Cheiloneurus salome, 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 : 255-257

Cheiloneurus salome sp.nov.

( Figs 634-636)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.8mm): body generally dark brown to black with a metallic sheen; antenna ( Fig. 634) with scape dark brown with apex pale orange; pedicel dark brown proximally, venter and apex pale orange; funicle orange to orange-brown, clava dark brown; mesoscutum with slightly silvery setae; fore and hind coxae white, mid coxa dark brown mixed white; hind tibia dark brown, legs otherwise white to pale orange mixed dark brown; fore wing ( Fig. 636) hyaline; head about 4X as wide as frontovertex, in facial view hardly broader than long and subcircular, gena weakly and fairly evenly curved; frontovertex without setae medially below anterior ocellus; area between eye and scrobe about as wide as anterior ocellus, with shallow sculpture, scrobal margin dorsally and laterally rounded; interantennal prominence dorsally rounded with only a few inconspicuous setae; mandible with two long, acute, lower teeth and a very short upper tooth; antenna ( Fig. 634) with scape about 3.1X as long as broad; funicle segments mostly transverse; flagellum about as long as head width; linear sensilla on F4-F6; clava 3-segmented, about as long as funicle, sensory area extending about 0.4X along ventral surface; mesoscutum mainly with polygonally reticulate sculpture; scutellum with distinct apical tuft of setae; wings fully developed; fore wing ( Fig. 636) about 2.7X as long as broad; parastigma not curved downwards; costal cell dorsally with two or three setae at apex and a single complete line of setae ventrally; area below proximal part of parastigma with a group of about 15 pale setae; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins ( Fig. 635) not connected by a naked hyaline area; apical bristle of postmarginal vein not more than one-third as long as marginal vein; mid tibial spur very slightly longer than basitarsus; propodeum with about 20 setae around each spiracle, side naked; syntergum about 1.4X as long as mid tibia; ovipositor about 2.9X gonostylus or 2X mid tibia; gonostylus about 2.2X mid tibial spur; exserted part of ovipositor 0.7X mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.80mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.71mm ( CPD) .

Head black with a dull metallic green and purple sheen on frontovertex, scrobal area with a distinct, deep, purple sheen that extends to lower part of interantennal prominence where it is delimited by a narrow blue line between lower parts of toruli, metallic green below this; mouth margin metallic green; purple area of scrobes extending between eye and scrobe and delimited by a narrow blue line about level with top of torulus, shining metallic green and coppery purple outside this; temple predominantly shining metallic green mixed with some copper along eye margin and brassy areas; gena metallic green immediately below eye, otherwise coppery purple; frontovertex clothed with inconspicuous dark brown setae; antenna ( Fig. 634) with radicle dark brown; scape mostly dark brown with apical one-third pale orange; pedicel dark brown in proximal two-thirds, apex and venter pale orange; funicle with F1-F3 pale orange, F4-F6 yellow; clava dark brown; thorax mostly dark brown to black; pronotum with a dull coppery-purple sheen; mesoscutum clothed with fairly conspicuous, evenly distributed, silvery, translucent setae and metallic dark blue with some blue-green reflections, especially posteriorly, posterior margin coppery purple; tegula dark brown; scutellum clothed with dark brown setae, mostly matt, posteriorly with a coppery purple sheen, sides and apex shining metallic green with some coppery reflections; metanotum with slight purple sheen; mesopleuron largely dark purple with some blue reflections anteriorly; fore coxa and femur white, femur with a subapical, dorsal, brown spot; fore tibia pale orange with a diffuse brown subbasal band, tarsus dusky pale orange; mid coxa proximally dark brown, a little more than apical half white; mid femur white with a broad subapical dark brown band in apical one-third; mid tibia pale orange with a broad, brown subbasal band in proximal one-third, spur and tarsus pale orange; hind coxa white; hind femur white with apical half dark brown; hind tibia dark brown, narrowly white proximally, apical 0.4X pale yellow to pale orange, tarsus pale yellow to pale orange; all pretarsi brownish; fore wing ( Fig. 636) completely hyaline, venation pale brown; propodeum dark purple-brown; sides metallic green with conspicuous silvery setae in spiracular area; gaster dark purple-brown, Gt1 distinctly metallic dark blue, concolourous with most of mesoscutum, remainder of gaster mixed brassy, sides of apical tergites metallic green; outer plates of ovipositor blue-green; gonostylus dark brown.

