Cheiloneurus idifex, 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 : 418-420

Cheiloneurus idifex sp.nov.

(Figs 1067-1073)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.6-1.8mm): body largely orange, posterior part of mesoscutum, propodeum laterally and gaster brown, darker areas with a weak to moderate metallic sheen; mouth margin brown; temple and gena with a diagonal, brown streak; antenna (Figs 1072, 1073) with scape pale orange, ventral margin brown; pedicel mostly orange with a longitudinal brown streak; funicle dark brown with all segments mixed pale orange dorsally; clava dark brown; mesoscutum with dense silvery setae in posterior half; coxae white; legs mostly white to pale orange with some brown areas; fore wing (Fig. 1071) mostly infuscate, basal cell mostly hyaline, a small hyaline area at apex of venation, apex with a triangular hyaline area; head (Fig. 1067) about 5.2-5.4X as wide as frontovertex, in facial view very clearly broader than long, subcircular, genae evenly curved, converging, more strongly curved inwards near mouth; frontovertex with 2-4 setae medially between anterior ocellus and scrobes; eye separated from scrobe by slightly less than diameter of anterior ocellus, area between eye and scrobe smooth and shiny; scrobes deep, sharply margined, carinate below eye, interantennal prominence with about 45 inconspicuous setae, dorsally rounded, without a median ridge; mandible tridentate; antenna (Figs 1072, 1073) with scape about 3.8-4.4X as long as broad; funicle with F1 longer than broad, with F2-F5 slightly longer than broad or subquadrate, F6 transverse; linear sensilla on F3-F6; clava 3-segmented, about as long as F2-F6 combined; sensory area enlarged, extending ventrally about 0.5X length of clava, apex obliquely truncate; head width slightly greater than flagellum length; anterior three-fifths of mesoscutum (Fig. 1068) with fairly regular, striate-reticulate sculpture, posterior part with regular polygonally reticulate sculpture; scutellum with a distinct, apical tuft of setae; wings fully developed, fore wing (Fig. 1071) about 2.6-2.8X as long as broad; parastigma downcurved; costal cell dorsally naked, ventrally with a complete line of setae, or narrowly interrupted above parastigma; area below proximal part of parastigma with a group of about 14 uniform, fine setae connecting to a line of four or five setae along cubital vein track; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a naked hyaline area that continues a little way into disc (Fig. 1070); apical bristle of postmarginal vein about 0.6X as long as marginal vein; mid tibial spur slightly longer than basitarsus; propodeum (Fig. 1068) with about 4 or 5 inconspicuous setae adjacent to spiracle, side naked; syntergum about as long as mid tibia with apex angular; ovipositor about 3.5-3.7X gonostylus or about 1.8-1.9X as long as mid tibia; gonostylus about 1.3-1.5X as long as long mid tibial spur; exserted part of ovipositor about 0.5-0.7X as long as mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.64mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.51mm (CPD).

Head generally slightly dusky orange; occiput pale orange with a dark brown, triangular mark above foramen; scrobes, interantennal prominence and posterior part of gena pale orange; mouth margin dark brown below torulus, connected by a broad, dark brown line that curves away from mouth margin medially; temple and gena with a broad, oblique, dark brown streak from occipital margin to mouth margin below torulus; area between occipital margin and posterior ocelli with a weak, dark blue sheen, frontovertex otherwise with a weak, pale blue and brassy sheen; area between eye and scrobe with a stronger brassy, green, coppery and purple sheen this bordered by a distinct, metallic coppery, purple and blue area towards frontovertex; temple and upper gena generally with a relatively strong brassy, green and blue-green sheen but brown stripe with a purple, coppery and blue sheen, lower gena with a weak purple and brassy sheen; interantennal prominence dorsally with a weak purple lustre, otherwise weakly brassy; mouth margin with a metallic green and blue-green sheen with some coppery-purple reflections; frontovertex clothed with fairly inconspicuous, translucent pale brown setae, these continued as a line below eye and scattered on gena, relatively dense and conspicuous on interantennal prominence; antenna (Fig. 1072) with radicle pale orange with a narrow, dark brown apical ring; scape largely pale orange, with ventral margin dark brown for almost all its length, broader internally; pedicel pale orange with a complete, dark brown streak internally; funicle generally dark brown but all segments mixed pale orange dorsally, distal segments more distinctly so; clava dark brown; maxillary palpus white; pronotum mostly orange with weak purple and brassy reflections, neck dark brown; propleuron pale orange, dark brown in front of coxa; prosternum pale orange; anterior half to three-fifths of mesoscutum orange with weak purple reflections, clothed in relatively sparse, conspicuous, black setae, posterior half or so dark brown with a distinct, metallic, dark blue sheen, clothed in relatively dense, silvery setae, posterior margin dark orange-brown with a weak brassy and purple sheen with coppery reflections; tegula orange, apex dark orange-brown with a weak purple sheen; axilla orange, with weak coppery reflections and with a few black and golden brown setae; scutellum orange, with weak coppery reflections, anteriorly with golden brown setae, posteriorly with black setae, subapical tuft black; metanotum orange-brown; mesopleuron orange, posterior one-third brown; anterior part with a weak brassy sheen, mixed purple anteriorly, posterior part with a stronger brassy, green, coppery and purple sheen; mesosternum pale orange; fore coxa white; fore femur mostly white, apical one-third brown, tibia pale orange, a little dusky proximally, tarsus pale orange; mid coxa dirty white, mixed brown externally and ventrally towards mid-line; mid femur white, pale orange at apex, tibia mostly pale orange, but narrowly white at base with an incomplete, subbasal brown ring that is continued as a dark brown streak externally in proximal half or so, spur and tarsus pale orange; hind coxa white; hind femur white at base, but mostly pale orange, extreme apex dark brown, tibia mostly pale orange, but mixed brown in proximal half, tarsus pale orange; fore wing(Fig. 1071) mostly infuscate, largely hyaline towards base, apical and posterior areas hyaline, submarginal vein pale orange otherwise venation brown; propodeum slightly dusky, pale orange medially with a weak brassy and purple sheen, laterally dark brown with a distinct metallic, green, blue-green and purple sheen, side metallic green and blue-green, about 6 translucent pale brown or silvery setae in a line outside spiracle; gaster mainly dark brown with a slight brassy purple sheen, Gt1 and Gt2 dorsally mixed relatively strongly coppery, green and purple, sides of tergites with a relatively strong green and blue-green sheen with coppery and purple reflections, sternites with coppery, blue, green, purple and brassy reflections; gonostylus very pale orange.

