Psyllaephagus kallichoa, 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 : 590-592

Psyllaephagus kallichoa sp.nov.

(Figs 1555-1558)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 2.6mm): antenna (Fig. 1558) with scape dark brown; flagellum dark brown; tegula dark brown; mid femur dark brown; hind tibia dark brown, apices orange; head (Fig. 1556) about 2.4X as wide as frontovertex and about 2.5X as wide as mouth opening; ocelli forming an angle of about 120°, posterior ocellus closer to occipital margin than to eye; frontovertex between anterior ocellus and top of scrobes with conspicuous, dense, touching, piliferous punctures that are at most 0.5X diameter of ocellus; clypeal margin slightly convex and protuberant; scape about 4.5X as long as broad and slightly shorter than minimum width of frontovertex; antenna with pedicel about as long as F1 which is about 2X as long as broad, all funicle segments longer than broad, linear sensilla present on all funicle segments, segments of clava subequal in length, but apical segment shortest; mandible with one tooth and a broad, slightly concave truncation; mesoscutum about as shiny as scutellum; scutellum with very slightly deeper, more longitudinally elongate sculpture than mesoscutum; scutellum convex; fore wing (Fig. 1557) about 2.4X as long as broad, costal cell with a partial second line of setae dorsally in distal half; marginal vein (Fig. 1555) slightly longer than broad, linea clava partially closed; Gt3 without a distinct, strongly reticulate area anteromedially; ovipositor nearly 2X as long as mid tibia, slightly exserted, with exserted part about 0.4X as long as mid tibial spur; second valvifer with about 12 subapical setae. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 2.55mm; excluding ovipositor, 2.48mm ( CPD) .

Head with occiput and frontovertex generally metallic blue-green and green, mixed violet between occipital margin and posterior ocelli and slightly coppery in front of anterior ocellus; scrobal area, temple and gena violet; mouth margin metallic blue-green this continued along position of malar sulcus to lower eye margin; toruli ringed metallic blue-green; setae on frontovertex, interantennal prominence and gena translucent and pale brown, almost silvery in some lights; antenna (Fig. 1558) dark brown; thorax generally dark brown to black; pronotum dorsally with a mainly dark blue and violet sheen, laterally dark blue, blue-green and coppery; mesoscutum metallic blue-green mixed with some violet; tegula dark brown with a slight coppery purple sheen; axilla with a dark blue and violet sheen; scutellum similar to mesoscutum but conspicuously more violet; metanotum with a slight coppery and green lustre; mesopleuron with a slight metallic dark green and brassy lustre, with some coppery purple, especially posteriorly; all coxae dark brown with a slight violet, dark blue and green sheen; fore femur dark brown, pale orange distally, tibia pale orange, medially with a broad, interrupted brown band, tarsus pale orange, distally dusky, apical tarsomere brown; mid femur dark brown, pale orange at apices, tibia pale orange with a broad, interrupted, brown subbasal band to about 0.6X, spur pale orange, tarsus pale orange, slightly dusky distally, apical tarsomere brown; hind femur dark brown, tibia mostly dark brown, dusky pale orange at apices, tarsus dusky pale orange, darker distally, apical tarsomere brown; wings (Fig. 1557) hyaline; propodeum dark purple-brown, generally with a slight copper and dark green sheen, side with a metallic blue-green sheen and with a few translucent, pale brown setae outside spiracle; gaster dark brown, dorsally mainly with a coppery purple sheen, Gt1 with a strong metallic blue-green sheen, syntergum mixed metallic dark green, side largely metallic green, blue-green blue and copper, venter mainly with a coppery purple sheen with some purple, green, blue and brassy reflections; gonostylus dark brown.

