Hebynthus maros, 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 : 687-688

Hebynthus maros sp.nov.

(Figs 1882-1887; Hab. E 279)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.6mm): antenna (Fig. 1886) with scape dark brown, pale orange ventrally; flagellum dark brown; coxae brown; hind legs mostly dark brown, legs otherwise mostly yellow to pale orange; fore wing (Fig. 1884) virtually hyaline, but weakly suffused pale yellow-brown below marginal vein; head (Fig. 1882) about 4.4-4.5X as wide as frontovertex; malar sulcus present; antenna (Fig. 1886) with scape about 5.5-6.8X as long as broad; pedicel slightly shorter than F1-F2 combined; funicle with segments longer than broad, F6 may be quadrate; funicle with linear sensilla on all segments, sometimes absent from F1; sensory part of clava extending slightly more than 0.5X along ventral surface; fore wing (Fig. 1884) about 2.4- 2.6X as long as broad; ventral surface of costal cell with only one complete line of setae; mid tibial spur very slightly shorter than basitarsus; ovipositor slightly exserted with exserted part about 0.2-0.3 X as long as mid tibial spur; gonostylus about as long as mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.58mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.54mm (CPD).

Head mainly black; frontovertex generally with a dull blue and purple sheen, slightly coppery along inner eye margins and above scrobes; area between eye and scrobes with a weak brassy and coppery sheen; temple with a weak brassy and coppery sheen; gena mostly coppery; scrobes and interantennal prominence coppery with some blue and purple reflections, especially between toruli above mouth margin; frontovertex, gena and interantennal prominence with fairly inconspicuous dark brown setae; antenna (Fig. 1886) with radicle dark brown; scape dark brown, ventrally pale orange in proximal two-thirds; pedicel and flagellum dark brown; maxillary palpus pale brown; pronotum black with a mixed coppery and brassy sheen with a few scattered dark blue reflections; propleuron and prosternum dark brown; mesoscutum with an overall, dark blue sheen but mixed with some purple and coppery anteriorly, posterior margin dark brown with a mixed brassy, coppery and purple sheen; tegula dark brown with a slight brassy and purple sheen; axilla dark purple-brown with a slight brassy sheen; scutellum dark metallic blue, vertical apex and side very shiny dark metallic blue-green; dorsum of thorax clothed with dark brown setae; metanotum dark brown with a weak coppery purple sheen; mesopleuron dark brown with a fairly strong purple sheen with some blue, violet, coppery and brassy reflections; mesosternum dark brown; fore coxa dark brown; fore femur dark brown proximally, apical two-fifths or so pale orange, tibia pale orange with small brown, subbasal spot dorsally, tarsus pale orange; mid coxa dark brown; mid femur pale orange, tibia pale orange with a diffuse, brown, subbasal ring, spur and tarsus pale orange; hind coxa dark brown; hind femur pale orange with a broad brown subbasal ring, hind tibia dark brown, orange-brown at apices, tarsus orange-brown; fore wing (Fig. 1884) virtually hyaline, but weakly suffused pale yellow-brown below marginal vein, hind wing hyaline, venation orange; propodeum dark brown with a weak brassy and purple sheen, side dark metallic blue-green and green with about 20 long, conspicuous pale setae outside spiracle extending from anterior margin virtually to posterior margin; gaster dark brown, with a fairly strong purple and coppery sheen dorsally weakly mixed brassy, Gt1 dark, metallic blue, side of gaster with distinct metallic green, blue, brassy, purple and coppery reflections, venter slightly duller with mixed green, purple and blue, outer plates of ovipositor relatively dull coppery, purple and blue; gonostylus dark brown, extreme apex pale orange.

