Cheiloneurus aliphera, 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 : 334-336

Cheiloneurus aliphera sp.nov.

( Figs 828-832; Hab. E 121)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 2.1-3.1mm): body mostly dark brown with a weak to moderate metallic sheen, head orange-brown, scutellum mostly at least partially orange; antenna with ( Fig. 830) scape mostly white margined dark brown; pedicel and flagellum mostly dark brown, F2-F5 variously mixed yellow or pale orange; mesoscutum with evenly distributed translucent setae that may appear silvery; fore and hind coxae white, mid coxa dark brown; legs mainly dark brown with some paler areas; fore wing ( Fig. 828) mostly infuscate with basal cell mostly hyaline, a small hyaline area at apex of venation and opposite on posterior wing margin, apex a little paler; head about 4.8X as wide as frontovertex, in facial view very slightly broader than long, subquadrate, genae weakly converging, more strongly curved towards mouth margin; frontovertex naked medially; eye separated from scrobe by about 0.6X diameter of anterior ocellus, area between eye and scrobe completely smooth, scrobal margin sharp below eye, rounded medially; interantennal prominence dorsally rounded with about 20 fairly conspicuous setae; mandible tridentate; antenna ( Fig. 830) with scape about 5X as long as broad; all funicle segments longer than broad; head width about equal to length of funicle; linear sensilla on F3-F6 or absent from F3; clava 3-segmented, nearly as long as F4-F6 combined; sensory area large and forming an oblique truncation, extending about 0.2X along ventral margin; mesoscutum ( Fig. 831) medially in posterior two two-thirds with polygonally reticulate sculpture, anteriorly and on sides with coarse striate sculpture; scutellum with a distinct apical tuft of setae; wings fully developed; fore wing ( Fig. 828) about 3.1X as long as broad; parastigma clearly curved downwards; costal cell dorsally with two or three setae at apex and a complete line of setae ventrally; area below proximal part of parastigma with a group of about 16-20 pale setae; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a naked hyaline area that extends a little way into disc (Fig. 829); apical bristle of postmarginal vein slightly more than 0.4X as long as marginal vein; mid tibial spur slightly longer than basitarsus; propodeum with about 8 setae around each spiracle, side naked; syntergum very slightly longer than mid tibia; ovipositor ( Fig. 832) about 2.6X gonostylus or 2X as long as mid tibia; gonostylus about 2.3X as long as mid tibial spur; exserted part of ovipositor about 1.7X as long as mid tibial spur. Male (length about 1.3-1.4mm): similar to female but scape yellow; flagellar segments at least 4X as long as broad clothed in long setae; wings hyaline; digitus with a single apical hook; aedeagus slender, about 14X as long as broad.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 3.08mm; excluding ovipositor, 2.56mm ( CPD) .

Head mostly orange-brown, pale orange between toruli; frontovertex with a weak purple sheen, bluish along eye margins, distinctly brassy in ocellar area; temple with a metallic green and blue-green sheen, brassy near eye; gena posteriorly with a dull green sheen, anteriorly with a purple, coppery and brassy sheen; area between eye and scrobe purple with a slight brassy lustre; interantennal prominence dorsally with a moderate purple sheen; mouth margin dark brown between mandibular bases; frontovertex clothed with inconspicuous, pale brown setae; antenna ( Fig. 830) with radicle brown; scape mostly dusky white to very pale orange, ventral margin dark brown in proximal two-thirds or so, dorsal margin dark brown; pedicel and flagellum largely dark brown, F4 very pale yellow, F3 distally and F5 proximally mixed pale orange; apical segment of maxillary palpus brown contrasting with white proximal segments; thorax mostly dark brown; pronotum with a slight dark purple sheen; mesoscutum with a dark green sheen with metallic blue reflections, clothed with more or less evenly distributed translucent setae that appear silvery in some lights, posterior margin narrowly mixed purple; tegula dark brown; axilla similar to mesoscutum but appearing slightly darker; scutellum anteriorly similar to axilla, mixed orange posteriorly and medially completely orange, clothed in golden brown setae, subapical tuft black, extreme sides and apex shining metallic green and brassy, mixed orange; metanotum dark purple-brown with a slight sheen; mesopleuron chestnut brown, anteriorly with a brassy, purple, blue and green sheen, posteriorly with a purple sheen; fore coxa white; remainder of fore leg almost entirely dark brown, proximal part of femur and distal part of tibia mixed orange; mid coxa dark brown, proximal half of femur white mixed pale brown, distal half dark brown, tibia dark brown with a dusky white, subbasal ring and orange apex, spur orange-brown, tarsus pale orange-brown; hind coxa white, femur and tibia dark brown, tarsus orange-brown; fore wing ( Fig. 828) mostly infuscate, hyaline towards base; submarginal vein mostly pale yellow-brown, rest of venation dark brown; propodeum purple-brown medially with a slight brassy lustre, laterally with a green and coppery sheen, side shining blue-green, brassy and coppery; side of propodeum with translucent setae outside spiracle; gaster brown, dorsally with a distinct purple sheen with some coppery, green and brassy reflections, sides similar but with a more distinct green sheen, outer plates of ovipositor with a slight blue sheen; gonostylus very pale orange.