Head (Fig. 1556) about 2.4X as wide as frontovertex and about 2.5X as wide as mouth opening, in profile about 1.8X as high as deep, evenly curved from occipital margin to top of scrobes and then fairly straight to mouth margin, with interantennal prominence not protuberant; occipital margin more or less acute, not carinate; ocelli forming an angle of about 120°; frontovertex with regular, moderately deep, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size subequal to eye facet, sculpture largely obscured between anterior ocellus and top of scrobes by conspicuous, dense, touching, piliferous punctures that are at most 0.5X diameter of ocellus; frontovertex with at least 20 pairs of setae in front of anterior ocellus, at least 3 lines of setae in relatively deep piliferous punctures descending between eye and scrobe to gena; temple and gena with longitudinally elongate, imbricate-reticulate to polygonally reticulate sculpture; eye reaching occipital margin, with conspicuous, pale setae, each much longer than diameter of facet; scrobes shallow, broadly ∩-shaped, meeting, weakly margined dorsally and laterally, dorsally with transversely elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture; interantennal prominence weak, narrowly rounded dorsally, with similar polygonally reticulate sculpture to frontovertex; antenna as in Fig. 1558; scape slightly broadened and flattened, widest above middle, about 4.5X as long as broad; all funicle segments clearly longer than broad, slightly broader distad; linear sensilla present on all segments; clava hardly longer than F5-F6 combined, apex appearing rounded but sensory area slightly enlarged and extending a little way along ventral surface; malar sulcus absent; clypeal margin very slightly protuberant medially; mandible with one tooth and a broad, slightly concave truncation. Relative measurements: HW 132, HH 101, FV 56, POL 30.5, OOL 6, OCL 5, AOL 14.5, EL 65, EW 50, MS 40, SL 53, SW 12.

Thorax in dorsal view with pronotum short, largely hidden by head, dorsally with slightly irregular, moderately deep, imbricate-reticulate to polygonally reticulate sculpture that is about as deep as sculpture on frontovertex; mesoscutum with polygonally reticulate sculpture that is similar to that on frontovertex; axilla with shallower sculpture than mesoscutum that is a little more transversely elongate; scutellum with generally slightly deeper, more longitudinally elongate, irregular, polygonally reticulate sculpture than that on mesoscutum; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.6X as broad as long; scutellum about as long as broad; fore wing with venation and distribution of setae as in Figs 1555, 1557, costal cell with a partial second line of setae dorsally in proximal half; propodeum medially about 0.11X as long as scutellum, with some shallow, irregular, reticulate sculpture. Relative measurements: FWL 155, FWW 65; HWL 100, HWW 43.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about 0.6X along gaster; Gt3 without distinct, strongly reticulate area anteromedially; syntergum about 0.8X as long as mid tibia, with apex acute; ovipositor slightly exserted, the exserted part about 0.4X as long as mid tibial spur or about 0.1X mid tibia. Relative measurements: OL 107, GL 21.5 [MT 59].

Variation. Only holotype examined.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Cartago, Madreselva, Finca Los Lagos , LN 550050 184450, 2000-2500m, x.1993 (M. Chavarra) . Holotype in NHMUK .

COMMENTS. Psyllaephagus kallichoa has some similarities to gyces , korus and phelys , all species having distinct piliferous punctures on the frontovertex and fairly similar colouration. Females of kallichoa can be separated from all three other species by having piliferous punctures on the frontovertex that are at least 2.5X the diameter of an eye facet with 3 or 4 lines of punctures descending between the eye and antennal scrobe and the costal cell of the fore wing having a partial second line of setae dorsally. In the other species the piliferous punctures are at most 2X the diameter of an eye facet with not more than 2 lines descending between the eye and antennal scrobe and the costal cell of the fore wing has only a single line of setae dorsally. In addition, kallichoa differs from both gyces and phelys by the scape being more than 4X as long as broad, whereas in gyces and phelys the scape is less than 4X as long as broad. Psyllaephagus kallichoa further differs from gyces in having the ovipositor about 5X as long as the gonostylus whereas in gyces it is only about 4X as long. Psyllaephagus kallichoa also differs from phelys by having the head about 2.5X as wide as the mouth and the clypeal margin is slightly protuberant whereas in phelys the head is about 3X as wide as the mouth and the clypeal margin is straight. Psyllaephagus kallichoa can also be separated from both phelys and korus by having the hind tibia mostly brown whereas in the other species the hind tibia is mostly or completely pale orange. Psyllaephagus kallichoa has linear sensilla on all funicle segments whilst in korus linear sensilla are absent from F1. Finally, in kallichoa all the funicle segments are longer than broad, but in phelys at least 2 funicle segments are quadrate or transverse. See also comments under xepo (p. 597)