Cheiloneurus iphigenes, 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 : 322-324

Cheiloneurus iphigenes sp.nov.

( Figs 799-804; Hab. E 117)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.5-2.3mm): head mostly pale orange-brown, thorax dorsally largely orange, remainder of body dark to black with a weak to moderate metallic sheen; antenna ( Fig. 799) with scape white margined dark brown; pedicel and flagellum dark brown; darker area of mesoscutum clothed with pale brown setae that may appear silvery; fore and hind coxae white, middle coxa white mixed brown; legs white to pale orange with femora and tibiae largely brown, hind tibia dark brown; fore wing ( Fig. 801) mostly infuscate with basal cell hyaline except base, a small hyaline area at apex of venation and opposite on posterior wing margin, apex with a small triangular hyaline area; head ( Fig. 803) about 4.2X as wide as frontovertex, in facial view slightly longer than broad, subrectangular, genae weakly converging and abruptly curved inwards near mouth margin; frontovertex naked medially below anterior ocellus but with 4 or 5 setae immediately above scrobal area; eye separated from scrobe by about 1.5X diameter of ocellus, area between eye and scrobe completely smooth, scrobal margin carinate; interantennal prominence dorsally rounded with about 35 conspicuous setae; mandible with two short teeth and a truncation; antenna ( Fig. 799) with scape about 3.7X as long as broad; funicle with F1 about 1.5X as long as broad, F2-F3 longer than broad, F4-F6 transverse; head width slightly less than length of flagellum; linear sensilla on F3-F6; clava 3-segmented, a little longer than F4-F6 combined; sensory area large and forming an oblique truncation, extending about 0.5X along ventral margin; mesoscutum with polygonally reticulate sculpture, a little coarser anteriorly and on sides where it is also slightly longitudinally elongate; scutellum with a distinct apical tuft of setae; wings fully developed; fore wing ( Fig. 801) about 2.6X as long as broad; parastigma very distinctly curved downwards; costal cell dorsally naked at apex and ventrally with a single complete line of setae that is broadly interrupted above parastigma; area below proximal part of parastigma with only one or two setae; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a naked hyaline area that extends inconspicuously a little way into disc ( Fig. 802); apical bristle of postmarginal vein about 0.7X as long as marginal vein; mid tibial spur about as long as basitarsus; propodeum with about 10 setae around each spiracle, side naked; syntergum slightly shorter than mid tibia; ovipositor ( Fig. 804) about 4.5X gonostylus or 1.4X as long as mid tibia; gonostylus about 0.9X as long as mid tibial spur; exserted part of ovipositor about 0.2X as long as mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.69mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.62mm (CPD).

Head orange-brown, paler in scrobal area, temple and gena metallic, occiput orange; a very week blue and purple sheen on frontovertex, interantennal prominence with a weak purple sheen dorsally; temple and much of gena metallic green, remainder of gena slightly brassy or purplish; malar sulcus partially indicated by a narrow coppery line; area between eye and scrobe with a distinct purple and green sheen; mouth margin orange; frontovertex with inconspicuous dark brown setae; antenna ( Fig. 799) with radicle pale orange, distally dark brown; scape white, with proximal two thirds of ventral margin broadly dark brown, upper margin internally with distal half dark brown; pedicel and flagellum dark brown, virtually black; thorax dorsally largely orange with some darker areas; neck of pronotum orange-brown; posterior two-thirds or so of mesoscutum dark brown with a weak purple and blue sheen, anterior margin of dark brown area more or less straight, darker area clothed with sparse, translucent, pale brown setae that may appear slightly silvery in some lights, remaining setae dark brown; tegula orange-brown basally, apex dark brown; scutellum largely clothed in pale brown to black setae, subapical tuft conspicuous and black; metanotum dark brown with a slight purple sheen; mesopleuron brown, anteriorly with a slight brassy, green and purple sheen, posterior half with a very weak purple and brassy sheen; fore coxa white; fore femur white, margined dark brown in distal half, tibia dark brown, distal apex orange-brown; mid coxa ventrally dark brown, otherwise dirty white to pale brown; mid femur white, apex orange-brown, tibia dark brown proximally, distally gradually becoming amber to pale orange, spur amber; hind coxa white; hind femur and tibia dark brown; fore tarsus brown, mid tarsus pale orange, hind tarsus dusky white, distally brown; fore wing ( Fig. 801) infuscate with a hyaline pattern, especially proximally; venation brown; propodeum dark purple-brown, side with a weak metallic blue-green sheen; side with not more than 8 or 9 inconspicuous silvery setae near spiracle; gaster dark purple-brown, mixed coppery, purple and brassy, sides and outer plate of ovipositor additionally with some metallic blue and green; gonostylus very pale yellow.

