Cheiloneurus pherus, 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 : 356-358

Cheiloneurus pherus sp.nov.

( Figs 891-897; Hab. E 130)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.5-1.6mm): body largely orange with darker areas on head, mesoscutum, mesopleuron and propodeum, gaster entirely dark brown, darker areas with a weak to moderate metallic sheen; antenna ( Fig. 893) with scape mostly white margined dark brown; pedicel dark brown, flagellum dark brown; posterior part of mesoscutum with dense silvery setae; fore and hind coxae white, mid coxa dark brown; legs mainly white, pale orange or orange-brown with areas of dark brown; fore wing ( Fig. 895) mostly infuscate with basal cell mostly hyaline, a small hyaline area at apex of venation and opposite on posterior wing margin, a very small hyaline area at apex; head ( Fig. 897) about 4.3-4.7X as wide as frontovertex, in facial view nearly 1.1X as long as broad, subrectangular, genae weakly converging, more strongly curved near mouth margin; frontovertex naked medially; eye separated from scrobe by about 1.2X diameter of anterior ocellus, area between eye and scrobe completely smooth, scrobal margin carinate; interantennal prominence dorsally rounded with about 30 fairly conspicuous setae; mandible with one tooth and a broad, concave truncation; antenna ( Fig. 893) with scape about 4.3-4.7X as long as broad; funicle with F1-F3 longer than broad, F4 subquadrate, F5-F6 transverse; head width hardly more than flagellum length; linear sensilla on F2-F; clava 3-segmented, hardly longer than F4-F6 combined; sensory area large and forming an oblique truncation, extending nearly 0.4X along ventral margin; mesoscutum ( Fig. 892) medially with fairly coarse polygonally reticulate sculpture of relatively small mesh, slightly coarser and longitudinally striate-reticulate to striate anteriorly and laterally; scutellum with a distinct apical tuft of setae; wings fully developed; fore wing ( Fig. 895) about 2.7X as long as broad; parastigma strongly downcurved; costal cell dorsally with a single seta apex and ventrally with a single line of setae that is interrupted above parastigma; area below proximal part of parastigma with a group of about 20-30 pale setae; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a naked hyaline area that extends a little way into disc ( Fig. 894); apical bristle of postmarginal vein about as long as marginal vein; mid tibial spur about as long as basitarsus; propodeum with about 4 setae adjacent to spiracle, side naked; syntergum very slightly shorter than mid tibia; ovipositor ( Fig. 896) about 5.2X gonostylus or 1.3X as long as mid tibia; gonostylus about 0.7X 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, 1.48mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.44mm (CPD).

Head largely orange to orange-brown, occiput brown margined orange; frontovertex orange-brown, paler towards scrobes, mostly with a weak brassy and blue-green sheen, more strongly dark blue and violet purple behind ocelli and more purple towards scrobes; area between eye and scrobe metallic green and brassy with some coppery purple; temple and anterior part of gena dark brown in the form of a broad stripe, with a metallic green, coppery and brassy sheen; posterior and anterior parts of gena orange with some weak purple, blue and brassy reflections; upper part of interantennal prominence dark brown with a fairly strong metallic green sheen, coppery dorsally; rest of scrobal area orange; frontovertex clothed with inconspicuous, pale brown setae; antenna ( Fig. 893) with radicle pale orange, apex marked brown; scape mostly white, ventral margin narrowly brown in proximal two-thirds, distal half of dorsal margin internally brown, paler proximally; pedicel and F1-F5 brown, F6 and clava slightly darker brown; maxillary palpus with proximal two segments off-white, apical segments brown; thorax largely orange; pronotum orange, neck slightly dusky; mesoscutum orange with posterior two-fifths or so dark purple-brown with dark blue reflections, posterior margin purple, paler anterior part with evenly distributed, relatively sparse, golden brown setae, darker posterior part with slightly more dense, silvery setae; tegula apically dark brown, basally orange; axilla and scutellum orange, clothed in

golden brown to dark brown setae, subapical tuft black; metanotum orange-brown; mesopleuron uniform orange-brown, anterior half mostly with a moderate green and blue-green sheen, posterior half largely with a slightly stronger dark blue and coppery sheen, becoming more brassy and pale blue towards posterior margin; fore coxa white; fore femur proximally white, remainder and tibia pale orange to orange-brown, fore tarsus pale orange-brown; mid coxa dark brown; mid femur white, dark brown towards apex, tibia dark brown proximally, with a narrow, white subbasal ring, otherwise mostly pale orange, proximally marked brown dorsally, spur pale orange, tarsus pale orange; hind coxa white; hind femur pale orange, dark brown at apices, tibia narrowly white at base, remainder dark brown, tarsus white, apically brown, pretarsus brown; fore wing ( Fig. 895) mostly infuscate, hyaline towards base; venation mostly pale brown; propodeum uniformly dark brown with a slight purple sheen, laterally with a strong metallic green sheen mixed with some coppery purple and with only 3 or 4 translucent setae outside spiracle, side metallic green with some coppery purple; gaster entirely dark brown with brassy, coppery purple and green reflections; gonostylus pale orange.

