Cheiloneurus idris, 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 : 225-227

Cheiloneurus idris sp.nov.

( Figs 554-560; Hab. E 86)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.5-2.0mm): body generally dark brown to black with a weak to moderate metallic sheen; scape from mostly orange to mostly dark brown with apex orange; pedicel dark brown; funicle pale brown; clava dark brown; posterior two-thirds of mesoscutum with silvery setae; fore coxa white, mid and hind coxa dark brown; hind tibia dark brown, legs otherwise white to pale orange mixed dark brown; fore wing hyaline; head about 5-8X as wide as frontovertex, in facial view about 1.2X as broad as long, subcircular, gena moderately and fairly evenly curved; frontovertex with two or three setae medially below anterior ocellus; area between eye and scrobe much narrower than diameter of anterior ocellus, with distinct sculpture, scrobal margin rounded; interantennal prominence dorsally rounded with only a few setae; mandible with two sharp lower teeth and a broad upper truncation; antenna ( Fig. 558) with scape about 5X as long as broad; funicle with all segments clearly longer than broad; head about as wide as combined length of F3-F6 and clava; linear sensilla on F3-F6; clava 3-segmented, about as long as F3-F6 combined, sensory area at apex only; mesoscutum with polygonally reticulate sculpture; scutellum with a weak apical tuft of setae; wings fully developed; fore wing about 2.5-2.6X as long as broad; parastigma slightly swollen and very slightly curved downwards; apex of stigmal vein with 4 campaniform sensilla at apex; costal cell dorsally with 10 or 11 setae at apex and a single complete line of setae ventrally; area below proximal part of parastigma with a group of about 40-50 pale setae; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins not connected by a naked hyaline area; apical bristle of postmarginal vein about 0.3X as long as marginal vein; mid tibial spur very slightly shorter than basitarsus; propodeum with about 9 setae around each spiracle, none on side; gaster without “glands” on Gt1 and Gt5; syntergum a little shorter than mid tibia; ovipositor about 3.9X gonostylus or 1.4X mid tibia; gonostylus very slightly shorter than mid tibial spur; exserted part of ovipositor about 0.5X mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.82mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.71mm (CPD).

Head black, with a weak, dark, metallic green sheen on frontovertex with slight purplish reflections, slightly coppery in ocellar area and near occipital margin; scrobal area mostly with a distinct, deep, purple sheen; lower part of interantennal prominence and near mouth margin dull metallic blue-green, coppery purple above with mouth margin medially orange; frontovertex with inconspicuous dark brown setae; temple adjacent to eye metallic green; posterior part of temple and gena purple, mixed coppery; antenna ( Fig. 558) with radicle dark brown; scape mostly dark brown, orange towards apex; pedicel dark brown; flagellum dark brown; thorax mostly dark brown to black, pronotum with a dull purple sheen; anterior part of mesoscutum similar to pronotum but remainder slightly more shiny and slightly brassy; anterior one-third or so of mesoscutum clothed in dark brown setae, posterior two-thirds clothed in moderately dense, slightly silvery, translucent setae, posterior margin dark purple; tegula dark brown; scutellum clothed with dark brown setae, with a metallic green sheen and some weak blue reflections immediately posterior to axillae, along sides and at apex, the latter also with weak coppery, purple and green reflections; metanotum with slight purple sheen; mesopleuron dark purple-brown with green and coppery reflections; fore coxa white; fore femur and tibia white to pale orange, slightly dusky brown anteriorly; mid coxa dark brown, slightly metallic; mid femur white to pale orange with a faint, pale brown, subapical ring; mid tibia white with a brown subbasal band, spur white; hind coxa dark brown, slightly metallic; hind femur white proximally, distal half dark brown; hind tibia dark brown, extreme base and distal one-third or so pale orange; fore tarsi pale dusky orange; mid and hind tarsi white to very pale yellow; pretarsi brownish; fore wing completely hyaline, venation pale yellow-brown; propodeum dark purple-brown; sides very weakly metallic green with conspicuous silvery setae in spiracular area; gaster dark purple-brown, Gt1 largely metallic blue-green; remainder of gaster mixed purple and brassy; gonostylus dark brown, apex pale orange.

Head ( Fig. 556) about 5X as wide as frontovertex, subtriangular in profile, occipital margin more or less rounded, occiput with a shallow groove from middle of occipital margin to foramen; ocelli forming an angle of about 50°; frontovertex slightly shiny, with conspicuous reticulate sculpture of mesh size generally slightly smaller than diameter of eye facet; scrobes, interantennal prominence and mouth margin with shallower sculpture; temple and gena with distinct irregular, reticulate sculpture, of larger mesh than frontovertex and distinctly elongate posteriorly; scrobes shallow, not meeting, dorsal and lateral margins weakly rounded; antenna as in Fig. 558; scape hardly broadened and flattened, about 5X as long as broad; all funicle segments clearly longer than broad; clava about as long as F3-F6 combined, sutures not oblique, sensory area small and at apex only giving it a rounded or slightly truncate appearance; eye slightly overreaching occipital margin and clothed with inconspicuous, short setae that are each slightly shorter than diameter of facet; inner eye margins slightly converging anteriorly so that frontovertex is narrowest just above scrobes; malar sulcus absent; mandible with two acute, lower teeth and a broadly truncate upper tooth. Relative measurements: HW 83.5, HH 73, FV 16.5, OD 6, POL 7.5, OOL 1, OCL 9.5, AOL 10, EL 49, EW 47, MS 33, SL 45, SW 9.

