Cheiloneurus parnisa, 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 : 361-363

Cheiloneurus parnisa sp.nov.

( Figs 915 -920; Hab. E 132)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.1-1.4mm): body mostly dark brown to black with a weak to moderate metallic sheen, head and pronotum with orange areas, scutellum orange; antenna ( Fig. 915) with scape mostly white margined dark brown; pedicel and flagellum dark brown; most of mesoscutum with dense silvery setae; fore and hind coxae white, mid coxa white, mixed brown ventrally; legs largely white or pale orange with areas of dark brown; fore wing (Fig. 920) mostly infuscate with basal cell mostly hyaline, a small hyaline area at apex of venation and opposite on posterior wing margin, apex slightly paler; head ( Fig. 917) about 4.4-4.8X as wide as frontovertex, in facial view about 1.1X as long as broad, genae converging but fairly straight more strongly curved near mouth margin; frontovertex naked medially; eye separated from scrobe by about 1.1X diameter of anterior ocellus, area between eye and scrobe completely smooth, scrobal margin carinate; interantennal prominence dorsally rounded with about 35 inconspicuous, translucent setae; mandible with one tooth teeth and a broad slightly concave truncation; antenna ( Fig. 915) with scape about 3.7X as long as broad; funicle with F1-F3 longer than broad, F4-F6 subquadrate or transverse; head width slightly greater than length of flagellum; linear sensilla on F3-F6; clava 3-segmented, hardly longer than F4-F6 combined; sensory area large and forming an oblique truncation, extending about 0.4X along ventral margin; mesoscutum with fairly uniform coarse polygonally reticulate sculpture medially, anterior one-third or so and sides with sculpture a little more elongate and becoming striate-reticulate; scutellum with a distinct apical tuft of setae; wings fully developed; fore wing (Fig. 920) about 2.8X as long as broad; parastigma clearly downcurved; costal cell dorsally more or less naked at apex, sometimes with one or two setae, and ventrally with a single line of setae that is broadly interrupted above parastigma; area below proximal part of parastigma with a group of about 20 pale setae; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a naked hyaline area that extends a little way into disc ( Fig. 919); apical bristle of postmarginal vein about 0.9X as long as marginal vein; mid tibial spur slightly longer than basitarsus; propodeum with about five or six setae adjacent to spiracle, side naked; syntergum about as long as mid tibia; ovipositor ( Fig. 916) about 5.6X gonostylus or 1.5X as long as mid tibia; gonostylus about 0.8X as long as mid tibial spur; exserted part of ovipositor less than 0.3X as long as mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.43mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.39mm (CPD).

Head with frontovertex mostly pale orange-brown, occiput medially brown with some blue reflections; occipital margin medially with a distinct blue sheen, area between this and posterior ocelli coppery purple and brassy, blue between ocelli; anterior ocellus to top of scrobes with weak purple and blue reflections; area between eye and scrobe orange-brown with a distinct green, coppery and purple sheen, narrowly margined purple laterally; temple and posterior part of gena dark brown with a metallic green, blue-green and brassy sheen; anterior part of gena with a mixed blue, green, brassy and coppery sheen; upper part of interantennal prominence with a metallic green and blue-green sheen weakly mixed coppery and purple; frontovertex clothed with inconspicuous, pale brown setae; antenna ( Fig. 915) with radicle pale orange, apex brown; scape mostly white, ventral margin narrowly brown in proximal two-thirds, distal two-thirds of dorsal margin internally brown, paler proximally; pedicel and flagellum very dark brown, almost black; maxillary palpus with apical segments brown contrasting with off-white proximal segments; pronotum mostly pale orange, neck slightly dusky, posterior margin medially transparent; mesoscutum dark brown with weak blue-green and purple reflections, posterior margin with a distinct blue-green sheen, mesoscutum uniformly clothed with moderately dense, translucent, silvery setae; tegula dark brown, orange-brown proximally; axilla and scutellum orange, clothed in golden brown to dark brown setae, subapical tuft black; metanotum dark purple-brown; mesopleuron orange-brown, anteriorly with a weak blue, green, brassy and purple sheen, posteriorly with a weak copper and purple sheen; fore coxa white; fore femur largely white, dorsal margin dark brown distally, tibia dark brown, tarsus dark brown; mid coxa white, mixed brown ventrally; mid femur white, narrowly pale brown towards apex, tibia dark brown, with a narrow, white subbasal ring, extreme apex orange-brown, spur and tarsus pale orange; hind coxa white; hind femur brown, pale orange-brown subapically, tibia dark brown, tarsus white, apex dark brown; fore wing (Fig. 920) mostly infuscate, hyaline towards base and at apex; apex of submarginal vein yellow, rest of venation dark brown; propodeum brown, medially with a weak blue and purple lustre, laterally with a weak metallic green sheen, side with a weak coppery and blue-green sheen, some translucent setae outside spiracle; gaster dark brown, dorsally with brassy, coppery, purple and green reflections, sides with a more conspicuous green, blue, brassy, coppery and purple sheen, especially proximally; outer plates of ovipositor with weak blue, brassy and purple reflections; gonostylus pale orange.