Head (Fig. 1882) sublenticular, about 4.4X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 2X as high as deep, anteriorly fairly evenly curved from occipital margin to top of scrobes, weakly angled at top of scrobes, interantennal prominence slightly protuberant; clypeal margin weakly emarginate medially; occipital margin sharp, carinate; ocelli forming an angle of about 60°; frontovertex shiny, with fairly regular, moderately deep, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size generally smaller than eye facet; frontovertex with piliferous punctures moderately deep and distinct, 5 setae in front of anterior ocellus, a line of sparse setae along inner eye margin continued along lower eye margin; temple and gena more shiny than frontovertex, with conspicuous, coarse, longitudinally elongate, strigose to striate-reticulate sculpture; eye slightly overreaching occipital margin, with fairly conspicuous pale setae that are hardly shorter than diameter of facet, eye separated from scrobal margin by about 1.5X diameter of ocellus, area between eye and scrobe with relatively, deep and coarse, transversely elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture; scrobes shallow, narrowly ∩-shaped, meeting, with distinct, polygonally reticulate sculpture, weakly margined dorsally and laterally; interantennal prominence weak, dorsally rounded, sculpture on interantennal prominence similar to frontovertex; antenna as in Fig. 1886; scape subcylindrical, about 5.5X as long as broad; all funicle segments clearly longer than broad, segments broader distad, linear sensilla present on all segments, or absent from F1; clava clearly broadened, very nearly as long as F3-F6 combined, sutures strongly oblique, sensory area enlarged, extending ventrally about 0.5X length of clava, apex strongly obliquely truncate; malar sulcus present, but very inconspicuous; mandible with two acute teeth and a narrowly truncate upper tooth. Relative measurements: HW 85, HH 84, FV 19.5, POL 10, OOL 0.5, OCL 4, AOL 10.5, EL 60, EW 44, MS 27, SL 44, SW 8.

Thorax (Fig. 1885) in dorsal view with pronotum short, mostly hidden by head; pronotum dorsally with imbricate-reticulate to polygonally reticulate sculpture that is slightly shallower than sculpture on frontovertex, and of larger mesh; mesoscutum generally with similar sculpture to that on pronotum; axilla with polygonally reticulate sculpture that is about as deep as that on frontovertex; scutellum clearly convex, dorsal part with conspicuously deeper, coarser and more regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture than on axilla or mesoscutum, vertical apex and side completely smooth and shiny; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.6X as broad as long; scutellum about as long as broad; fore wing with venation and distribution of setae as in Figs 1884, 1887, ventral surface of costal cell with only one complete line of setae; propodeum (Fig, 1885) medially about 0.17X as long as scutellum and with several longitudinal carinae and irregular reticulate sculpture medially, a short, angular tooth present posteriorly a little above mid way between spiracle and base of hind coxa. Relative measurements: FWL 125, FWW 49; HWL 94, HWW 55.5.

Gaster with hypopygium (Fig. 1883) reaching about 0.6X to apex; syntergum about 0.6X as long as mid tibia, with apex narrowly rounded; ovipositor hardly exserted, the exserted part about 0.2X as long as mid tibial spur or less than 0.1X mid tibia; gonostylus about as long as mid tibial spur. Relative measurements: OL 102.5, GL 36 [MT 103].

Variation. Female vary in overall length from 1.58-1.83mm, the head varies from 4.4-4.5X as wide as the frontovertex, the scape varies from 5.5-6.8X as long as broad, the fore wing varies from 2.4-2.6X as long as broad and the exserted part of the ovipositor varies from 0.2-0.3X as long as the mid tibial spur.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, San José, Zurqui de Moravia , 1600m, xi.1996 (P. Hanson) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, San José, Zurqui de Moravia , 1600m, x.1995 (P. Hanson); 1E , Cartago, La Cangreja , 9°48’N 85°58’W, 1900m, vii.1991 (P. Hanson, C. Godoy) . Holotype and paratypes in NHMUK .

COMMENTS. Hebynthus maros is superficially quite similar to tamones , both having similar antennal structure, the fore wing weakly infused yellowish, the mid tibial spur shorter than the basitarsus and the ovipositor about as long as the mid tibia. The two species can be separated using the colour of the hind leg and the relative density of the setae on the ventral surface of the costal cell of the hind wing. In maros the hind leg is largely brown and the ventral surface of the costal cell has only one complete line of setae whereas in tamones the hind leg is pale orange and the ventral surface of the costal cell has two compete lines of setae ventrally. See also comments under himalia (p. 696).