Cercobelus pleiades, 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 : 616-617

Cercobelus pleiades sp.nov.

(Figs 1667-1674)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 2.5mm): scape orange-brown; fore wing (Fig. 1672) largely hyaline, but weakly infuscate below apex of venation and towards apex; all coxae dark brown; fore and mid femora mostly dark brown; hind tibia dark brown with a distinct white basal band; antenna (Fig. 1670) with scape about 4.2X as long as broad; pedicel about 1.4X as long as broad; antenna with linear sensilla on F1; all funicle segments longer than broad, F1 longer than F2; mandible (Fig. 1668) with 2 very short, sharp teeth and a broadly truncate, short upper tooth with a weakly serrate margin; fore wing with marginal vein punctiform (Fig. 1671); hind wing about 3.7X as long as broad; propodeum (Fig. 1667) medially with irregular sculpture, spiracle separated from anterior margin of propodeum by about its own diameter; apex of syntergum smooth; hypopygium (Fig. 1673) triangular, completely longitudinally divided, with short anterior apodemes. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 2.51mm; excluding ovipositor, 2.42mm ( CPD) .

Head black and slightly shiny, generally with a very weak coppery purple sheen, occipital margin distinctly coppery purple; antenna (Fig. 1670) with radicle dark brown; scape, pedicel and flagellum orange-brown, pedicel proximally dark brown; clava brown; maxillary palpus orange-brown; thorax black and slightly shiny; mesoscutum with a dull dark blue sheen with some coppery purple; tegula with a weak purple sheen; axilla slightly shiny with a weak coppery purple sheen; scutellum shiny, with a weak coppery sheen, apex and side brassy; mesopleuron with a weak coppery purple sheen; all coxae dark brown; fore femur dark brown, extreme apex orange-brown, tibia largely dusky pale orange with an incomplete, broad, diffuse brown band, tarsus dorsally dark brown, ventrally dusky pale orange; mid femur dark brown with a narrow, subbasal, white ring, extreme apex dusky pale orange, tibia dark brown with an indistinct, narrow, dusky pale orange, subbasal ring, spur and tarsus pale yellow, two apical tarsomeres dark brown; hind leg dark brown, tibia narrowly white basally; wings largely hyaline, but fore wing (Fig 1672) generally infuscate distally from distal margin of linea calva, most strongly so below marginal and stigmal veins and along anterior wing margin; propodeum dark brown and moderately shiny, side relatively dull; gaster dark brown, moderately shiny with a slight coppery sheen with brassy, purple, blue and green reflections; gonostylus dark brown.

Head (Fig. 1668) about 1.6X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.7X as high as deep, more or less evenly, convexly rounded from occipital margin to top of scrobes, then virtually straight mouth margin; occipital margin sharp, carinate; ocelli forming an angle of about 130°; frontovertex shiny, with moderately deep, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size subequal to, or larger than, eye facet, of larger mesh in front of anterior ocellus; temple and gena with longitudinally elongate, polygonally reticulate to striate sculpture; eye separated from occipital margin by about 0.8X diameter of posterior ocellus, or about 3.5X diameter of facet, with inner margin not sinuate, clothed with fairly conspicuous, pale setae that are clearly longer than diameter of facet; scrobes absent, area immediately above toruli smooth; interantennal prominence extremely, weak, with very shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture; upper margin of torulus very slightly below lower eye margin; antenna as in Fig. 1670; scape hardly broadened, about 4.2X as long as broad; pedicel about 1.4X as long as broad; all funicle segments slightly longer than broad, F1 clearly longest, remainder becoming slightly larger and broader distad, linear sensilla present on all segments; clava about as long as F2-F4 combined; clypeal margin deeply and broadly emarginate medially, tentorial pit visible below torulus; mandible (Fig. 1668) with 2 very short, sharp teeth and a broadly truncate, short upper tooth with a weakly serrate margin. Relative measurements: HW 93, HH 81, FV 57, POL 26, OOL 12.5, OCL 8.5, AOL 13, EL 44, EW 32, MS 26.5, SL 33, SW 8.

Thorax (Fig. 1667) in dorsal view with pronotum slightly elongate, conical, a large part visible behind head, with posterior margin weakly, but fairly evenly concave; pronotum with very shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture, of similar mesh size to that in ocellar area, but clearly much shallower, side with transversely elongate reticulate sculpture of larger mesh; mesoscutum with similar sculpture to that on frontovertex in front of anterior ocellus, but very slightly shallower; axilla and most of scutellum with similar sculpture to dorsal part of pronotum, apex and side of scutellum virtually completely smooth and shiny; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.6X as broad as long and medially about 1.5X as long as pronotum; scutellum about 1.1X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and distribution of setae as in Figs 1671, 1672; propodeum (Fig. 1667) medially about 0.42X as long as scutellum, anterior part smooth, but with a broad, median Λ-shaped area enclosing irregular sculpture, this extending laterally along posterior margin. Relative measurements: FWL 118.5, FWW 46.5; HWL 82, HWW 22.

Gaster slightly longer than thorax, syntergum (Fig. 1674) about 0.5X as long as mid tibia, with apex broadening subapically, narrowly rounded at apex smooth; hypopygium (Fig. 1673) triangular, completely longitudinally divided, with short anterior apodemes; ovipositor (Fig. 1669) slightly exserted, the exserted part about 0.3X as long as mid tibial spur or 0.1X mid tibia. Relative measurements: OL 36 [MT 67].

Variation. Only holotype examined.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, San José, Zurqui de Moravia , 1600m, ii.1995 (P. Hanson) . Holotype in NHMUK .