Cercobelus phanes, 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 : 620-621

Cercobelus phanes sp.nov.

(Figs 1683-1689)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 2.4mm): scape pale orange; wings (Fig. 1688) hyaline; all coxae dark brown; fore and mid femora mostly pale orange; hind tibia dark brown without a distinct white basal band; antenna with scape (Fig. 1685) about 5.9X as long as broad; pedicel about 2X as long as broad; all funicle segments longer than broad; antenna with linear sensilla on F1; F1 slightly longer than F2; mandible (Fig. 1683) with 2 very short, sharp, broad teeth and a narrow truncation with a weakly serrate margin; fore wing with marginal vein (Fig. 1689) punctiform; hind wing about 3X as long as broad; propodeum with a pair of shallow, longitudinal, submedian carinae, spiracle separated from anterior margin of propodeum by about 0.4X its own diameter; apex of syntergum smooth (Fig. 1687); hypopygium (Fig. 1686) completely longitudinally divided, with long anterior apodemes. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 2.42mm; excluding ovipositor, 2.32mm ( CPD) .

Head black and slightly shiny, frontovertex with a very weak, dull blue sheen, slightly coppery along occipital margin, weakly coppery purple on temple and interantennal prominence; antenna (Fig. 1685) with radicle dark orange-brown; scape pale orange, dorsal margin dusky; pedicel and flagellum brown, pedicel and funicle ventrally pale orange; maxillary palpus pale orange; thorax black and slightly shiny; mesoscutum with a dull dark blue sheen with some coppery purple; tegula with a weak purple sheen; axilla slightly shiny with a weak coppery purple sheen; scutellum shiny, slightly brassy with some dull, coppery purple reflections, apex and side brassy and coppery purple; mesopleuron with a weak coppery purple sheen; all coxae dark brown; fore femur mostly pale orange, mixed brown in proximal 0.5X, tibia and tarsus pale orange, tibia slightly dusky dorsally near base, tarsus darker distally, pretarsus dark brown; mid femur pale yellow proximally a broad, median, brownish band, apex pale orange, tibia pale orange with a diffuse, subbasal, brown band, spur white, apex pale orange, tarsus proximally white, pale orange towards apex, apical tarsomere dark brown; hind femur pale orange in in proximal 0.3X, otherwise hind leg completely dark brown; wings (Fig. 1688) hyaline; propodeum dark brown and slightly shiny, side with a weak metallic dark green and dark blue sheen; gaster dark brown, moderately shiny with a slightly coppery sheen with brassy, purple, blue and green reflections; gonostylus dark brown.

Head (Fig. 1683) about 1.7X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 2.1X as high as deep, more or less evenly, but weakly convexly rounded from occipital margin to top of scrobes, then virtually straight mouth margin; occipital margin sharp, carinate; ocelli forming an angle of about 120°; frontovertex shiny, in ocellar area with moderately deep, slightly transversely elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size subequal to eye facet, more regular polygonally reticulate sculpture of larger mesh in front of anterior ocellus; temple and gena with longitudinally elongate, polygonally reticulate to striate sculpture; eye separated from occipital margin by about 0.4X diameter of posterior ocellus, or about 1.5X diameter of facet, with inner margin not sinuate, clothed with fairly conspicuous, pale setae that are slightly longer than diameter of facet; scrobes shallow, ∩-shaped, meeting, virtually smooth but with shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture; interantennal prominence weak, dorsally rounded, with moderately deep, polygonally reticulate sculpture; dorsal margin of torulus a little below lower eye margin; antenna as in Fig. 1685; scape subcylindrical, about 5.9X as long as broad; pedicel about 2X as long as broad; all funicle segments slightly longer than broad, F1 slightly longer than F2, remaining segments becoming slightly larger and broader distad, linear sensilla present on all segments; clava slightly shorter than F2-F4 combined; clypeal margin weakly emarginate, tentorial pit visible below torulus; mandible (Fig. 1683) with 2 very short, sharp, broad teeth and a narrow truncation with a weakly serrate margin. Relative measurements: HW 100, HH 100, FV 59, POL 32, OOL 9.5, OCL 7, AOL 17, EL 52.5, EW 37, MS 35, SL 53, SW 9.

Thorax in dorsal view with pronotum slightly elongate, a large part visible behind head, with posterior margin moderately and fairly evenly concave; pronotum with shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture, of smaller mesh size than that in ocellar area, and slightly shallower, side with transversely elongate reticulate sculpture of larger mesh; mesoscutum with similar sculpture to that on frontovertex in front of anterior ocellus; axilla with polygonally reticulate sculpture of much smaller mesh size than that on mesoscutum and conspicuously shallower; scutellum with polygonally reticulate sculpture that is generally a little shallower and of smaller mesh than that on mesoscutum, of distinctly smaller mesh medially, apex and side virtually completely smooth and shiny; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.5X as broad as long and medially nearly 2X as long as pronotum; scutellum about 1.1X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and distribution of setae as in Figs 1688, 1689; propodeum medially about 0.35X as long as scutellum and with a pair of shallow, subparallel, submedian carinae and some shallow, irregular, polygonally reticulate sculpture, spiracle separated from anterior margin of propodeum by about 0.4X its own diameter. Relative measurements: FWL 141, FWW 59.5; HWL 95, HWW 31.

Gaster slightly longer than thorax, syntergum about 0.5X as long as mid tibia, broadening at apex with apex truncate and smooth; hypopygium (Fig. 1686) completely longitudinally divided, with long anterior apodemes; ovipositor (Fig. 1684) slightly exserted, the exserted part about 0.5X as long as mid tibial spur or 0.13X as long as mid tibia. Relative measurements: OL 61 [MT 136.5].

Variation. Only holotype examined.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Heredia, 6km ENE Vara Blanca , 10°11’N 84°07’W, 2000m, 20/M/TN, iv.2002 (INBio-OET-ALAS) . Holotype in NHMUK .