Head about 4.8X as wide as narrowest point of frontovertex, in profile virtually straight below top of scrobes, head about 1.6X as high as deep; occipital margin rounded; occiput without a median groove above foramen; vertex with a distinct groove adjacent to eye margin behind posterior ocellus; ocelli forming an angle of about 50°; frontovertex slightly shiny, with shallow, fairly regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size clearly less than diameter of eye facet; lower interantennal prominence and mouth margin with similar sculpture to frontovertex, upper interantennal prominence completely smooth; temple and posterior gena with shallow, irregular longitudinally elongate sculpture, anterior gena with similar, but coarser sculpture; area between eye and scrobe completely smooth; scrobes moderately deep, meeting dorsally, ∩-shaped, but relatively short, dorsally hardly longer than torulus, sharply margined near eye, but roundly margined dorsally and below level with top of torulus; antenna as in Fig. 830; scape hardly broadened and flattened, about 5X as long as broad; all funicle segments longer than broad, segments shortest and broadest distad; clava slightly broadened, a little shorter than F4-F6 combined, sutures oblique, sensory area enlarged, extending ventrally along about one-fifth of clava, giving it a slightly obliquely truncate appearance; eye not reaching occipital margin, separated by about 2X diameter of facet, appearing naked, but clothed with sparse, very inconspicuous setae, each much shorter than diameter of facet; inner eye margins slightly diverging below anterior ocellus; malar sulcus present, but very inconspicuous; clypeal margin medially very slightly convexly rounded; mandible with 3 teeth, upper tooth slightly rounded; apical segment of maxillary palpus not enlarged, about as long as radicle. Relative measurements: HW 96, HH 94, FV 20, OD 6.5, POL 9, OOL 0, OCL 15, AOL 11, EL 65, EW 50, MS 40, SL 48, SW 9.5.

Thorax ( Fig. 831) with irregular, polygonally reticulate to imbricate-reticulate sculpture on pronotum, very slightly deeper than that in ocellar area but of similar mesh size; most of mesoscutum with polygonally reticulate sculpture that is slightly coarser than that on pronotum and slightly, but distinctly, longitudinally elongate anteriorly and on sides; axilla with slightly coarser sculpture than disc of mesoscutum; scutellum with slightly coarser sculpture than that on axilla and of larger mesh; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.7X as broad as long; scutellum about as long as broad with a distinct subapical tuft, setae mostly about half as long as scutellum; hind femur about 5X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 829, 828; costal cell naked dorsally at its apex; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a distinct, naked, hyaline streak (Fig. 829); propodeum ( Fig. 831) with 5 or 6 setae in a line outside spiracle, side completely smooth, medially about 0.17X as long as scutellum and with some shallow, irregular, sculpture. Relative measurements: FWL 114, FWW 37; HWL 97, HWW 21.5.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about two-fifths to apex; syntergum about as long as mid tibia, with apex narrowly rounded; ovipositor strongly exserted, the exserted part about 1.7X as long as mid tibial spur or a little more than half as long as mid tibia.

Paratype. Antenna with linear sensilla present only on F3-6 or F4-6; gaster without “gland-like” structures on Gt1 or Gt5; ovipositor Fig. 832. Relative measurements: OL 108.5, GL 41.5 [MT 54].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 2.06-3.08mm, the scrobal area may be almost entirely pale orange; F3 may be almost completely pale yellow with F2 partially yellow, the scutellum may vary from more or less completely orange to completely dark brown, the mid coxa may be largely white, only dark brown on the ventral surface, and in smaller specimens F6 may be hardly longer than broad and the sensory area on the clava relatively shorter so that apex may appear to be more or less transversely truncate.

