Nesolynx banabitanae (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae: Tetrastichinae), a new species of hyperparasitoid wasp from West Bengal, India, with SEM analysis of antennal sensilla

In the present study a fourth trophic level, plant-host-parasitoid-hyperparasitoid interaction has been recorded. A new species of the genus Nesolynx Ashmead, 1905 (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae: Tetrastichinae), Nesolynx banabitanae Gadallah, Chakrovorty & Basu Roy has been discovered from West Bengal, India. The new species is described and illustrated using light microscopy photographs, scanning electron microscopy photographs and line diagrams. It has been recorded as a new hyperparasitoid of the lepidopteran koinobiont endoparasitoid Charops aditya Gupta and Maheshwary, 1971 (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae: Campoplegini). The caterpillar of common palmfly butterfly, Elymnias hypermnestra (Linnaeus, 1763) (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae: Elymniini) and the common castor butterfly, Ariadne merione (Cramer, 1777) (Nymphalidae: Biblidinae: Biblidini) are also recorded here as new lepidopteran hosts of Charops aditya. Furthermore, the antennal sensilla of Nesolynx banabitanae Gadallah, Chakrovorty & Basu Roy are described. Sensilla Basiconica Capitate Peg (SBCP), Sensilla Chaetica (SCH), Sensilla Placodea (SP), Sensilla Trichodea (ST), Sensilla Styloconica (SST), and Microtrichia (MT) are among the six types of sensilla observed on the antennae of both the sexes. Eleven subtypes of sensilla were identified, and the similarities and differences between the sexes were examined.ZOOBANK Publication ID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:F3C4054D-B39F-4C15-BCAF-359E670AE581.