Protyndarichoides elathes, 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 : 541-543

Protyndarichoides elathes sp.nov.

(Figs 1365-1370)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.3mm): flagellum brown; thorax dark brown to black with a weak to moderate metallic sheen; coxae dark brown; gaster dark brown; gonostylus dark brown; head (Fig. 1367) slightly broader than high; antenna (Fig. 1366) with F1 smaller than F3; linear sensilla on F1-F6; clava 2-segmented; mesoscutum (Fig. 1370) with striate-reticulate to striate sculpture that is much deeper than sculpture on scutellum; scutellum virtually completely smooth; propodeum (Fig. 1370) with a group of about 20 conspicuous, silvery setae outside spiracle. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length 1.29mm ( CPD) .

Head mainly dark brown to black; frontovertex generally with a weak brassy sheen, mixed faintly with coppery purple along occipital margin and immediately above scrobes; temple, gena and scrobal area metallic coppery purple; frontovertex, gena and interantennal prominence with inconspicuous, short, pale brown setae; radicle and scape slightly dusky, pale orange, dorsal margin of scape more conspicuously dusky; pedicel and flagellum mainly brown, pedicel ventrally orange and F1 orange-brown; maxillary palpus slightly dusky, pale orange; pronotum black with a weak brassy and purple sheen; propleuron and prosternum dark brown; mesoscutum dark brown to black with a weak brassy sheen with some coppery purple reflections; tegula dark brown with a slight brassy sheen; axilla black with a weak brassy and purple sheen; scutellum black with a moderate brassy and pale blue sheen mixed coppery purple with a few coppery areas; dorsum of thorax clothed with dark brown setae; metanotum dark brown; mesopleuron and mesosternum dark brown; all coxae dark brown; fore femur brown, apices weakly orange-brown, tibia largely pale orange brown with a diffuse, subbasal, pale brown band, tarsus pale orange-brown; mid femur proximally very pale dusky orange, distally brown, tibia brown in proximal half, apex pale orange-brown to pale orange, spur and tarsus pale orange, apex of tarsus brown; hind femur dark brown, hind tibia white at base otherwise dark brown, tarsus dark brown; wings virtually hyaline, but weakly infuscate below marginal vein (Fig. 1365); propodeum dark brown with a very weak brassy and purple sheen, a group of conspicuous silvery setae outside spiracle; gaster dark brown with purple, green, blue and brassy reflections; gonostylus dark brown.

Head (Fig. 1367) about 1.9X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.6X as high as deep, anteriorly fairly evenly curved from occipital margin to mouth margin with interantennal prominence a little protuberant; occipital not carinate; ocelli forming an angle of about 100°; frontovertex shiny, with fairly conspicuous, shallow, fine, irregular, transversely elongate, imbricate-reticulate sculpture; frontovertex with piliferous punctures shallow, indistinct, 4 pairs of setae in front of anterior ocellus, a line of sparse setae along inner eye margin continued along lower eye margin; temple and gena about as shiny as frontovertex, with shallow, longitudinally elongate, strigose to striate-reticulate sculpture; eye not quite reaching occipital margin, separated by about half diameter of facet, with conspicuous pale setae, each clearly longer than diameter of facet; eye separated from scrobal margin by about 2X diameter of ocellus, area between eye and scrobe with shallow, transversely elongate, imbricate-reticulate sculpture; scrobes meeting dorsally with shallow sculpture, poorly delimited and weakly margined dorsally and laterally; interantennal prominence distinct and dorsally rounded, sculpture polygonally reticulate but much shallower that on frontovertex; antenna as in Fig. 1366; scape hardly broadened, about 5.9X as long as broad; funicle with F1 a little longer than broad, clearly smaller than F2, F2-F6 all longer than broad, subequal in length but becoming slightly broader distad, linear sensilla on F1-F6; clava 2-segmented, slightly broadened, about 1.2X as wide as F6, nearly as long as F3-F6 combined, outer suture absent, sensory area slightly enlarged, extending ventrally about 0.2X length of clava, apex conspicuously obliquely truncate; malar sulcus weak and inconspicuous; clypeal margin weakly concave. Relative measurements: HW 55.5, HH 52, FV 28.5, POL 12.5, OOL 5, OCL 1.5, AOL 7.5, EL 30.5, EW 23, MS 20, SL 29.5, SW 6.

Thorax (Fig. 1370) conspicuously dorsoventrally flattened, with imbricate-reticulate to polygonally reticulate sculpture on pronotum that is slightly deeper than that on frontovertex; mesoscutum almost entirely with longitudinally elongate, striate-reticulate to strigose sculpture that is slightly deeper than that on pronotum, and with a small area of polygonally reticulate sculpture anteriorly in middle; axilla virtually smooth, with some very shallow polygonally reticulate reticulate sculpture; scutellum only slightly convex, virtually entirely smooth, but with some very shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture between axillae; mesopleuron with fairly similar sculpture throughout; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.9X as broad as long; scutellum about 1.1X as broad as long; fore wing with venation and distribution of setae as in Figs 1365, 1368; propodeum (Fig. 1370) medially about 0.27X as long as scutellum, virtually smooth with about 20 conspicuous, silvery setae outside spiracle. Relative measurements: FWL 65, FWW 26.5; HWL 46, HWW 10.5.

Gaster conspicuously dorso-ventrally flattened, slightly longer than head and thorax combined, with hypopygium reaching about 0.9X along gaster; syntergum about as long as broad and 0.9X as long as mid tibia, with apex truncate; ovipositor hardly exserted; hypopygium (Fig. 1369) about 1.5X as long as broad with long anterior apodemes and anterior margin strongly concave. Relative measurements: OL 32.5, GS 6 [MT 56.5].

Variation. Only holotype examined.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Guanacaste, Macizo Miravalles , Est. Cabro Muco, LN 299769 411243, 1100m, 15.iii-3.iv.2003 (J. Azofeifa) . Holotype in NHMUK .

COMMENTS. See comments under euanthos (p. 544).