Gonatopus quebecensis Vinatier, Jacques, Sylvestre, McCune, Fournier & Pérez-López, 2026, sp. nov.

Gonatopus quebecensis sp. nov. Figs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Diagnosis (Female). Female apterous (Fig. 1 A – D); palpal formula 4 / 2 or 3 / 2; pronotum not crossed by deep, transverse impression (Fig. 1 C); mesoscutum reticulate-rugose, without lateral pointed apophyses (Fig. 1 A, D); metanotum granulate (Fig. 1 C, D); meso-metapleural suture obsolete but indicated among carinae (Fig. 1 C, D); enlarged claw without peg-like hairs and with one small subapical tooth (Fig. 1 A, E). Description (Holotype female). Apterous; body length 2.97 mm. Color. Head black except anterior part of frons, malar spaces, and clypeus brown to yellow testaceous, genae black; mandibles yellow testaceous, with reddish brown teeth; antenna brownish black excluding scape and pedicel yellow testaceous, basal margin of flagellomere 1 testaceous; pronotum, propleuron, mesoscutum, mesoscutellum, mesopleuron, and propodeum black; coxa and trochanter yellowish brown, tibia and femur mostly black, tarsomeres yellow testaceous (Fig. 1). Structure and proportions. Head (Fig. 1), 0.61 × as long as wide, excavated, fully granulate; frontal line complete; OL: POL: OOL = 1.5: 2.5: 5.0 (maximum diameter of anterior ocellus = 1.0); occipital carina absent; antennae distally thickened; antennomeres in relative proportions: 7.0: 6.5: 15.5: 9.0: 9.0: 9.0: 7.5: 6.5: 6: 6.5. Palpal formula 3 / 2. Pronotum (Fig. 1 A – D) 0.83 × longer than wide, shiny, weakly granulated; anterior transverse groove present, not crossed by deep, transverse impression. Mesoscutum reticulate-rugose, without lateral pointed apophyses; mesoscutellum reticulate-rugose; metanotum granulate, about coplanar to mesoscutellum, laterally with two points (Fig. 1 A, D). Propodeum reticulate-rugose, except top of disc granulated, propodeal declivity with few transverse striae near posterior extremity. Mesopleuron and metapleuron reticulate rugose, not transversely striate. Meso-metapleural suture obsolete but indicated among keels. Protarsomeres showing the following ratio: 16: 3.0: 4.5: 14.0: 21.0; enlarged claw 1.09 × protarsomere I; protarsomere V 1.5 × protarsomere IV; chela with protarsomere V bearing one row of 7 lamellae, one additional separated lamella, 14 peg-like hairs and one proximal bristle; apex of protarsomere V with approximately four lamellae; enlarged claw with one small subapical tooth (Fig. 1 E). Tibial spurs 1 / 0 / 1. Measurements (in mm). Head 0.49 long, 0.80 wide; antenna 1.56; mesosoma 1.26; procoxa 0.38; protrochanter 0.35; profemora 0.72; protibia 0.59; protarsomere V 0.42. Variation. Body length 2.58–3.18 mm (n = 6); head wide, 0.62 × longer than wide; OL: POL: OOL = 2.5–3.0: 4.0: 6.0 – 7.5 (relative to maximum diameter of anterior ocellus). Palpal formula 4 / 2–3 / 2. Pronotum almost longer than wide, 1.01. Protarsomeres showing following ratio: 16.5: 3.0: 5.0: 14.0: 22.0, enlarged claw 1.15 × protarsomere I, protarsomere I 1.16 × protarsomere IV; chela with protarsomere V bearing one row of 5–7 lamellae (n = 5), two separated lamellae, 10–15 peg-like hairs, and one proximal bristle not always present; apex of protarsomere V bearing approximately 4–7 lamellae. Diagnosis (Male). Body predominantly black, except for mandibles with reddish teeth; legs black, prolegs dark testaceous, except for procoxa, protrochanter, and profemora black (Fig. 2 A – C, E). Body with fine to medium pilosity (Fig. 2 A). Head and metasoma granulated, except on metanotum and propodeum reticulate rugose (Fig. 2 C). Palpal formula 4 / 2–3 / 2. Description (Male). (n = 5). Body length 2.41 mm. Color. Head black; mandible black, except reddish teeth, antennae black; mesosoma black; prolegs dark testaceous, excluding coxae, trochanters, and femora black; middle leg and metaleg dark brown to black; metasoma black. Structure and proportions. Head wide, 0.63 × longer than wide, granulated; frons 0.59–0.65 (0.61) × wider than head; frontal keels absent; OL = 1.1–1.6; POL = 2.6–3.6; OOL = 1.0–1.4; maximum diameter of anterior ocellus 1.0; temples developed; vertex non-excavated; occipital carina absent; antenna not distally thickened, 1.83 mm (n = 4) mm long, each segment showing the following ratio (n = 4): 6.0: 7.5: 11.0: 12.5: 12.0: 12.0: 11.0: 10.0: 9.0: 13.0: scape approximately as long as pedicel; first flagellomere 4.4 × longer than wide, 2.15 × longer than scape (Fig. 2 A – C). Palpal formula 4 / 2–3 / 2. Pronotum (Fig. 2 C, E) granulated with punctures forming longitudinal rows (notaulices), 0.76 × longer than wide. Mesoscutum weakly granulated, 0.71 × longer than wide. Scutellum shiny, weakly granulated, 0.76 × longer than wide, separated from mesoscutum by a transversal furrow. Metanotum reticulate rugose, 0.65 × longer than wide, median longitudinal and transversal furrows. Propodeum reticulate rugose, 0.54 × longer than wide, with propodeal lateral area granulated. Propleuron and mesopleuron granulated, metapleuron