Heterospilus muertensis Marsh

Marsh, Paul M., Wild, Alexander L. & Whitfield, James B., 2013, The Doryctinae (Braconidae) of Costa Rica: genera and species of the tribe Heterospilini, ZooKeys 347, pp. 1-474 : 122-123

Heterospilus muertensis Marsh sp. n. Figure 82

Female.

Body size: 3.0-4.0 mm. Color: head yellow; scape yellow without lateral longitudinal brown stripe, flagellum yellow basally to brown apically; mesosoma light brown, propleuron, pronotum, precoxal sulcus and propodeum laterally often darker brown; metasoma yellow or honey yellow, tergum 1 may be darker brown; legs yellow, extreme base of tibia often brown; wing veins brown, stigma somewhat bicolored, yellow basally and light brown apically. Head: vertex transversely striate-granulate; frons striate; face smooth; temple in dorsal view broad and bulging behind eye, width greater than 1/2 eye width; malar space greater than 1/4 eye height; ocell-ocular distance slightly more than 2.5 times diameter of lateral ocellus; 20-25 flagellomeres. Mesosoma: mesoscutal lobes granulate, median lobe with median groove from middle to prescutellar furrow; notauli scrobiculate, meeting at scutellum in triangular rugose area, notauli bordered by dense long yellow setae; scutellum smooth; prescutellar furrow with 3-5 cross carinae; mesopleuron smooth; precoxal sulcus smooth, shorter than mesopleuron; venter smooth; propodeum with basal median areas distinctly margined, weakly granulate or nearly smooth, basal median carina distinct and long, areola distinctly margined, areolar area rugose, lateral areas entirely rugose. Wings: fore wing vein r shorter than vein 3RSa, both vein at nearly right angled with each other, vein 1cu-a beyond vein 1M; hind wing vein SC+R present, vein M+CU slightly shorter than vein 1M. Metasoma: first tergum longitudinally costate, length greater than apical width; second tergum longitudinally costate, apical width less than 3 times length; anterior transverse groove straight, weak or nearly absent; posterior transverse groove weak or nearly absent; third tergum entirely smooth; terga 4-7 smooth; ovipositor equal to length of metasoma.

Holotype female.

Top label (white, printed) - COSTA RICA San Jose [;] Cerro de la Muerte, 19km [;] S, 3 W, Empalme, 2600m [;] ii-iii.1993. Paul Hanson; second label (red, partially printed and hand written) - HOLOTYPE [;] Heterospilus [;] muertensis [;] P. Marsh. Deposited in ESUW.

Paratypes.

1 ♀, Costa Rica: San Jose [;] Cerro de la Muerte [;] 6km. N. San Gerado [;] 2800m, November 1993 [;] P. Hanson, Malaise (ESUW). 1 ♀, Costa Rica: San Jose [;] Cerro de la Muerte [;] 19km S 3 W Empalme [;] 2600m, November 1992 [;] P. Hanson, Malaise (ESUW).

Comments.

This species is distinguished by the broad temple, long yellow setae along the notauli, and the generally yellow body color.

Etymology.

Named for Cerro de la Muerte where the type series was collected.