Six new species of Platygastrinae from the British Isles (Hymenoptera, Platygastridae) Author Buhl, Peter Neerup text Journal of Natural History 2009 2009-03-31 43 11 - 12 687 699 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00222930802610493 journal article 10.1080/00222930802610493 1464-5262 5216042 Platygaster nixoni sp. nov. ( Figure 2 ) Diagnosis Occiput weakly striate, postero-medially longitudinally so; female A9 very slightly longer than wide; notauli weak, missing anteriorly; female metasoma short, T2 striated to 0.5, hairs on T4–T5 inserted in rather deep punctures; legs including coxae and basal half of antennae pale. Description Female . Length 1.3 mm . Black; A1–A5 and legs including coxae yellowish brown; A6–A10, mandibles, tegulae and last segment of tarsi dark brown. Head from above ( Figure 2A ) 1.9 times as wide as long, almost 1.2 times as wide as mesosoma; occiput postero-medially more or less longitudinally striated, in anterior half weakly transversely striated, laterally finely reticulate-coriaceous; vertex finely reticulate-coriaceous (not transversely so); frons with very fine reticulate-coriaceous sculpture, fan-like arranged at sides of smoother medial longitudinal line. OOL:LOL54:3. Head in frontal view 1.3 times as wide as high. Antenna ( Figure 2B ) with A1 0.85 times as long as height of head, as long as distance between inner orbits; A9 1.1 times as long as wide. Mesosoma 1.5 times as long as wide, 1.1 times as high as wide. Sides of pronotum moderately reticulate-coriaceous (not longitudinally so), only a rather narrow hind margin smooth. Mesoscutum sparsely hairy, weakly reticulatecoriaceous, medial zone smooth anteriorly and posteriorly; most of lateral lobes smooth; notauli weak, missing in about anterior 0.2; mid lobe slightly, bluntly prolonged to base of scutellar disc; scuto-scutellar grooves distinct, with rather dense (each with about 10) long hairs. Mesopleuron smooth. Scutellum ( Figure 2C ) evenly convex, smooth, bare medially, along sides with numerous hairs. Metapleuron with pilosity all over. Propodeal carinae parallel; area between them smooth and shiny, very slightly transverse. Figures 2. P. nixoni sp. nov. , female. (A) head, dorsal; (B) antenna; (C) scutellum and propodeum, lateral; (D) metasoma, dorsal. Fore wing 0.9 times as long as entire body, 2.6 times as long as wide, almost hyaline, with dense and moderately long microtrichia; marginal cilia fully 0.1 times the width of wing. Hind wing 5.1 times as long as wide, with two hamuli; marginal cilia hardly 0.4 times the width of wing. Metasoma ( Figure 2D ) as long as head and mesosoma combined, 1.1 times as wide as mesosoma. T1 with about six irregular longitudinal carinae. T2 striated from basal foveae to midlength, medial striation only one-third as long as striation from basal foveae; rest of T2 as well as T3–T5 smooth; T6 slightly dull; T3 on each side with three fine hairs, which are inserted in shallow punctures; T4 on each side with five hairs which are inserted in rather deep punctures, forming a medially interrupted transverse row; T5 with seven such hairs on each side, forming a slightly irregular, complete transverse row; T6 with eight hairs. Material examined Holotype female: England , West Kent , Eynsford , 7.vi.1931 , G.E.J. Nixon. Affinities Similar to P. fennica Buhl, 2003 , but this species has head more narrowed behind eyes, occiput stronger striated, marginal cilia of wings shorter, and T3–T6 longer than in P. nixoni , with hairs in shallow punctures only, and coxae in P. fennica are darkened. P. clavata Buhl, 1994 has female antennae shorter than in P. nixoni , and T2 less striated. P. chloropus Thomson, 1859 and P. indefinita Buhl, 2006 have less striated occiput and hairs on apical tergites inserted in less deep punctures, cf. Buhl (2006) . Etymology Named after the collector.