Alkonia, Noyes, 2023

Noyes, John Stuart, 2023, ENCYRTIDAE OF COSTA RICA (HYMENOPTERA: CHALCIDOIDEA), 4 Subfamily Encyrtinae: tribes Arrhenophagini, Habrolepidini, Cerapterocerini, Cheiloneurini, Trechnitini, Cercobelini, Polaszekiini, Protyndarichoidini, Gahaniellini and Syrphophagini (part), mainly primary parasitoids and hyperparasitoids of Coccoidea and Psylloidea (Hemiptera), Taxonomic Monographs on Neotropical Hymenoptera (Oxford, England) 2 (11), pp. 1-921 : 708

Genus ALKONIA gen.nov.

Type species: Alkonia tiquanus sp.nov. Gender masculine.

Female. Length about 1.2mm.

Body generally robust, dark with a weak metallic sheen; funicle unicolourous; dorsum of thorax with dark setae; legs generally pale; wings more or less hyaline; propodeum dark with a weak metallic sheen, side coppery; gaster dark brown with a metallic sheen.

Head in profile about 1.5X as high as deep, anteriorly fairly evenly curved from occipital margin to top of scrobes and then nearly straight to mouth margin, interantennal prominence hardly protuberant; occipital margin carinate; frontovertex about one-quarter head width and with irregular, polygonally reticulate sculpture and distinct piliferous punctures; ocelli forming an acute angle; temple and gena with shallow, longitudinally elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture; eye reaching occipital margin, with fairly long, conspicuous pale setae, scrobes shallow, ∩-shaped; antenna attached below lower eye margin, about midway between level of lowest eye margin and mouth margin; scape hardly broadened and flattened, about 4X as long as broad, about 0.4X as long as head width; funicle 6-segmented, all segments transverse, gradually becoming broader distally, linear sensilla only on distal funicle segments; clava about as long as pedicel and funicle combined, 3-segmented, sutures strongly oblique, sensory area enlarged, extending along ventral surface of clava giving it a strongly obliquely truncate appearance; malar sulcus absent; mouth about 0.4X head width, margin weakly emarginate medially; mandible tridentate, upper tooth truncate; palp formula 4-3.

Thorax with pronotum short; mesoscutum without notaular lines; scutellum convex, mostly with sculpture arranged in whorls and conspicuously deeper than sculpture on mesoscutum, extreme sides and apex completely smooth; mid tibial spur slightly shorter than basitarsus; fore wing fully developed, about 2.3X as long as broad; costal cell with 2 or 3 lines of setae ventrally and a line of setae dorsally in distal half; submarginal vein with an apical hyaline break; marginal vein about 4X as long as broad, stigmal vein and postmarginal veins subequal; linea calva open; filum spinosum present, consisting of a line of about 4 pegs; posterior margin of mesopleuron not reaching level with posterior margin of propodeum, falling short by distance about equivalent to diameter of propodeal spiracle; propodeum short, virtually smooth medially, without a posterolateral projection behind spiracle, only 2 or 3 setae near spiracle.

Gaster with hypopygium not reaching apex; paratergites absent; syntergum about as long as mid tibia, apex acute; ovipositor more or less hidden; ovipositor longer than mid tibia, semicircular sheet of second valvifer broadly C-shaped; hypopygium not W-shaped, transverse, subrectangular without distinct anterolateral lobes.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Known only from Costa Rica, but likely to be more widespread in the Neotropics.

HOSTS. Unknown.

COMMENTS. Alkonia is probably close to Dalek and similar genera ( Hebynthus , Elaxis , Raquanus , etc.) that may form a monophyletic group, along with Caldencyrtus , that is associated with jumping plant lice ( Hemiptera : Psylloidea). This group of genera is characterised by having a tridentate mandible with the upper tooth developed, but truncate or with 2 upper teeth forming a broad truncation, a convex scutellum (sometimes dorsally flat) with conspicuously deeper sculpture than mesoscutum (excluding Caldencyrtus ) and often partially smooth and very shiny and fore wing with relatively long marginal and postmarginal veins. It can be separated from other genera in the group by having the scape at least about 4X as long as broad, and the clava about as long as pedicel and funicle combined with a strongly obliquely truncate apex. See also comments under Dalek (p. 636), Elaxis (p. 711), Esphora (p. 675), Harlarus (p. 669), Hebynthus (p. 683), Mendisa (p. 667), Polaszekius (p. 533), Raquanus (p. 672) and Sosara (p. 680).