Caenophanes costaricaensis Marsh

Marsh, Paul M., 2014, First record from Costa Rica of the genus Caenophanes Foerster and description of a new species (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Doryctinae), Journal of Hymenoptera Research 38, pp. 11-17 : 12-15

Caenophanes costaricaensis Marsh sp. n. Figs 1-5

Female.

Body size: 1.5-3.0 mm. Color: head honey yellow or light brown, ocellar triangle usually brown; scape honey yellow or yellow, flagellum brown; mesosoma brown with propleuron, mesopleuron, venter and mesoscutal lobes usually lighter brown or honey yellow; metasomal tergum 1 brown or dark brown, remainder of terga lighter brown or yellow; body rarely entirely honey yellow; legs yellow, femora and tibiae usually brown on apical half; wing veins brown, stigma brown with basal ⅓- ½ yellow. Head (Fig. 3): vertex coriaceous; frons coriaceous, often striate just behind antennae; face coriaceous-punctate with raised smooth area; temple in dorsal view somewhat broad, not sloping behind eye, width equal to ½ eye width; malar space greater than ¼ eye height; ocell-ocular distance 2.5 times diameter of lateral ocellus; 20-28 flagellomeres, first flagellomere slightly longer than second. Mesosoma (Fig. 1): mesonotum usually slightly declivous anteriorly, occasionally not declivous and nearly on same line as pronotum; mesoscutal lobes coriaceous, usually covered by dense short hair; notauli scrobiculate, meeting posteriorly in triangular rugose area; scutellum coriaceous; prescutellar furrow with 3-5 cross carinae; mesopleuron weakly coriaceous; precoxal sulcus scrobiculate, shorter than mesopleuron; venter weakly coriaceous; epicnemial carina distinct and raised, expanded as a short flange behind fore coxae; propodeum with apical-lateral corners produced into distinct tubercle, basal median areas distinctly margined and coriaceous, basal median carina present, areola usually distinctly margined, areolar area rugose or carinate, lateral areas entirely rugose. Wings: fore wing (Fig. 4) vein r about ⅓ length of vein 3RSa, vein 1cu-a distinctly beyond vein 1M, first subdiscal cell closed at apex by vein 2cu-a which is usually interstitial with vein m-cu, vein 3CU on same line as vein 1CU, vein 2CU absent; hind wing (Fig. 5) vein SC+R present, vein M+CU shorter than vein 1M. Legs: hind coxa with distinct antero-ventral basal tooth; fore tibia with distinct single row of short stout spines along anterior edge. Metasoma (Fig. 2): first tergum longitudinally costate, often rugose medially, length slightly greater than apical width; second tergum usually with short costae at extreme base, often nearly entirely smooth; anterior transverse groove weak and curved or sinuate, occasionally absent entirely; posterior transverse groove absent; third and following terga smooth; ovipositor about half as long as metasoma.

Male.

Essentially as in female; propodeum usually dark brown, metasomal terga 1 and 4-7 dark brown, terga 2-3 yellow.

Holotype female.

Top label (white, printed) - Costa Rica: Guanacaste [;] Est. Biol. Maritza, 600m [;] xi.1996, C. Zuniga, Malaise [;] L.N. 326900-373000 #47554; second label (red, printed) - HOLOTYPE [;] Caenophanes [;] costaricaensis Marsh. Deposited in ESUW.

Paratypes.

4 ♀♀, top label - Costa Rica: Guanacaste [;] Santa Rosa Natl. Park [;] 300m, ex. Malaise trap [;] Site: SE-6-C [;] Dates: 16. xi– 9.xii.1985, 18. i– 8.ii.1986 and 6-27.ix.1986 [;] I.D. Gauld & D. Janzen; second label - [SE] Bosque San Emilio [;] 50yr old deciduous 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 [;] Dates: 20.xi.86-10.i.1987 and 28.xii.85-18.i.1986 [;] I.D. Gauld & D. Janzen; second label - [BH] Bosque Humedo [;] mature evergreen dry forest [;] [O] in clearing, fully [;] isolated part of day (ESUW). 1 ♀, top label - Costa Rica: Guanacaste [;] Santa Rosa Natl. Park [;] 300m, ex. Malaise trap [;] Site: blank [;] Dates: 20.xii.86-10.i.1987 [;] I.D. Gauld & D. Janzen; second label - [BH] Bosque Humedo [;] mature evergreen dry forest [;] [C] more or less fully [;] shaded as possible (ESUW). 1 ♂, top label - Costa Rica: Guanacaste [;] Santa Rosa Natl. Park [;] 300m, ex. Malaise trap [;] Site: H-1-O [;] Dates: 29. xi– 20.xii.1986 [;] I.D. Gauld & D. Janzen; second label - [H] open regenerating [;] woodland <10 years old [;] [O] in clearing, fully [;] isolated part of day (ESUW). 1 ♀, COSTA RICA Guanacaste [;] ACG, Santa Rosa Station [;] 10.837°N, 85.620°W 300m [;] i-xii.2008, malaise trap [;] D.H.Janzen&W.Hallwachs [;] DNA#AW123 (UILL). 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). 1 ♀, top label - Costa Rica: Guanacaste [;] Santa Rosa National Pk. [;] 300m, Malaise, Ian Gauld [;] 10-31.i.1987; second label - Bosque San Emilio [;] 50yr old deciduous [;] forest [;] full shade; third label - SE-6-C [;] 10-31.i.87 (ESUW). 1 ♀, Costa Rica: Limon [;] 30 km N Cariari, 100m [;] Sector Cocori, Malaise [;] iii.1995, E. Rojas #4524 [;] L.N. 286000-567500 (ESUW). 1 ♀, Costa Rica: San Jose [;] San Antonio de Escazu [;] 1300m, iii-iv.1998 [;] W.Eberhard & P.Hanson (ESUW). 1 ♂, Costa Rica, Carthago Pr. [;] Dulce Nombre, Vivero [;] Linda Vista, 1300 m [;] 1994: x–xi, P. Hanson (ESUW).

Etymology.

Named for the country of Costa Rica where the specimens were all collected.

Comments.

This species does not easily run to any species in the key presented by Belokobylskij and Maeto (2009). It is similar to nukunu (Marsh and Austin) ( Austin et al. 1994) because of the expanded epicnemial carina but differs in color and by having the ovipositor shorter than the metasoma.