Thorax ( Fig. 560) with shallow, irregular, polygonally reticulate sculpture on pronotum, generally of mesh size subequal to diameter of facet; sculpture on mesoscutum slightly coarser and more regular than that on pronotum, but slightly more elongate anteriorly and towards the sides; sculpture on axilla and scutellum similar to that on mesoscutum; apex and sides very narrowly completely smooth; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.5X as broad as long; scutellum about as long as broad, without a distinct subapical tuft, subapical setae about one-third as long as scutellum; hind femur about 3.6X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 555, 557; costal cell with 8 or 9 setae dorsally at apex; no naked streak present between apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins; propodeum ( Fig. 560) with numerous setae in spiracular area, side naked, medially about 0.1X as long as scutellum and medially with a small area of fine, very shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture. Relative measurements: FWL 93.5, FWW 37; HWL 69, HWW 18.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about half-way to apex; ovipositor hardly exserted, the exserted part about half as long as mid tibial spur; syntergum slightly shorter than mid tibia.

Paratype. Funicle with linear sensilla present only on F3-F6; gaster without “glands” on Gt1 and Gt5; gonostylus about 0.9X as long as mid tibial spur; hypopygium Fig. 559; ovipositor Fig. 554. Relative measurements: OL 67, GL 17 [MT 47].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 1.48-2.00mm, the scape varies from almost entirely pale orange with only ventral and dorsal margins dark brown to almost completely dark brown; the scutellum varies from almost completely matt, dark coppery brown with hardly a metallic sheen with only extreme anterior part metallic blue or blue-green, to the anterior half or so being metallic blue or blue-green with posterior half distinctly coppery (see also comments below); the head may be about 4.2-8X as wide as the frontovertex; the scutellar tuft may be very sparse, or even absent and the fore wing may be 2.4-2.6X as long as broad.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Guanacaste, Cacao (ACG), 1100 m, MT/YPT, 26.i-24. ii.1996 (J.S. Noyes) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Guanacaste, San Ramon , 4.5km WSW Dos Rios de Upula, LN 318500 381200, 720m, iii.1996 (F. Quezada); 1E , Guanacaste, Bosq. Nac. Diriá, Vista del Mar , LN 233900 358750, #65010, 18.ix-18.x.2001 (I. Jiménez); 1E , Alajuela, San Carlos, RF Arenal, Send. Pilón, LN 269100 457900, 600m, #56656, 9.iii-7.iv.2000 (G. Carballo); 1E, Heredia, OTS La Selva BS, 10°26’N 84°01’W, 100m, canopy fog Pentaclethra, FPM /08, 4.iv.1993; 2E, Heredia, OTS La Selva, FOT 2, 13.x.1994 ( ALAS); 1E, Heredia, OTS La Selva, FVK 24, 15.x.1994 ( ALAS); 1E, Heredia, OTS La Selva, iii.1996 ( ALAS); 2E, San José, Zurqui de Moravia , 1600m, iv.1992 and ix.1995 (P. Hanson); 1E, Cartago, PN Barbilla, 24km S. Rio Barbilla , Camino a Moravia, LN 598200 212485, 800m, #60767, 27.x-24.xi.2000 (E. Rojas); 1E, Puntarenas, Res. Priv. Karen Mogensen, 9°52’N 95°03’W, 305m, 11-21.ii.2005 (C. Hansson); 1E, Puntarenas, Reserva Absoluta Cabo Blanco, 9°35’N 85°06’W, 30m, 16-17.ii.2009 (J.S. Noyes); 1E, Puntarenas, R.F. Golfo Dulce, 24km W Piedras Blancas, vi.1991 (P. Hanson) . Holotype in MZUCR, paratypes in MZUCR and NHMUK .

COMMENTS. Note that the apparent discrepancy in the colour of the axillae and scutellum described above and the specimen illustrated in Fig. 560 is due to an anomaly caused during clearing whilst slide-making. The colour descibed above is correct.

Cheiloneurus idris is superficially very similar to ection . Apart from lacking the dorsal gastral “glands”, it differs from ection in having relatively longer funicle segments. In idris , all funicle segments at least about 1.5X as long as broad, whereas in ection F1-F3 are quadrate and F4-F6 are hardly longer than broad.