Hebynthus cira, 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 : 700-701

Hebynthus cira sp.nov.

(Figs 1932-1938; Hab. E 287)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.1mm): antenna (Fig. 1937) with scape pale orange; funicle brown mixed orange, clava brown; fore and mid coxae brown, hind coxa pale orange; fore and mid femora and mid tibia with some brown, legs otherwise mostly pale orange; fore wing (Fig. 1938) hyaline; head (Fig. 1936) about 3.1X as wide as frontovertex; malar sulcus absent; antenna (Fig. 1937) with scape about 6.3X as long as broad; pedicel slightly longer than F1-F2 combined; funicle with segments subquadrate; funicle with linear sensilla on F2-F6; sensory part of clava extending about 0.4X along ventral surface; fore wing (Fig. 1938) about 2.7X as long as broad; ventral surface of costal cell with only one complete line of setae; mid tibial spur slightly shorter than basitarsus; ovipositor slightly exserted with exserted part about 0.8X as long as mid tibial spur; gonostylus about 1.5X as long as mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.07mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.00mm ( CPD) .

Head mainly very dark brown with a moderate purple sheen with a few weak dark blue reflections; setae on frontovertex, interantennal prominence and gena dark brown; antenna (Fig. 1937) with radicle orange-brown; scape pale orange; pedicel brown, pale orange towards apex and ventrally; funicle brown dorsally and laterally, orange ventrally; clava brown; maxillary palpus pale orange; pronotum black with a slight purple sheen; propleuron and prosternum black; mesoscutum black with a moderately strong purple sheen with a few coppery and dark blue reflections; tegula dark brown; axilla and anterior three-quarters of scutellum black with moderately strong purple sheen, apical one-quarter and side of scutellum with a strong metallic dark blue-green sheen mixed with a little violet; metanotum very dark brown with a slight coppery sheen; mesopleuron dark brown with a weak coppery purple sheen; mesosternum dark brown; fore coxa dark brown; fore femur proximally dark brown, apical one-third or so pale orange, tibia and tarsus pale orange; mid coxa dark brown; mid femur dark brown, pale orange at apex, tibia pale orange with a faint pale brown subbasal band, spur and tarsus pale orange; hind coxa pale orange, hind femur pale orange, slightly dusky dorsally, tibia and tarsus pale orange, apical tarsomere brown; wings (Fig. 1938) hyaline, venation orange to slightly dusky orange; propodeum very dark brown with a slight purple and brassy sheen, side metallic dark green and blue anteriorly, coppery and purple posteriorly, a group of about 5 conspicuous, silvery setae anterolateral to spiracle and on side nearly to posterior margin; gaster dark brown, with a fairly strong brassy, coppery and purple sheen dorsally with some metallic dark blue-green reflections, Gt1 contrasting and strongly metallic dark blue, with some coppery red and brassy areas anteriorly, side of gaster brassy and coppery with some green reflections, venter slightly weaker mixed green, purple and blue, outer plates of ovipositor relatively dull coppery and blue; gonostylus dark brown.

Head (Fig. 1936) about 3.1X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.7X as high as deep, fairly evenly curved from occipital margin to level with top of scrobes then slightly less strongly curved to mouth margin, interantennal prominence slightly protuberant; occipital margin sharp, carinate; ocelli forming an angle of about 75°; frontovertex slightly shiny, with fairly regular, moderately deep, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size slightly smaller than eye facet; frontovertex with 3 pairs of setae in front of anterior ocellus, a line of sparse setae along inner eye margin continued along lower eye margin; temple and gena hardly more shiny than frontovertex, with shallower, longitudinally elongate, strigose to striate-reticulate sculpture; eye reaching occipital margin, separated from scrobe by about 1.5X diameter of ocellus, with conspicuous pale setae that are each about as long as diameter of facet; scrobes shallow, narrowly ∩-shaped, meeting, with sculpture similar to that on frontovertex, weakly margined dorsally and laterally; interantennal prominence weak, rounded dorsally, with shallow, regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture; antenna as in Fig. 1937; scape slender, about 6.3X as long as broad; all funicle segments longer than broad, F6 subquadrate, segments slightly larger and broader distad; linear sensilla only on F2-F6; clava hardly broadened, nearly as long as F2-F6 combined, sutures strongly oblique, sensory area enlarged, extending ventrally about 0.4X length of clava, apex strongly obliquely truncate; malar sulcus absent; clypeal margin weakly concave but with a weak median lobe; mandible with two acute teeth and a truncate upper tooth. Relative measurements: HW 75, HH 73, FV 24.5, POL 12.5, OOL 1, OCL 4, AOL 11, EL 51, EW 38, MS 21, SL 38, SW 6.

Thorax (Fig. 1933) in dorsal view with pronotum short, mostly hidden by head; pronotum dorsally with moderately deep, imbricate-reticulate to polygonally reticulate sculpture that is slightly shallower than sculpture on frontovertex, and of larger mesh; mesoscutum with mainly polygonally reticulate sculpture that is clearly shallower and less well-defined than that on pronotum; axilla with polygonally reticulate sculpture that is conspicuously coarser and deeper than that on frontovertex and of larger mesh; anterior three-quarters of scutellum with sculpture that is about as deep as that on axilla, but more coarse and longitudinally elongate, sculpture of similar cells to axillae medially towards base, but conspicuously more longitudinally elongate laterally and of much larger cells distally, apical one-eighth or so and side completely smooth and shiny; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.8X as broad as long; scutellum about as broad as long; fore wing with venation and distribution of setae as in Figs 1932, 1938; propodeum (Fig. 1933) medially about 0.21X as long as scutellum, virtually smooth, but with a few short, inconspicuous, longitudinal carinae near posterior margin. Relative measurements: FWL 71, FWW 25; HWL 56, HWW 12.

Gaster with hypopygium (Fig. 1935) reaching about 0.4X to apex; syntergum about 0.8X as long as mid tibia, with apex acute; ovipositor (Fig. 1934) clearly exserted, the exserted part about 0.8X as long as mid tibial spur or about 0.25X mid tibia; gonostylus about 1.5X as long as mid tibial spur. Relative measurements: OL 139, GL 53 [MT 115].

Variation. Only holotype examined.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Guanacaste, 10km NW Cañas, Mojica , rice, 12-26.ix.2011 (P. Hanson) . Holotype in NHMUK .

COMMENTS. As suggested by the key, Hebynthus cira is very close to erythrax . Apart from the characters given in the key the two species can be separated using a number of characters, most notably the colour of maxillary palpi, the profile of the head, the shape of the mouth margin, the relative width of the scape, the relative size of the clava and the density of setae on the side of the propodeum. In cira , the maxillary palpus is pale orange, the head in profile is about 1.7X as high as deep, the clypeal margin has a weak median lobe, the scape is about 6.3X as long as broad, the clava is nearly as long as F2-F6, the scutellum has very coarse, almost entirely longitudinally elongate striate sculpture and there are only about 5 or so conspicuous, silvery setae on the side of the propodeum. In erythrax , the maxillary palpi are dark brown, the head in profile is about 2.2X as high as deep, the clypeal margin is emarginate, the scape is about 7X as long as broad, the clava is slightly shorter than F3-F6 combined, the scutellum has deep, but fairly fine, regular polygonally reticulate sculpture that is a little more elongate laterally and there are about 20 silvery setae on the side of the propodeum. See also comments under kapo (p. 686).