Cheiloneurus cupreicollis Ashmead, 1886

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 : 393-395

Cheiloneurus cupreicollis Ashmead stat.rev.

(Figs 1001-1005; Hab. E 148)

Chiloneurus [sic] cupreicollis Ashmead, 1886:131 . Lectotype E (designated Noyes, 1979:150),

USA (Florida), USNM, not examined. Chiloneurus [sic] funiculus Howard, 1897:148 . Holotype E, Grenada (W.I.), NHMUK, examined.

Synonymy with cupreicollis by Noyes (1979:150-151).? Saronotum australiae Perkins, 1906:260 . Lectotype E (designated Guerrieri, 2006:2398),

Australia (Queensland), BPBM, not examined. Synonymy with flaccus by Guerrieri

( 2006:2399).? Saronotum americanum Perkins, 1906:260 . Holotype E, USA (Ohio), BPBM, not examined.

Synonymy with flaccus by Burks (1975:147). Cheiloneurus flaccus ; Guerrieri & Viggiani (2005:310), misidentification (non-type material).

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.5-1.9mm): body mostly orange to pale orange-brown, generally with a weak metallic sheen; pronotum, mesoscutum and propodeum dark brown, gaster dark brown mixed orange-brown, darker areas with a stronger metallic sheen; antenna (Fig. 1003) with scape pale orange; pedicel pale orange-brown; funicle and clava dark brown; mesoscutum with evenly distributed, moderately dense, silvery setae; fore coxa pale yellow, mid coxa brown, hind coxa white to pale orange; fore and mid legs otherwise mostly orange, mid tibia dark brown; hind legs largely dark brown; fore wing (Fig. 1004) mostly infuscate with basal cell almost completely hyaline, small area at apex of venation and area on opposite margin hyaline, apex narrowly hyaline; head (Fig. 1001) about 3X as wide as frontovertex, in facial view about as long as broad, genae straight and converging, curved inwards near mouth; frontovertex with about 13 inconspicuous setae medially between anterior ocellus and scrobes; eye separated from scrobe by about 2X diameter of anterior ocellus, area between eye and scrobe with distinct sculpture, scrobes very shallow with rounded margins; interantennal prominence with about 40 conspicuous setae and dorsally rounded; mandible tridentate; antenna (Fig. 1003) with scape about 6.9X as long as broad; funicle distally conspicuously flattened, F1-F5 longer than broad, F6 quadrate; head width about equal to length of F1-F5 combined; linear sensilla on F3-F6; clava 3-segmented, slightly shorter than F4-F6 combined, apex broadly rounded but sensory area extending about 0.4X along clava; mesoscutum (Fig. 1002) with uniform, shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture; scutellum with a distinct, apical tuft of setae; wings fully developed; fore wing (Fig. 1004) about 3.3X as long as broad; parastigma strongly downcurved; costal cell dorsally naked, ventrally with virtually a complete line of very fine setae; area below proximal part of parastigma with a group of about 15-20 fine setae; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a naked hyaline area that hardly continues into disc (Fig. 1005); apical bristle of postmarginal vein about 0.3X as long as marginal vein; mid tibial spur hardly longer than basitarsus; propodeum (Fig. 1002) with about 25 setae adjacent to spiracle extending part way down side; gaster without “gland-like” structures on Gt1 or Gt5; syntergum about 0.7X as long as mid tibia; ovipositor about 4.4X gonostylus or about as long as mid tibia; gonostylus about 0.7X as long as mid tibial spur; exserted part of ovipositor not more than about 0.3X as long as mid tibial spur. Male: unknown in Costa Rica, but those from North America are generally slightly smaller than the females and differ only in the structure of the antenna and genitalia and in lacking the narrow hyaline apex to the fore wing. Fore wing infuscate as in female; antenna filiform with all funicle segments about 5X as long as broad and clothed with whorls of setae that are only slightly longer than diameter of segments.

DISTRIBUTION. USA (Hawaii,?Ohio, Colorado new record, Florida), Canada (Quebec, Ontario) (new record), Costa Rica (new record),? Australia (Queensland). Other records require confirmation .

HOSTS. Almost certainly parasitoids of Dryinidae ( Hymenoptera ). Saronotum americanum , which may be the same as cupreicollis , was recorded as a parasitoid of Pseudogonatopus Perkins by Perkins (1906) and Guerrieri & Viggiani (2005, referring to Perkins, 1906) cite the host of cupreicollis (as flaccus misident.) as Tetrodontochelys peculiaris (Brues) ( Dryinidae ).

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Encyrtus funiculus , Holotype E: GRENADA (WI), “Holo-type”, “St John’s Riv. (Leeward side) Grenada W.I. H.H. Smith 17 –”, “ W. Indies. ”, “99-331”, “ Chiloneurus funiculus How typ.”, “ Cheiloneurus funiculus Howard det. J.S. Noyes 1978 HOLOTYPE ”, “ B.N. Type HYM. 5.1145” ( NHMUK).

Non type material. USA, 2E, Hawaii, Oahu, Evra Plntn (? - illegible), ex Dryinid cocoon, 12.v.1919 (O.H. Swezey), “ Chrysopophagus americanus (Perkins) det. Timberlake”; 1E, Hawaii, Oahu, Evra (? - illegible), ex Dryinid cocoon, Iss. 18.vi.1920 (Timberlake coll.); 1E, Hawaii (?), ex Dryinid cocoon, Timberlake coll., “ Saronotum americanum Perkins Timb. det.”; 2E, Colorado, Eagle Co., Minturn 7800, 1.v.1987 (J.D. Pinto); 5E, 6G, Florida, Levy Co., Cedar Key, 23.iv.1989 (J.S. Noyes); CANADA, 1E, Quebec, Lac Roddick, 1.xi.1985 (J.S. Noyes); 1E, Ontario, 12m S. New Liskeard, vii.1973 (C. Starr); 1E, Ontario, Ottawa, McCarthy Woods , 16.ix.1985 (L. Masner); COSTA RICA, 1E, Guanacaste, Palo Verde, LN 259000 388400, 10m, 12.viii-12.ix.1991 (R.U. Chavarria, D. Acevedo); 1E, Guanacaste, Santa Cruz, Vista del Mar , Torre Cocesna, LN 357490 235430, 970m, #61247, xii.2000 - i.2001 (V. Cárdenas); 1E, Alajuela, Garita , 12.iii.1997 (P. Hanson). Material in MZUCR and NHMUK .

COMMENTS. I am confident that the Costa Rican specimens noted above belong to cupreicollis , although they are generally relatively smaller and slightly paler than any of the specimens examined from Hawaii or North America.

Cheiloneurus cupreicollis was incorrectly synonymised with flaccus by Guerrieri & Viggiani (2005). Their illustration of the antenna, and examination of the non-type material listed by them, clearly show that they have misidentified cupreicollis as flaccus . Both Cheiloneurus cupreicollis and flaccus have a slender scape, at least about 7X as long as broad, pedicel slightly shorter than F1 and a distinctly flattened flagellum. However, cupreicollis has F1 subcylindrical and hardly broadened, nearly 3X as long as broad and F5 very slightly narrower than either F6 or the clava. In flaccus all the funicle segments are clearly broadened and flattened so that F1 is only about 1.5X as long as broad and F5 is slightly wider than F6 or the clava.

Saronotum australiae and S. americanum have very probably been incorrectly synonymised with Cheiloneurus flaccus (see Burks, 1975; Guerrieri, 2006) and are probably the same as cupreicollis .