Heterospilus muesebecki 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 : 123-126

Heterospilus muesebecki Marsh sp. n. Figure 83

Female.

Body size: 2.5-3.0 mm. Color: head yellow; scape yellow without lateral brown stripe, flagellum yellow basally to brown apically; mesosoma brown to dark brown; metasoma brown, terga 1 and 2 often lighter brown; wing veins including stigma brown; legs yellow. Head: vertex transversely costate; frons transversely costate; face rugose; temple in dorsal view narrow, strongly sloping behind eye, width less than 1/2 eye width; malar space equal to 1/4 eye height; ocell-ocular distance usually about 1.5 times diameter of lateral ocellus, rarely about twice diameter; 18-22 flagellomeres. Mesosoma: mesoscutal lobes coarsely granulate, median lobe often with median scrobiculate line; notauli strongly scrobiculate, meeting at scutellum in triangular rugose area; scutellum granulate; prescutellar furrow usually with 3 cross carinae, rarely with 1 distinct median carina plus 2 weaker carinae on each side; mesopleuron granulate; precoxal sulcus scrobiculate, shorter than mesopleuron but often with a carina extending from sulcus to posterior edge of mesopleuron; venter granulate; propodeum with basal median areas margined, granulate, basal median carina absent, areola not distinctly margined, areolar area rugose, lateral areas entirely rugose. Wings: fore wing vein r as long as or slightly shorter than vein 3RSa, vein 1cu-a beyond vein 1M; hind wing vein SC+R absent, vein M+CU shorter than vein 1M. Metasoma: first tergum longitudinally costate with median raised area rugose between distinct carinae, apical width equal to or slightly less than length; second tergum longitudinally costate; anterior transverse groove present, straight; posterior transverse groove present, often weakly so; third tergum costate basally, smooth apically; terga 4-7 smooth; ovipositor equal to combined length of metasomal terga 1-2.

Holotype female.

Top label (white, partially printed and hand written) - Costa Rica: Guanacaste [;] Santa Rosa Natl. Park [;] 300m, ex. Malaise trap [;] Site #: BH-10-C [;] Dates: 7-28.xii.1985 [;] I.D. Gauld & D. Janzen; second label (white, printed) - [BH] Bosque Humedo [;] mature evergreen dry forest [;] [C] more or less fully [;] shaded as possible; third label (red, partially printed and hand written) - HOLOTYPE [;] Heterospilus [;] muesebecki [;] P. Marsh. Deposited in ESUW.

Paratypes.

