Sectiliclava helikes, 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 : 558-559

Sectiliclava helikes sp.nov.

(Figs 1420-1427)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.4mm): antenna mostly pale yellow; lower face (Fig. 1420), between positions of malar sulci, with conspicuous, dense, silvery setae; thorax dark brown with a moderate to strong metallic sheen; scutellum mostly coppery; mid and hind tibia pale yellow; head with shallow, inconspicuous piliferous punctures on frontovertex; funicle (Fig. 1421) with all segments slightly longer than broad, F6 broadest; mesoscutum with shallow polygonally reticulate sculpture. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length 1.35mm ( CPD) .

Head generally dark metallic green, slightly coppery along occipital and eye margins, frontovertex with some brassy reflections, area immediately above scrobes metallic dark blue, upper part of scrobes metallic purple; lower face with conspicuous, dense, silvery setae extending between positions of malar sulci; antenna, including radicle, pale yellow, some dorsal setae on funicle dark brown and very conspicuous, radicle and apex of clava slightly dusky; maxillary palpus very pale yellow; thorax mostly dark brown to black with a moderate to strong metallic sheen; pronotum with a coppery purple sheen; mesoscutum with a metallic dark green sheen mixed with some blue-green and dark blue, posterior margin narrowly coppery purple; tegula yellow, dark brown at apex; axilla with a weak brassy and purple sheen; scutellum mostly coppery with apical 0.25X and side metallic dark green mixed with some copper; setae on dorsum of thorax dark brown and inconspicuous; metanotum with a weak brassy and coppery sheen; mesopleuron generally with a weak purple and brassy sheen; fore coxa white; fore femur white, tibia and tarsus very pale yellow, pretarsus dark brown; mid coxa dark brown proximally, pale yellow apically; mid femur white, tibia and tarsus very pale yellow, spur white, basitarsus ventrally white, pretarsus dark brown; hind coxa mostly dark brown with extreme apex pale yellow; hind femur white, tibia pale yellow, tarsus white with two apical tarsomeres pale yellow, pretarsus dark brown; wings hyaline (Fig. 1423); propodeum dark brown, with a slight sheen, side with dense silvery setae outside spiracle and a group descending part way to hind coxa; gaster dark brown, generally with a fairly strong coppery and purple sheen, with green and blue reflections, Gt1 and syntergum with a distinct metallic green and blue-green sheen; gonostylus dark brown.

Head (Fig. 1420) about 2.7X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.8X as high as deep, more or less evenly convex from occipital margin to top of scrobes, then virtually straight to mouth margin, with interantennal prominence hardly protuberant; ocelli forming an angle of about 90°; frontovertex shiny, generally with moderately deep, regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture of subequal mesh size to eye facet, piliferous punctures distinct but shallow and only about half the diameter of an ocellus; temple and posterior part of gena with shallower, longitudinally elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture; anterior part of gena with similar sculpture to frontovertex; eye very nearly reaching occipital margin, with inconspicuous, pale setae that are each much shorter than diameter of facet; scrobes shallow, ∩-shaped, meeting, generally with regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture; interantennal prominence weak, moderately acute dorsally, with regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture; antenna as in Fig. 1421; scape subcylindrical, about 6.5X as long as broad; all funicle segments slightly longer than broad, but becoming slightly broader distally, linear sensilla present only on F2-F6; clava slightly broadened, about 1.4X as wide as F6, slightly shorter than F4-F6 combined, sutures slightly oblique, sensory area enlarged so that apex has a short but distinct, oblique truncation that extends about 0.3X along ventral surface; malar sulcus absent; clypeal margin concave; mandible (Fig. 1420) with apex virtually obliquely truncate but with two extremely short lower teeth and two short, but distinctly longer upper teeth. Relative measurements: HW 99.5, HH 86, FV 36.5, POL 25, OOL 3, OCL 7, AOL 17, EL 57, EW 47, MS 38, SL 45.5, SW 7.

Thorax in dorsal view with pronotum short, largely hidden by head, with posterior margin broadly concave, but slightly more strongly concave medially; pronotum, mesoscutum and axilla generally with similar reticulate sculpture to that in ocellar area, but slightly shallower; scutellum mostly with slightly elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture that is clearly deeper and of larger mesh size than that on mesoscutum or axilla, apex and side virtually completely smooth and shiny; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.8X as broad as long; scutellum about 1.1X as broad as long; fore leg with apical tarsomere (Fig. 1426) about as long as four basal tarsomeres; hind leg with apical tarsomere slightly shorter than two basal tarsomeres; fore wing with venation and distribution of setae as in Figs 1422, 1423, postmarginal vein more or less reaching wing margin; propodeum medially about 0.11X as long as scutellum and with shallow, irregular, reticulate sculpture. Relative measurements: FWL 99, FWW 42.5; HWL 65, HWW 21.5.

Gaster with last tergite (Fig. 1425) about 0.5X as long as mid tibia, with apex emarginate; hypopygium (Fig. 1427) with mucro about 0.5X as long as broad; ovipositor Fig. 1424. Relative measurements: OL 24.5 [MT 56].

Variation. Only holotype examined.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, San José, San Antonio de Escazu , 1300m, x.1998 (W. Eberhard) . Holotype in NHMUK .

COMMENTS. Sectiliclava helikes is most similar to megleos , both species lacking distinct shiny-bottomed piliferous punctures on the frontovertex, have conspicuous silvery setae on the face and tegula at least partially white or yellow. The two species can be separated on the density and distribution of silvery setae on the frontovertex and face (see key). In addition, helikes has linear sensilla on F2, F6 slightly longer than broad and the sensory part of the clava extends only about 0.3X along the ventral surface, whilst in megleos linear sensilla are absent from F2, F6 is quadrate and the sensory part of the clava extends very nearly half way along ventral surface.