Neralsia haddocki van Noort, Buffington & Forshage

Distribution

Central African Republic, South Africa.

Biology

Unknown.

Etymology

The specific epithet haddocki is in the genitive case and is for Captain Haddock, the comic book character by Hergé. The derivation has specific reference to Captain Haddock’s consistent state of inebriation and utterance of the phrases “ten thousand thundering typhoons” and “billions of bilious blue blistering barnacles”, expletives commiserate with the discovery and generic determination of this novel Afrotropical record in the CAR ethanol samples.

Diagnosis

Neralsia haddocki can be separated from all other described world Neralsia species by the closed marginal cell. A defined true vein is present along the wing margin completely closing the marginal cell. A number of the Central American and West Indies species have a darkening on the wing margin, but this is not considered to be a true vein (Jiménez & Pujade-Villar, 2008). The carina present between the scutellar fovea is at the same height as the outer foveal edge.

References

van Noort, S, Buffington ML & Forshage, M. 2015. Afrotropical Cynipoidea (Hymenoptera). ZooKeys 493: 1-176. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.493.6353

van Noort, S, Buffington ML & Forshage, M. 2014. Review of Afrotropical Figitinae (Figitidae, Cynipoidea, Hymenoptera) with the first records of Neralsia and Lonchidia for the region. ZooKeys 453: 37–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.453.8511

Credits

Photographs and map illustration © Simon van Noort (Iziko Museums of South Africa)

Matt Buffington (Systematic Entomology Laboratory, USDA/ARS) and Mattias Forshage (Swedish Museum of Natural History) both played an integral role in the development of the Cynipoidea pages.