Head ( Fig. 803) about 4.2X as wide as frontovertex, in profile anteriorly almost evenly rounded, shallow, a little less than 2X as high as deep; occipital margin carinate, occiput without a median groove above foramen; ocelli forming an angle of about 55°; frontovertex slightly shiny, with shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size generally a little less than diameter of eye facet; scrobal area and mouth margin with shallower sculpture, interantennal prominence dorsally smooth and shiny; temple with distinct, but shallow, longitudinally elongate sculpture, gena with similar sculpture to temple but slightly deeper and of smaller cells; scrobes deep, meeting dorsally, dorsal and lateral margins sharp, carinate, lateral carina reaching level with top of torulus; antenna as in Fig. 799; scape hardly broadened and flattened, about 3.7X as long as broad; funicle with F1-F3 slightly longer than broad, F4-F6 transverse, segments broadest distad; clava clearly broadened, a little longer than F4-F6 combined, sutures oblique, sensory area enlarged, extending ventrally about half-way along clava, giving it a distinct, obliquely truncate appearance; eye nearly reaching occipital margin, separated by less than diameter of facet, appearing naked, clothed with extremely short, inconspicuous setae; inner eye margins slightly diverging anteriorly; malar sulcus absent; mandible with 2 short, acute teeth and a truncation. Relative measurements: HW 82, HH 90, FV 19.5, OD 6, POL 10.5, OOL 0, OCL 9.5, AOL 12, EL 58, EW 40, MS 35, SL 43, SW 11.5.

Thorax with shallow, irregular, polygonally reticulate sculpture on pronotum, generally of mesh size less than diameter facet; sculpture on mesoscutum similar to that on pronotum but a little more elongate anteriorly and on sides; axilla with sculpture similar to that on mesoscutum but slightly coarser; scutellum with slightly coarser sculpture than axilla, extreme apex and sides of scutellum completely smooth and shiny; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.7X as broad as long; scutellum very slightly broader than long, with a very distinct subapical tuft, setae about half as long as scutellum; hind femur about 4.9X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 801, 802; costal cell without setae dorsally at apex; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a distinct, naked, hyaline streak ( Fig. 802); propodeum naked but for a few setae anterior to and outside spiracle; side of propodeum, outside spiracle, with some shallow, distinct polygonally reticulate sculpture, medially about 0.22X as long as scutellum and completely smooth. Relative measurements: FWL 81, FWW 31; HWL 68, HWW 17.5.

Gaster without “gland-like” structures on Gt1 or Gt5; hypopygium reaching about half-way to apex; syntergum very slightly shorter than mid tibia, with apex acute; ovipositor hardly exserted, the exserted part about 0.2X as long as mid tibial spur or less than 0.1X as long as mid tibia.

Paratype.Antenna with linear sensilla present only on F3-F6; hypopygium Fig. 800; ovipositor Fig. 804.. Relative measurements: OL 70, GL 15.5 [MT 50].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 1.48-2.25mm and the mesopleuron may be pale orange-brown or may have a relatively strong purplish lustre, otherwise very little in the material available.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Heredia, Santo Domingo, INBio Parque , 1100m, LN 526250 217400, #60665, 6.xi-6.xii.2000 (R. Zuñiga) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Heredia, Santa Rosa de Heredia, INBio, LN 526250 217400, 1100m, #58654, 5.ix-5.x.2000 (R. Zuñiga); 8E, same data as holotype, but various dates 6.xi.2000 -18.iii. iv.2002; 1E , Cartago, Dulce Nombre, Vivero Linda Vista , 1300m ,, viii-x.1993 (P. Hanson) . Holotype in MZUCR, paratypes in NHMUK and MZUCR .

COMMENTS. Cheiloneurus iphigenes is probably the most similar Costa Rica species to lineascapus Gahan (1910). It differs in having the ovipositor hardly exserted (0.25X length of gaster in lineascapus), at most only 2 or 3 setae below proximal part of parastigma (6 in lineascapus) and the fore and hind coxa and mid femur white (coxae at least pale orange and slightly dusky in lineascapus with mid femur dusky orange).

In terms of general colouration, Cheiloneurus iphigenes is possibly the most similar Costa Rica species to Cheiloneurus loretanus De Santis , both species having the face and much of the dorsum of the thorax orange and the remainder of the body dark brown. In loretanus the fore coxa is brown whereas in iphigenes it is white. Furthermore, loretanus has F5-F6 virtually quadrate, whereas in iphigenes these funicle segments are clearly transverse. Also, in loretanus there are only 2 or 3 lines of setae making up the delta of dark setae along the proximal margin of the linea calva (in iphigenes up to 4 or 5 lines) and the pattern of light and dark areas in the distal two-thirds of the fore wing is much more pronounced in loretanus (very similar to oshtan , Fig. 779, with a narrow subhyaline apical strip) than in iphigenes (small triangular subhyaline apical area, etc.).