Male: length 1.25-1.36mm. Quite similar to female but for structure of antenna and genitalia. Antenna with scape yellow and flagellum pale brown; scutellum dark brown, medially with a strong coppery purple sheen, laterally narrowly with a metallic dark blue-green sheen; wings hyaline; antenna with scape about 4.4X as long as broad; funicle with all segments at least about 4X as long as broad and clothed with setae about 2.5-3X as long as diameter of segments; clava about 6X as long as broad and about 1.7X as long as F6; digitus with a single apical hook; aedeagus slender, about 14X as long as broad. Relative measurements: HT 45, FV 19, SL 21, MT 60, AL 39.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica, Trinidad & Tobago, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru.

HOSTS. Recorded below from cricket ( Orthoptera ) eggs in Colombia.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Alajuela, San Carlos, RF Arenal, Send. Pilón, LN 269100 457900, 600m, #56656, 9.iii-7.iv.2000 (G. Carballo). Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Guanacaste, PN Palo Verde, Cerro Guayacan, LN 259350 389600, 212m, #55148, 10.i-9.ii.2000 (I. Jiménez); 1E, Guanacaste, PN Palo Verde, Sector Catalina, Puente Espuela, LN 385020 260952, 0m, #58295, 9.viii-8.ix.2002 (I. Jiménez); 2E, Guanacaste, 5km NW Cañas, sweeping trees, grasses, shrubs, edge of forest, 80/102B, 9.xi.1980 (J.B. Woolley); 1E, Heredia, Chilamate, 75m, 25.iii.1989 (Hanson, Godoy); 1E, Heredia, F(inca) La Selva, 3km S P(uer)to Viejo, 10´26’N 84°01’W, 6.iv.1983 (H.A. Hespenheide); 1E, Heredia, OTS La Selva, 10´26’N 84°01’W, x.1992 (P. Hanson);); 11E, Heredia, Estacion Biológica La Selva, 10°26’N 84°01’W, 75m, 1-2. iii.2007 (J.S. Noyes); 1E, San José, Braulio Carrillo NP, 1000m, 18.ii.2001 (J.S. Noyes); 1E, Cartago, Turrialba, CATIE, YPT, ix.1994 (P. Hanson); 2E, Puntarenas, Pen. Osa , Puerto Jimenez, 8°32’N 83°19’W, 10m, viii.1991 and ii.1992 (P. Hanson); 1E, Puntarenas, RF Golfo Dulce, Est. Agujas, LS 276750 526550, 300m, MT, #54023, 1-11.xi.1999 (J.A. Azofeifa); 2E, Limón, PN Braulio Carrillo, Est. Queb. Gonzalez, 10°09’N 83°57’W, 450m, 15.ii.2003 (J.S. Noyes); 1E, Limón, RB Hitoy-Cerere, 100m, 14-19.i.1991 (J.S. Noyes); 1E, Limón, PN Cahuita, 10m, 9°43’N 82°49’W, 24.ii.2010 (J.S. Noyes). TRINIDAD & TOBAGO, 1E, Trinidad, St George, Caura, edge of rainforest and grassland, 26.vi.1976 (J.S. Noyes); 1E, Trinidad, St George, Tumpuna Reserve, Caribbean pine plantation, 7.viii.1976 (J.S. Noyes); 1E, 1G, Trinidad, St George, Lopinot, cocoa plantation and rainforest, 10.viii.1976 (J.S. Noyes); 1E, Trinidad, Caroni, pepper, cacao and coffee plantation, 2.vii.1976 (J.S. Noyes); 1E, Trinidad, St Andrew, Oropuche, cocoa and banana plantations, 28.vi.1976 (J.S. Noyes); 1E, 1G, Trinidad, Maracas Valley, x.1977 (F.D. Bennett). COLOMBIA, 25E, 2G, Armenia, cricket eggs, 8.viii.1974 (R. Cárdenas). VENEZUELA, 1E, Merida, 2km NW La Azulita, iv.1988 (A.T. Finnamore, C.E. Baxfield). PERU, 1E, Junin, Satipo, 18-19.i.1984 (L. Huggert); 1E, Loreto, Explorama Inn, 40km N. Iquitos Amazon R., vii.1990 (A. Menke, A. Vertschenko). Holotype in MZUCR, paratypes in NHMUK, CNC, TAMU and MZUCR.