, propodeum with plicae and median carina not distinct, gaster longer than head plus thorax combined and clypeus with striae radiating out side.