Head (Fig. 1067) in facial view about 5.2X as wide as frontovertex with gena convex and converging, in profile about 1.5X as high as deep, frontovertex slightly angled level with posterior ocelli, then weakly and evenly curved to top of scrobes, strongly angled at top of scrobes towards mouth margin, with interantennal prominence hardly protuberant; occipital margin sharp, carinate; a shallow groove present on eye margin behind ocellus; ocelli forming an angle of about 55°; frontovertex virtually smooth, but with shallow, fine polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size very slightly smaller than eye facet, area between eye and scrobe completely smooth and shiny; temple and upper gena completely smooth adjacent to eye, posterior areas with very shallow, longitudinally elongate, strigose to striate-reticulate sculpture; anterior part of lower gena with shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture; scrobes smooth; interantennal prominence virtually smooth but with fine, shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture; narrowest part between eye and scrobal margin slightly less than diameter of anterior ocellus, scrobes deep, meeting dorsally, sharply margined, carinate below eye, very broadly ∩-shaped, interantennal prominence dorsally broadly rounded, without a median ridge; antenna as in Fig. 1072; scape slightly broadened and flattened, broadest below middle, about 4.4X as long as broad; funicle with F1 slightly longer than broad, F2-F5 subquadrate, F6 transverse, segments clearly larger and wider distally, linear sensilla present only on F3-F6; clava slightly broadened, about 1.4X as wide as F6, about as long as F2- F6 combined, sutures oblique, sensory area slightly enlarged, extending about 0.5X along ventral surface, giving it a strongly obliquely truncate appearance; eye reaching occipital margin, with extremely short, inconspicuous setae, each much shorter than diameter of facet; inner eye margins subparallel, narrowest part of frontovertex about midway between anterior ocellus and scrobes; malar sulcus absent; clypeal margin medially weakly emarginate; mandible with 3 teeth, middle and upper teeth slightly rounded; apical segment of maxillary palpus not enlarged, about 1.5X as long as radicle. Relative measurements: HW 88, HH 81, FV 17, POL 6, OOL 0, OCL 5, AOL 9.5, EL 63, EW 48, MS 33, SL 42, SW 9.5.

Thorax (Fig. 1067) with pronotum hardly exposed behind head and about 0.5X as long as mesoscutum; pronotum with shallow, fine, imbricate-reticulate to polygonally reticulate sculpture that is conspicuously deeper than sculpture on frontovertex; mesoscutum (Fig. 1068) with sculpture that is clearly deeper than that on pronotum, anterior three-fifths mainly with regular, fine, longitudinally elongate, striate-reticulate reticulate sculpture, tending to polygonally reticulate along mid-line, posterior two-fifths with slightly shallower, regular polygonally reticulate sculpture; axilla and scutellum with polygonally reticulate sculpture that is of similar depth to that on mesoscutum, sculpture laterally on scutellum more elongate; visible part of mesoscutum about 2.1X as broad as long; scutellum about as long as broad, with a distinct subapical tuft, setae mostly about 0.4X as long as scutellum; hind femur about 4.3X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 1070, 1071; costal cell with 1 dorsal seta at apex; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a distinct, naked, hyaline streak (Fig. 1070); mid tibia with a weak external carina in proximal half; propodeum (Fig. 1068) medially about 0.15X as long as scutellum and smooth. Relative measurements: FWL 106.5, FWW 40.5; HWL 91, HWW 22.5.

Gaster without “gland-like” structures on Gt1 or Gt5; hypopygium reaching about 0.4X to apex; syntergum about as long as mid tibia, with apex angular; ovipositor (Fig. 1069) exserted, the exserted part about 0.7X as long as mid tibial spur or 0.3X as long as mid tibia. Relative measurements: OL 66, GL 19 [MT 35].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from about 1.6-1.8mm, the head is about 5.2-5.4X as wide as the frontovertex, the frontovertex has 2-4 setae medially between the anterior ocellus and the scrobes, the fore wing is about 2.6-2.8X as long as broad, the ovipositor is about 3.5-3.7X as long as the gonostylus or about 1.8-1.9X as long as the mid tibia, the gonostylus is about 1.3-1.5X as long as long as the mid tibial spur and the exserted part of the ovipositor is about 0.5-0.7X as long as the mid tibial spur.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Heredia, Est. Biol. La Selva , 10°24’N 84°01’W, 50-150m, canopy fog Eugenia sp. FOT/76/1-40, 5.i.2000 ( INBio / OET) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Puntarenas, Est. Altamira, Send. Los Gigantes, LS 331800 572100, 1460m, 10.i-10.ii.2002 ( D. Rubí ) . Holotype and paratype in NHMUK .