Head about 4.2X as wide as frontovertex, about 1.6X as high as deep; occipital margin sharp and without a median groove to foramen; ocelli forming an angle of about 50°; frontovertex slightly shiny, with conspicuous reticulate sculpture of mesh size about equal to diameter of eye facet; scrobes, interantennal prominence and mouth margin with shallow sculpture, almost smooth; temple and posterior gena completely smooth adjacent to eye margin but posteriorly with shallow, irregular sculpture; scrobes moderately deep, meeting dorsally, dorsal and lateral margins weakly rounded; antenna as in Fig. 634; scape slightly broadened and flattened, about 3.1X as long as broad; funicle with F1 subquadrate, all other segments transverse and broadening distad, linear sensilla present only on F4-6; clava about as long as funicle, both sutures slightly oblique, sensory area nearly 1.2X as long as ventral surface, forming an oblique truncation that extends a little more than half-way along clava; eye virtually reaching occipital margin, separated by much less than diameter of facet and clothed in fairly conspicuous setae that are each about as long as diameter of facet; malar sulcus absent; mandible with 2 long, acute lower teeth and a very short upper tooth. Relative measurements: HW 66.5, HH 63, FV 16, OD 5, POL 6.5, OOL 1, OCL 6.5, AOL 9.5, EL 43.5, EW 35, MS 25, SL 35.5, SW 10.

Thorax with shallow, irregular, polygonally reticulate sculpture on pronotum, of slightly larger mesh size than on frontovertex; sculpture on mesoscutum largely similar but anteriorly and laterally more obliquely elongate; sculpture on axilla coarser and reticulate; scutellum mostly with coarse, longitudinally elongate, reticulate sculpture almost forming whorls, extreme apex and sides completely smooth; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.7X as broad as long; scutellum about as long as broad, subapical tuft distinct, setae about one-third as long as scutellum; hind femur about 3.5X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 635, 636; costal cell with 3 setae dorsally at apex; no naked streak present between apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins ( Fig. 635); propodeum with numerous setae in spiracular area, side naked, medially about 0.1X as long as scutellum and medially with a small area of fine, shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture. Relative measurements: FWL 77.5, FWW 29; HWL 56, HWW 14.5.

Gaster without “gland-like” structures on Gt1 or Gt5; hypopygium reaching about 0.4X to apex; ovipositor exserted, the exserted part about 0.7X as long as mid tibial spur or about 0.25X as long as mid tibia; syntergum about 1.35X as long as mid tibia. Relative measurements: OL 78.5, GL 27 [MT 40].

Variation. Only holotype examined.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Guanacaste, Est. Cacao (ACG) , LN 323150 375500, 1000- 1150m, xi-xii.1996 (A. Masis) . Holotype in NHMUK .

COMMENTS. Apart from the relatively slightly narrower fore wing (see key), salome differs from rosea in having a relatively longer syntergum and ovipositor. In salome the syntergum is about 1.4X as long as the mid tibia, the ovipositor is about 2X as long as the mid tibia and gonostylus 2X as long as the mid tibial spur In rosea the syntergum is about 0.9-1.1X as long as the mid tibia, the ovipositor is about 1.4-1.6X as long as the mid tibia and the gonostylus is about 1.0-1.2X as long as the mid tibial spur. This generally means that the ovipositor is slightly more exserted in salome than in rosea . In salome the exserted part of the ovipositor is about 0.7X as long as the mid tibial spur, whereas in rosea it is at most about 0.2X as long as the mid tibial spur.

Cheiloneurus salome is also very similar to varablus , but can be separated by the conspicuously narrower scape (see key).