Head ( Fig. 917) about 4.8X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.7X as high as deep, anteriorly quite straight below top of scrobes, interantennal prominence protuberant very slightly level with torulus; occipital margin sharp and carinate; ocelli forming an angle of about 50°; frontovertex quite shiny, with conspicuous, fairly regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size slightly smaller than diameter of eye facet; area immediately above scrobes with conspicuously 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 shallower, 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 lower part of torulus, very broadly ∩-shaped; antenna as in Fig. 915; scape hardly broadened and flattened, about 3.7X as long as broad; funicle with F1-F2 slightly longer than broad, F3 subquadrate, F4-F6 transverse, segments broadest distad; clava broadened, hardly longer than F4-F6 combined, sutures oblique, sensory area enlarged, extending ventrally about 0.4X along clava, giving it an obliquely truncate appearance; eye very nearly reaching occipital margin, naked; inner eye margins clearly diverging below anterior ocellus; malar sulcus present, but extremely weak; clypeal margin very slightly convexly rounded medially; mandible with 1 tooth and a broad, slightly concave, truncation; apical segment of maxillary palpus hardly enlarged, only slightly longer than radicle. Relative measurements: HW 92, HH 95, FV 19, OD 6.5, POL 9, OOL 0, OCL 10.5, AOL 12, EL 80, EW 51, MS 38, SL 42, SW 11.5.

Thorax with irregular, polygonally reticulate sculpture on pronotum that is similar to 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, axilla posteriorly weakly sculptured; 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 0.6X as long as scutellum; hind femur about 4.0X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 919, 920; costal cell with two setae dorsally at apex; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a distinct, naked, hyaline streak ( Fig. 919); propodeum with only 4 or 5 setae outside spiracle, side almost completely smooth, with some very shallow, reticulate sculpture anteriorly, medially about 0.17X as long as scutellum and without a median carina. Relative measurements: FWL 193, FWW 69; HWL 175, HWW 39.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about half-way to apex; syntergum about as long as mid tibia, with apex narrowly rounded; ovipositor hardly exserted, the exserted part less than one-third as long as mid tibial spur.

Paratype. Funicle with linear sensilla present only on F3-F6; gaster without “gland-like” structures on Gt1 or Gt5; hypopygium Fig. 918; ovipositor Fig. 916. Relative measurements: OL 61.5, GL 11 [MT 41.5].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 1.14-1.43mm, the posterior margin of the mesoscutum varies from distinctly metallic blue-green to dull purple, otherwise little in material examined.

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, 2E, Heredia, La Selva BS, 10°26’N 84°01’W, 50-150m, fog Pentaclethra macroloba, FPM /04, 6.v.1993 (INBio-OET); 1E, Heredia, Est. Biol. La Selva , 10°26’N 84°01’W, ii.1994 (INBio-OET); 1E , Puntarenas, PN Corcovado, Est. Los Patos, Send. a Sirena, LS 514200 276500, 100m, #58151, viii.2001 (J. Azofeifa) . Holotype in MZUCR, paratypes in NHMUK .