1 ♀, same data as holotype (ESUW). 2 ♀♀, top label - Costa Rica: Guanacaste [;] Santa Rosa Natl. Park [;] 300m, ex. Malaise trap [;] Site #: SE-7 and 5-O [;] Dates: 6-27.ix.1986 and 23. iii– 13.iv.1986 [;] I.D. Gauld & D. Janzen; second label - [SE] Bosque San Emelio [;] 50yr old deciduous forest [;] [O] in clearing, fully [;] isolated part of day (ESUW). 3 ♀♀, top label - Costa Rica: Guanacaste [;] Santa Rosa Natl. Park [;] 300m, ex. Malaise trap [;] Site #: SE-6-C and blank [;] Dates: 7-28.xii.1985, 4-24.v.1986 and 3-24.viii.1985 [;] I.D. Gauld & D. Janzen; second label - [SE] Bosque San Emelio [;] 50yr old deciduous forest [;] [C] more or less fully [;] shaded as possible (ESUW). 3 ♀♀, top label - Costa Rica: Guanacaste [;] Santa Rosa Natl. Park [;] 300m, ex. Malaise trap [;] Site #: BH-10 and 12-C and blank [;] Dates: 24. v– 14vi.1986 and 18. i– 8.ii.1986 [;] I.D. Gauld & D. Janzen; second label - [BH] Bosque Humedo [;] mature evergreen dry forest [;] [C] more or less fully [;] shaded as possible (ESUW). 2 ♀♀, top label - Costa Rica: Guanacaste [;] Santa Rosa Natl. Park [;] 300m, ex. Malaise trap [;] Site #: BH-9-O and blank [;] Dates: 20.xi.86-10.i.1097 and 29. xi– 20.xii.1986 [;] I.D. Gauld & D. Janzen; second label - [BH] Bosque Humedo [;] mature evergreen dry forest [;] [O] in clearing, fully [;] isolated part of day (ESUW). 2 ♀♀, top label - Costa Rica: Guanacaste [;] Santa Rosa Natl. Park [;] 300m, ex. Malaise trap [;] Site #: H-1-O and blank [;] Dates: 10-31.i.1987 and 20.xii.86-10.i.1987 [;] I.D. Gauld & D. Janzen; second label - [H] open regenerating [;] woodlands <10 year old [;] [O] in clearing, fully [;] isolated part of day (ESUW). 1 ♀, top label - Costa Rica: BH-10-C [;] Guanacaste Province [;] Santa Rosa Natl. Pk. [;] 300m, (dry season) [;] 10-31 January 1987; second label - Bosque Humedo, mature [;] dry forest with high [;] proportion evergreen [;] species, fully shaded [;] Townes style Malaise [;] Ian Gauld coll. (ESUW). 4 ♀♀, Costa Rica: Guanacaste [;] PN Guanacaste, 7km E HQ [;] near "small house" [;] 9.iii.1990, J. S. Noyes (ESUW). 3 ♀♀, top label - Costa Rica: Guanacaste Pr. [;] Guanacaste National Park [;] near Playa Naranja [;] 11 March 1990, J.S. Noyes; second label - PSYL#04 (ESUW). 2 ♀♀, top label - Costa Rica: Guanacaste [;] Santa Rosa National Pk. [;] 300m, Malaise, Ian Gauld [;] 10-31.i.1987; second label - mature dry forest [;] high proportion [;] evergreen species [;] Sun; third label - BH-11-O [;] 10-31.i.87 (ESUW). 1 ♀, Costa Rica: Guanacaste, ACT [;] Bagaces, P.N. Palo Verde [;] Sec. P. Verde, 0-50m [;] 2-12.xii.1999, I. Jimenez [;] L.N. 260932-385020 #54246 [;] Red de Golpe (ESUW). 1 ♀, Costa Rica: Guanacaste, ACT [;] Bagaces, P.N. Palo Verde, 212m [;] Sec. Palo Verde, Cerro Guayacan [;] 13. ix– 13.x.1999, I. Jimenez, Malaise [;] L.N. 259350-389600 #53499 (ESUW). 1 ♀, Costa Rica: Puntarenas [;] Peninsula Osa [;] Puerto Jimenez, 10m [;] i–ii.1992, Paul Hanson [;] grassy, weedy site (ESUW). 1 ♀, Costa Rica, Puntarenas [;] Pen. Osa, Puerto Jimenez, [;] 10m. VIII-IX-1993 [;] P. Hanson (ESUW). 1 ♀, Costa Rica: Puntarenas [;] San Vito, Las Cruces [;] Wilson Botanical Gardens [;] 18-22.iii.1990, 1150m [;] J.S. Noyes (ESUW). 1 ♀, Costa Rica: Cartago [;] Braulio Carillo N.P. [;] 600m, 25.iii.1990 [;] J. S. Noyes, coll. (ESUW). 5 ♀♀, COSTA RICA: Puntarenas [;] RF Golfo Dulce 200m [;] 24km W Piedras Blancas [;] P. Hanson ix.1992 and vi.1993 (TAMU). 27 ♀♀, S.RosaPark, Guan. [;] C. Rica, various dates from June 1976 to January 1978 [;] D. H. Janzen [;] Riparian and Dry Hill (AEIC). 2 ♀♀, Turrialba, C.R. [;] IV-25-1957 [;] RDShenefelt [;] RDS 57-177 (AEIC). 1 ♀, COSTA RICA: Punt- [;] arenas. 7km SW Rincon [;] 31. v– 7.vi.1998. B. Brown [;] & V. Berezovskiy, Mal. [;] Trp. #1; 2nd growth (AEIC).

Comments.

The large eyes and ocelli, strongly sculptured mesoscutum and the raised median area on metasomal tergum 1 are distinctive for this species.

Etymology.

Named for the great North American hymenopterist, Carl F. W. Muesebeck, in recognition for the mentoring he gave me in my early days as a budding braconidologist in Washington.