reticulate rugose. Tibial spurs 1 / 1 / 2. Fore wing hyaline (Fig. 2 A), 2.14 mm long, stigmal vein of forewing with 2 r-rs shorter than 3 Rs & 4 Rs (20: 55). Tubular veins distinctly dark-testaceous, excluding thin and barely pigmented costa and subcosta. Genitalia. Aedeagus elongate and nearly parallel-sided, approximately as long as parameres; apex shallowly emarginate medially. Parameres elongate and broad, slightly incurved apically, with rounded apex and a dense row of long setae along distal inner margin. Dorsal process of each paramere elongate-lanceolate, approximately two-thirds as long as paramere, broadest near midlength and gradually tapering to an acute apex; process separated from inner margin of paramere by a broad membranous interval. Basivolsella elongate and narrow, approximately twice as long as distivolsella; distivolsella short, curved medially, with rounded apex. Dorsal view presented in Fig. 2 D. Material examined. Holotype: • Female, Canada: Québec, Québec City, Université Laval, greenhouse rearing facility, January 2026, reared from Macrosteles quadrilineatus maintained on barley, leg. T. Vinatier. Deposited in the Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes (CNC), Ottawa, Canada, under voucher number CNC 1179703. Paratypes: • Five females and five males, same collection and rearing data as the holotype. One male paratype was deposited in the CNC under voucher number CNC 1179704. The remaining nine paratypes are deposited in the Entomological Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Université Laval, Québec, Canada, under Edel Pérez-López supervision (edel. perez-lopez. 1 @ ulaval. ca). Alive specimens are also available if needed. The CNC specimens were deposited under the supervision of José Fernandez, a Hymenoptera specialist at the collection (jose. fernandez @ agr. gc. ca). The holotype and paratypes are progeny reared from parasitized M. quadrilineatus collected in highbush blueberry fields in the Mauricie region of Québec (47°33.07'N, 73°25.08'W) in July 2025. Distribution. Canada: Québec. Hosts. We identified M. quadrilineatus as primary feeding and reproductive host for this species (Fig. 3). Etymology. The species is named after Québec, the province where the holotype and the specimens used to establish the colony were collected, reflecting its geographic origin. Remarks. The new species is assigned to Gonatopus species group 6 (Olmi et al., 2019) because the holotype is an apterous female with the following characters: an enlarged claw without lamellae and bearing one small apical tooth; a pronotum crossed by a slightly impressed transverse furrow; and a palpal formula different from 6 / 3. Compared with all other Nearctic species of Gonatopus (Olmi 1984, 1987, 1992, 1993 a, 1995, 2003; Olmi and Guglielmino 2013; Guglielmino et al. 2018; Speranza et al. 2019), G. quebecensis is similar to G. plesius (Fenton, 1927), in being black with the head and thorax mostly granulated and segment 5 of the fore tarsus bearing one row of 5–7 minute lamellae. Gonatopus quebecensis differs in having the mesothorax and metathorax mostly reticulate-rugose, a distinctly excavated head, antennae with pedicel and scape yellow testaceous and antenomeres 4–10 brownish black, instead of brown, and the absence of peg-like hairs on the enlarged claw. Among the eastern Palearctic species of group 6, G. quebecensis sp. nov. can be compared with G. pedestris (Dalman, 1818) (Olmi and Xu 2015), by also being black with the head mostly granulate, the mesoscutum granulate, the metanotum transversely striate, the enlarged claw bearing some bristles, segment 5 of the protarsus bearing one row of 2–7 lamellae, and a palpal formula of 2 / 2, 3 / 2, or 4 / 2. Gonatopus quebecensis differs by having the head distinctly excavated and fully granulate; the mesoscutum and mesoscutellum reticulate-rugose; the metanotum granulate; a more elongate protarsus, with protarsomere I approximately as long as protarsomere IV and protarsomere V distinctly longer; a chela bearing one additional separated lamella and a higher number of peg-like hairs. Molecular data further support the distinctiveness of G. quebecensis sp. nov. COI sequences form a distinct clade and show only a similarity of 95.74 % to G. pedestris. Key to the females Following the description of G. quebecensis sp. nov., the key to the females of the Nearctic species of Gonatopus species group 6 published by Olmi (1995) can be modified by replacing couplet 1 as follows: Key to the males The key to the males of the Nearctic species of Gonatopus published by Olmi (1995) can be modified by replacing couplet 18 as follows: Molecular analysis The present study generated four partial COI sequences ranging from 645 to 658 bp (Table 1). Sequences obtained from female specimens were identical to one another, as were those obtained from males. Queries against the NCBI and BOLD Systems databases assigned all sequences to the genus Gonatopus, although no species-level matches were identified. The sequences sh