Dalek saurax, 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 : 654-656

Dalek saurax sp.nov.

(Figs 1793-1799; Hab. E 268)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.2-1.6mm): scape (Figs 1798, 1799) yellow; mesoscutum bright metallic blue-green to dark green; coxae yellow to pale orange, mid coxa brown basally and ventrally or completely brown; clypeal margin (Fig 1797) with a very short, truncate, median lobe; OOL slightly more than OCL; antenna (Figs 1798, 1799) with scape about 4.4-5.1X as long as broad; all funicle segments slightly longer than broad; linear sensilla on all funicle segments or absent from F1; mesoscutum with sculpture shallower than on scutellum (Fig. 1796); side and apex of scutellum completely smooth and shiny; mid tibial spur shorter than basitarsus; fore wing (Fig. 1793) about 2.4-2.5X as long as broad; propodeum with about 15-20 setae around spiracle; apex of syntergum slightly angular; ovipositor longer than mid tibia, exserted part about 0.6X as long as mid tibial spur; gonostylus longer than mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.40mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.31mm (CPD).

Head generally black with a coppery sheen; ocellar area metallic dark green and slightly brassy; frontovertex, gena and interantennal prominence with inconspicuous, brown setae; antenna (Fig. 1799) with radicle dusky yellow, apex brown; scape yellow; pedicel and flagellum mostly brown with venter of pedicel and F1-F5 mixed pale orange-brown; maxillary palpus slightly dusky pale yellow; thorax generally dark brown to black, pronotum with a moderate coppery purple sheen; mesoscutum relatively bright metallic blue-green, posterior margin narrowly coppery purple; tegula dark brown with a coppery purple sheen; axilla dark purple-brown with a coppery purple sheen; scutellum coppery purple in basal 0.7X, apex and side strongly shining metallic green, blue-green and coppery; mesoscutum and scutellum clothed with fairly inconspicuous dark brown setae; metanotum dark purple-brown; mesopleuron very dark brown, with a brassy sheen mixed with some coppery purple; mesosternum dark brown; fore and hind coxae yellow, mid coxa mostly very pale orange, but mixed brown towards base, especially ventrally; fore femur, tibia and tarsus pale orange, apical tarsomere a little dusky; mid femur pale orange, mixed pale brown dorsally towards apex, tibia pale orange with a narrow, weak, pale brown, subbasal ring, extreme apex pale brown, tarsus pale orange, apical tarsomere slightly dusky; hind femur pale orange mixed pale brown dorsally towards apex, tibia pale orange mixed with some pale brown throughout, tarsus pale orange-brown; wings mostly hyaline, but fore wing (Figs 1793, 1795) with a small, very weakly infuscate patch below the marginal and stigmal veins; propodeum dark brown, with a weak purple and brassy sheen, side mainly with a metallic dark green and coppery sheen with about 15 conspicuous, translucent, silvery setae outside spiracle, extending part of the way down side of propodeum and towards posterior margin; gaster dark brown, with a distinct coppery purple sheen, dorsal part of Gt1 with a distinct blue-green sheen, side of gaster with a mixed metallic green, brassy and coppery sheen; gonostylus dark brown.

Head (Fig. 1797) about 2.7X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.7X as high as deep; occipital margin sharp, strongly carinate; ocelli forming an angle of about 95°; frontovertex with irregular, shallow, polygonal sculpture, in ocellar area of mesh size smaller than eye facet, generally subequal or conspicuously larger in front of anterior ocellus; frontovertex with piliferous punctures shallow and indistinct, 2 in front of anterior ocellus, a line of sparse setae along inner eye margin continued along lower eye margin on to gena; interantennal prominence with a few inconspicuous setae; temple and gena virtually completely smooth and shiny, posteriorly with some extremely shallow, longitudinally elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture of relatively large mesh; eye virtually reaching occipital margin, separated by less than 0.5X diameter of facet, clothed with fairly conspicuous setae, each about as long as diameter of facet, separated from scrobal margin by about diameter of ocellus, area between eye and scrobe partly with shallow, transversely elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture, completely smooth towards gena; scrobes shallow, more or less ∩-shaped, meeting dorsally, very weakly margined dorsally and laterally; interantennal prominence shallow, dorsally rounded; antenna as in Fig. 1799; scape subcylindrical, about 5.1X as long as broad, dorsal margin straight; all funicle segments slightly longer than broad, becoming slightly broader distad; clava hardly enlarged, about 1.1X as wide as F6 and about as long as F4-F6 combined, outer suture very slightly oblique, sensory area slightly enlarged, but hardly extending along ventral surface giving apex a weakly truncate appearance; malar sulcus absent; clypeal margin with a very short, broad, virtually truncate median lobe; mandible with two acute teeth and a broad, truncate, upper tooth. Relative measurements: HW 79, HH 71, FV 29.5, POL 12, OOL 3, OCL 2.5, AOL 7, EL 48, EW 38.5, MS 25, SL 36, SW 7.

