Tico sinabelus, 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 : 161-162

Tico sinabelus sp.nov.

( Figs 403-409; Hab. E 66)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 0.9mm): hind tibia completely pale yellow; tangent to frontovertex forming an angle of about 70° with that of face; scape not longer than minimum width of frontovertex; funicle segments ( Fig. 403) not longer than broad; mesopleuron not extending past posterior margin of propodeum and not quite touching base of gaster. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 0.92mm; excluding ovipositor, 0.89mm (CPD).

Head dark brown to black with a metallic sheen; occiput with a weak coppery purple sheen; frontovertex generally with a weak, mixed brassy, dark green and coppery-purple sheen, mostly coppery purple above scrobes; scrobal area, temple and gena with a weak coppery purple sheen, scrobes weakly metallic dark green; frontovertex, gena and interantennal prominence with a few scattered, inconspicuous, pale brown setae; maxillary palpus white; radicle dark brown; scape dark brown in proximal 0.5X, apex pale yellow; pedicel and flagellum mainly pale yellow, but pedicel brown at base and distal segments of clava slightly dusky; thorax dark brown to black with a weak metallic lustre; pronotum with a weak coppery purple sheen; mesoscutum and axilla with a weak brassy sheen and weak green and coppery purple reflections; tegula dark purple brown with a weak coppery purple sheen; scutellum dorsally slightly shiny with a weak coppery purple sheen with some dark green reflections, more dark green towards apex and side, extreme apex and side more strongly shining coppery and metallic green; mesopleuron with a moderate purple sheen, posteriorly more strongly coppery; fore coxa white; fore femur white to very pale yellow, tibia and tarsus very pale yellow; mid coxa orange-brown, ventrally mostly brown; mid leg otherwise pale yellow; hind coxa brown; hind femur dark brown, pale orange at apex, tibia and tarsus very pale orange; wings hyaline; propodeum dark brown with a weak purple sheen, side with a weak metallic green and coppery sheen; gaster dark brown with coppery purple, brassy, green and blue reflections; gonostylus brown.

Head ( Fig. 408) about 2.5X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.3X as high as deep, tangent to frontovertex forming an angle of about 70° with that of face; occipital margin sharp, carinate; an indistinct, shallow, shiny-bottomed, oval depression present near occipital margin adjacent to eye; ocelli forming an angle of about 85°; frontovertex narrowest about level with anterior ocellus, with distinct, coarse, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size generally subequal to eye facet, not shallower above top of scrobes; temple and gena with much shallower, fine, elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture; top of scrobes with shallow, regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture, scrobes smooth; interantennal prominence and mouth margin with slightly shallower, polygonally reticulate sculpture; scrobes shallow, indistinctly margined, narrowly ∩-shaped; interantennal prominence dorsally acute; antenna as in Fig. 408; scape relatively short and stout, about 3.6X as long as broad; funicle with segments subquadrate, but distinctly increasing in size and width distad so that F6 is largest; clava about 3X as long as broad and about 1.2X as wide as F6, not curved downwards towards apex, about as long as F3-F6 combined, sutures parallel, sensory area small, at apex only giving it a rounded appearance; eye reaching occipital margin, clothed with sparse, very inconspicuous setae, each clearly shorter than diameter of facet; clypeal margin clearly concave; mandible with 3 acute teeth. Relative measurements: HW 48, HH 38, FV 19.5, POL 9.5, OOL 2, OCL 2.5, AOL 7.5, EL 28, EW 24.5, MS 15.5, SL 18, SW 5.

Thorax ( Fig. 409) with pronotum hardly exposed behind head, its posterior margin broadly concave, not angular medially; pronotum and mesoscutum with sculpture generally similar to that in ocellar area but clearly finer and shallower; axilla clearly raised, dorsally with shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture, posterior face virtually completely smooth and shiny; scutellum mainly with fine, striate-reticulate sculpture that is clearly deeper than sculpture on mesoscutum and more or less arranged in whorls, extreme side and apex completely smooth and shiny; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.8X as broad as long; scutellum about 1.2X as broad as long, dorsally slightly convex, apex with a pair of slender, elongate setae; hind femur about 3.8X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 404, 406; mesopleuron not extending past posterior margin of propodeum and not quite touching base of gaster; propodeum ( Fig. 409) medially about 0.1X as long as scutellum. Relative measurements: FWL 48, FWW 20; HWL 30, HWW 7.5.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about 0.8X towards apex; last tergite about 0.8X as long as mid tibia, with apex broadly rounded; ovipositor slightly exserted, the exserted part about 0.3X as long as mid tibial spur or about 0.1X as long as mid tibia.

Paratype. Funicle with linear sensilla present only on F4-F6; hypopygium Fig. 407; ovipositor Fig. 405. Relative measurements: OL 36, GL 7.5 [MT 62].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 0.85-0.94mm, otherwise little variation noted in material examined.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Heredia, Est. Biol. La Selva , 10°24’N 84°01’W, 50-150m, FOT/45/01-40, Pouruma minor , 4.i.2000 ( INBio / OET) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Alajuela, Est. Biol. San Ramon, 700m, 24-26.iii.1996 (L. Masner); 1E , Heredia, Est. Biol. La Selva, 10°24’N 84°01’W, 50- 150m, fog Carapa guianensis, FOT /02, 5.iii.1993 (INBio-OET); 1E, Heredia, Est. Biol. La Selva , 10°24’N 84°01’W, 50-150m, canopy fog, FOT/42/01-40, 29.xii.1999 ( INBio / OET); 1E , Puntarenas, PN Corcovado, Send. Los Patos/ Sirena, LS 509200 275700, 70m, 20.ii.2002 (J.A.Azofeifa) . Holotype in MZUCR, paratypes in NHMUK .