Protyndarichoides damocles, 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 : 545-546

Protyndarichoides damocles sp.nov.

(Figs 1379-1385; Hab. E 100)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 0.8-1.1mm): flagellum dusky pale orange; thorax dark brown to black with a weak to moderate metallic sheen; fore coxa pale yellow, mid coxa brown, hind coxa white; gaster brown; gonostylus brown; head (Fig. 1381) slightly broader than high; antenna (Fig. 1380) with clava 2-segmented; F1 smaller than F3; linear sensilla on F1-F6, sometimes absent from F1; mesoscutum (Fig. 1379) with longitudinally striate to striate-reticulate sculpture that is conspicuously deeper than sculpture on scutellum; scutellum with shallow reticulate sculpture in anterior half, posterior half completely smooth; propodeum (Fig. 1379) with 4 or 5 brown setae outside spiracle. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length 1.06mm (CPD).

Head mainly dark brown; area between occipital margin and posterior ocelli with a coppery-purple sheen, area between posterior ocelli and top of scrobes generally with a weak green and coppery-purple sheen, area immediately above scrobes, scrobal area, temple and gena with a distinctly coppery-purple sheen; frontovertex, gena and interantennal prominence with moderately conspicuous, long brown setae; radicle pale orange with side dark brown; scape pale orange; pedicel and flagellum slightly dusky pale orange, pedicel a little more dusky proximally; maxillary palpus off-white; pronotum black, mainly with a coppery-purple sheen, but with some mixed coppery and blue; propleuron and prosternum dark brown; mesoscutum black with a weak brassy sheen; tegula dark brown with a slight brassy and coppery sheen; axilla black with a weak coppery-purple sheen; scutellum black with a weak coppery purple sheen, posterior one-third and side with a slightly stronger blue-green, brassy, and coppery sheen; dorsum of thorax clothed with dark brown setae; metanotum dark purple-brown with a weak brassy sheen; mesopleuron dark brown with a weak brassy and purple sheen; mesosternum dark brown; fore coxa very pale yellow, fore leg otherwise very pale orange; mid coxa brown; mid femur white proximally, apically slightly dusky pale orange, mid tibia with extreme base white and a faint, external, dark brown, subbasal streak in proximal half, otherwise mid leg pale orange; hind coxa white; hind femur proximally white, medially pale orange and apex mixed brown, hind tibia with extreme base white and a narrow, incomplete, subbasal brown band, otherwise hind leg pale orange; wings hyaline; propodeum dark brown with a weak brassy and purple sheen, 4 or 5 inconspicuous brown setae outside spiracle; gaster brown with brassy, purple and blue-green reflections, venter slightly paler brown; gonostylus brown.

Head (Fig. 1381) about 2.1X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.5X as high as deep, anteriorly weakly curved from occipital margin to top of scrobes, slightly angled at top of scrobes and more or less straight to mouth margin, interantennal prominence hardly protuberant; occipital margin not carinate; ocelli forming an angle of about 100°; frontovertex shiny, with very shallow polygonally reticulate to imbricate-reticulate sculpture of mesh size generally subequal to eye facet; frontovertex with piliferous punctures shallow and indistinct, 3 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 a little more shiny than frontovertex, with very shallow longitudinally elongate, strigose to striate-reticulate sculpture; eye reaching occipital margin, with conspicuous pale setae that are a little longer than diameter of facet, eye separated from scrobal margin by slightly less than diameter of ocellus, area between eye and scrobe virtually smooth but with extremely shallow, transversely elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture; scrobes meeting, virtually smooth, weakly margined dorsally and laterally; interantennal prominence weak, dorsally rounded, sculpture on interantennal prominence much shallower and finer than that on frontovertex; antenna as in Fig. 1380; scape hardly broadened, about 5X as long as broad; F1 subquadrate and conspicuously smaller than F2-F6 which are all at least slightly longer than broad, segments broader distad; clava 2-segmented, hardly broadened, about 1.1X as wide as F6, slightly shorter than F3-F6 combined, sutures slightly oblique, sensory area slightly enlarged, extending ventrally about 0.2X length of clava, apex weakly obliquely truncate; clypeal margin emarginate medially. Relative measurements: HW 53.5, HH 45, FV 25, POL 10.5, OOL 3, OCL 2, AOL 7.5, EL 30, EW 25, MS 18, SL 25, SW 5.

Thorax (Fig, 1379) with imbricate-reticulate to polygonally reticulate sculpture on pronotum that is slightly deeper than that on frontovertex; entire mesoscutum with relatively deep, longitudinally elongate polygonally reticulate to strigose sculpture that is clearly deeper than that on pronotum; axilla with polygonally reticulate sculpture that is about as deep as that on frontovertex; scutellum slightly convex, anterior half with very shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture that is clearly deeper than that on frontovertex, apex and side completely smooth and shiny; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.7X as broad as long; scutellum about 1.1X as broad as long; fore wing with venation and distribution of setae as in Figs 1382, 1384; propodeum (Fig. 1379) medially about 0.25X as long as scutellum and with some very shallow, irregular sculpture medially. Relative measurements: FWL 52.5, FWW 21.5; HWL 34.5, HWW 8.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about 0.9X along gaster; syntergum about 0.8X as long as broad and about 0.7X as long as mid tibia, with apex broadly rounded; ovipositor hardly exserted.

Paratype. Funicle with linear sensilla present only on F1-F6, or absent from F1; hypopygium (Fig. 1385) about 1.2X as broad as long with anterior margin clearly concave; ovipositor Fig. 1383. Relative measurements: OL 26, GS 3.5 [MT 46.5].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 0.84-1.06mm, otherwise very little variation observed in material examined.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Limón, 7km SW Bribri , ix-xi.1989 (P. Hanson) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Heredia, RB La Selva, 10°26’N 84°01’W, xii.1995 ( INBio / OET - ALAS); 1E, Heredia, Puerto Viejo, Est. Biol. La Selva , LN 264463 532850, 100-200m, #67193, 30-31.iii.2002 (J. Azofeifa) . Holotype in MZUCR, paratypes in NHMUK .

COMMENTS. Of the Costa Rica species, Protyndarichoides damocles is most similar to hephaestus but can be separated using the characters given in the key (see p. 537).