Head ( Fig. 897) about 4.6X as wide as narrowest point of frontovertex, in profile about 1.8X as high as deep, anteriorly quite straight below top of scrobes, bulging very slightly below eye at scrobal margin and interantennal prominence level with torulus; occipital margin sharp and carinate; ocelli forming an angle of about 57°; frontovertex quite shiny, with shallow, fairly regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size subequal to diameter of eye facet; area immediately above scrobes with slightly deeper, coarser and transversely elongate sculpture; lower interantennal prominence with similar sculpture to main part frontovertex, upper interantennal prominence and scrobes completely smooth; temple and posterior gena with more irregular and longitudinally elongate sculpture than on main part of frontovertex, anterior gena with coarse, irregular, reticulate sculpture; area between eye and scrobe completely smooth; scrobes deep, meeting dorsally, sharply margined above, carinate below eye, but roundly margined outside torulus, very broadly ∩-shaped; antenna as in Fig. 893; scape slightly broadened and flattened, about 3.5X as long as broad; funicle with F1-F3 slightly longer than broad, F4 subquadrate, F5-F6 transverse, segments broadest distad; clava slightly broadened, slightly longer than F4- F6 combined, sutures oblique, sensory area enlarged, extending ventrally slightly more than one-third of clava, giving it an obliquely truncate appearance; eye reaching occipital margin, virtually naked, but clothed in sparse, short setae, each clearly shorter than diameter of facet; inner eye margins clearly diverging below anterior ocellus; malar sulcus absent; clypeal margin very slightly concave; mandible with 1 tooth and a broad, slightly concave, truncation; apical segment of maxillary palpus not enlarged, about as long as radicle. Relative measurements: HW 99, HH 105, FV 21.5, OD 7.5, POL 11.5, OOL 0.5, OCL 7.5, AOL 13, EL 73, EW 51, MS 37, SL 38, SW 11.

Thorax ( Fig. 892) with irregular, polygonally reticulate sculpture on pronotum that is slightly deeper than that on frontovertex; mesoscutum with fairly regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture that is slightly deeper and finer than that on pronotum, sculpture on sides slightly longitudinally elongate; axilla and scutellum with similar sculpture to disc of mesoscutum, but perhaps a little coarser; visible part of mesoscutum about 2.1X as broad as long; scutellum very slightly broader than long with a distinct subapical tuft, setae mostly about half as long as scutellum; hind femur about 4.0X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 894, 895; costal cell with a single seta dorsally at apex, ventral surface with line of setae interrupted above parastigma; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a distinct, naked, hyaline streak; propodeum ( Fig. 892) with only 4 setae outside spiracle, side almost completely smooth, with some very shallow, reticulate sculpture anteriorly, medially about 0.18X as long as scutellum and smooth. Relative measurements: FWL 200, FWW 75; HWL 180, HWW 46.5.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about half-way to apex; syntergum about 0.8X as long as mid tibia, with apex broadly rounded; ovipositor hardly exserted, the exserted part about 0.2X as long as mid tibial spur.

Paratype. Antenna with linear sensilla present only on F2-F6; gaster without “gland-like” structures on Gt1 or Gt5; hypopygium Fig. 891; ovipositor Fig. 896. Relative measurements: OL 109, GL 21 [MT 86].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 1.45-1.56mm, the hind femur may be almost completely brown, the head varies from 4.3-4.7X as wide as the frontovertex and about 1.06- 1.07X as high as broad in facial view, the scape varies from 3.5-3.8X as long as broad and the fore wing varies in length from about 2.6-2.7X as long as broad.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Heredia, La Selva BS, 10°26’N 84°01’W, 50-150m, fog Pentaclethra macroloba, FPM /03, 6.iii.1993 (INBio-OET) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Alajuela, Penas Blancas , 1° rainforest, iii.1987 (E. Cruz); 1E , Heredia, Braulio Carrillo NP, 250-500m, 10.iv.1985 (L. Masner, H. Goulet); 1E , Cartago, CATIE, 700m, MT/YPT, 14-15.iii.1990 (J.S. Noyes) . Holotype in MZUCR, paratypes in NHMUK .

COMMENTS. The left antenna of the holotype appears to be slightly deformed but otherwise the holotype is in good condition.

Of the Costa Rican species of Cheiloneurus , pherus and zephyrus (see p. 354) are the closest to Cheiloneurus noxius Compere (1925) , known only from the USA (California and Hawaii). The generally dark brown body, colouration of the scape and pattern of fore wing infuscation and setation suggest that all three species are close to nigrescens , but differ from this and other, related species by having the mesoscutum partially orange instead of entirely dark brown. Cheiloneurus zephyrus can be distinguished from both pherus and noxius by having the gaster mostly orange-brown with the syntergum orange, whereas in the other two named species the gaster is entirely dark brown. Both pherus and zephyrus can be distinguished from noxius by having the anterior part of the mesoscutum orange, whereas in noxius the part that is normally covered by the pronotum is brown. Further to this, in noxius the posterior dark brown band is more than twice as wide as the anterior orange band and with hardly a metallic sheen whereas in both pherus and zephyrus the posterior dark brown band is less than 0.8X as wide as the orange area and is shiny with a distinct dark blue and purple sheen. Further to this, in noxius , the sculpture on the frontovertex is deeper and of larger mesh (slightly larger than diameter of an eye facet), the transversely elongate sculpture above the scrobes extends further towards the anterior ocellus (about 2X length of torulus above frontofacial carina) and the scape is less than 4X as long as broad and broadest in the middle. In both pherus and zephyrus the sculpture on the frontovertex is very shallow and of smaller mesh (equal to or smaller than diameter of eye facet), the transversely elongate sculpture above the scrobes extends only about 0.5X the length of a torulus above the transfacial carina and the scape is more than 4X as long as broad and broadest subapically. There are also significant differences in the colour of the legs and base of fore wing.