Thorax (Fig. 1796) in dorsal view with pronotum clearly visible behind head, its posterior margin concave, with polygonally reticulate sculpture that is generally similar to that on anterior part of frontovertex; mesoscutum with slightly irregular, polygonally reticulate sculpture that is similar to that on pronotum but of smaller mesh and posteriorly a little deeper and coarser; axilla with transversely elongate, polygonally reticulate to imbricate-reticulate sculpture that is of similar depth to that on posterior part of mesoscutum; scutellum dorsally convex, in proximal 0.7X or so with similar sculpture to that on posterior part of mesoscutum, but clearly coarser, of smaller mesh and deeper, apical 0.3X completely smooth and shiny, this smooth area extending slightly more anteriorly in middle; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.6X as broad as long; scutellum about 1.1X as long as broad, apex not flange-like; fore wing with venation and distribution of setae as in Figs 1793, 1795; costal cell with a single line of setae dorsally in apical 0.5X or so; mid tibial spur shorter than basitarsus; propodeum (Fig. 1796) medially about 0.15X as long as scutellum, with 2 submedian carinae and some shallow, irregular sculpture; side clearly carinate posteriorly above hind coxa, but without a truncate tooth behind spiracle. Relative measurements: FWL 84, FWW 33; HWL 58, HWW 14.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about 0.9X to apex; syntergum about 0.7X as long as mid tibia, with apex slightly angular; ovipositor clearly exserted, the exserted part about 0.6X as long as mid tibial spur or nearly 0.2X as long as mid tibia.

Paratype. Funicle with linear sensilla on F2-F6; ovipositor Fig. 1794. Relative measurements: OL 93, GL 27 [MT 58.5, MTS 14].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 1.22-1.57mm, the funicle varies from pale yellow brown and conspicuously paler than the clava to brown and concolourous with the clava, the mesoscutum varies from bright metallic blue-green to dark green, the mid coxa may be completely dark brown, the infuscate area below the marginal vein may be more or less absent, the scape may be 4.4-5.1X as long as broad, linear sensilla may be present on all funicle segments or absent from F1, F1 may be conspicuously smaller than F2 (Fig. 1798) or subequal (Fig. 1799) with larger specimens having F1 relatively larger, the fore wing varies from 2.4-2.5X as long as broad, the propodeum may have 3 or 4 submedian carinae and 15-20 setae around the spiracle and the ovipositor may be hardly exserted, otherwise little variation noted in material available.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Puntarenas, Est. Altamira, Send. los Gigantes, LS 331800 572100, 1460m, ii.2002 (C. Hansson, D. Rubí ) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Guanacaste, Macizo Miravalles , Est. Cabro Muco, LN 299769 411243, 1100m, #73635, iii.2003 (J. Azofeifa); 1E , Alajuela, Peñas Blancas, 1° rainforest, 700m, ii.1987 (E. Cruz); 1E, Alajuela, PN Arenal, Sendero Mena, LN 4541670 271800, 600m, 17.iv-19.v.2001 (G. Carballo); 1E, San José, Zurqui de Moravia , 1600m, viii.1996 (P. Hanson); 1E , Puntarenas, Res. Priv. Karen Mogensen, 305m, LN205300 419750, #74655, 22.vi-9.vii.2003 (D. Briceño); 2E, Puntarenas, Res. Priv. Karen Mogensen, 9°52’N 85°03’W, 305m, 11-21.ii.2005 (C. Hansson); 2E, Puntarenas, Res. Priv. Karen Mogensen, 9°52’N 85°03’W, 305m, 19-20.ii.2009 (J.S. Noyes); 4E, Puntarenas, Res. Priv. Karen Mogensen, 9°52’N 85°03’W, 305m, 17-18.ii.2011 (J.S. Noyes); 2E, Puntarenas, Res. Priv. Karen Mogensen, 9°52’N 85°03’W, 305m, 22-24.ii.2013 (J.S. Noyes) . Holotype in MZUCR, paratypes in MZUCR and NHMUK .

COMMENTS. See comments under jigas (p. 650).