Neococcidencyrtus orion, 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 : 135-137

Neococcidencyrtus orion sp.nov.

( Figs 323-328; Hab. E 53)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.8mm): face ( Fig. 328) with a brown band above toruli level with top of interantennal prominence; mesoscutum orange-brown with a metallic sheen; tegula pale orange, apex brown; scutellum orange; coxae mostly dark brown, but mid coxa partly pale orange; fore femur mostly pale orange, but partially dark brown, fore tibia mostly pale orange; mid femur mostly pale orange mixed dark brown; hind femur mostly brown, distally orange; hind tibia with a pair of dark brown bands; fore wing ( Fig. 326) with an infuscate pattern; hyaline band distad of venation with widest point about 2X as wide as narrowest point; head ( Fig. 328) about 6.0X as wide as frontovertex; funicle with longitudinal sensilla on F3-F6; clava with outer suture incomplete and dorsally oblique; mandible virtually tridentate, with one acute tooth and a concave, upper truncation; fore wing ( Fig. 326) about 2.5X as long as broad; linea calva interrupted by 2 or 3 setae; ovipositor not exserted; gonostylus shorter than mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length 1.83mm ( CPD) .

Head ( Fig. 328) generally yellow to orange with dark brown markings; occiput pale orange; frontovertex orange; temple and posterior part of gena pale orange; scrobal area largely yellow with a slender, dark brown, transverse band from malar sulcus just below eye across upper part of interantennal prominence, narrowest at malar sulcus, another slightly broader band from malar sulcus across lower part of toruli, broadest at malar sulcus, below this pale orange to mouth margin, area immediately above base of mandible dark brown; frontovertex with a conspicuous dark brown setae behind each posterior ocellus, otherwise setae inconspicuous and pale brown; a line of inconspicuous, translucent silvery setae between eye and scrobe to position of malar sulcus; gena with only a few, scattered inconspicuous translucent setae, these becoming more dense and conspicuous on lower gena and interantennal prominence; labial palpus pale yellow, maxillary palpus pale yellow with apex pale orange; radicle amber with a dark brown apical ring; scape pale orange, ventral margin and extreme apex dark brown; pedicel pale orange, with a complete dark brown stripe internally; F1-F5 pale orange, dorsally dark brown, distal segments progressively less extensively dark brown, F6 pale orange; clava dark brown; thorax mixed orange and dark brown with a metallic lustre; pronotum orange, posterior margin completely translucent, neck dusky; mesoscutum orange-brown with a fairly strong, metallic dark blue-green and violet sheen, extreme side pale orange; tegula orange, apex brown with a weak coppery purple sheen; axilla orange, inner margins dark brown; scutellum orange, dorsally with weak coppery reflections and a slightly curved, dusky orange, subapical band, extreme side and apex mostly orange with a weak blue-green and coppery sheen, area immediately behind axilla metallic green and coppery; mesopleuron pale orange with a weak coppery and brassy sheen; prosternum dark brown, mesosternum mostly pale orange margined dark brown; fore and hind coxae dark brown, mid coxa ventrally orange-brown to dark brown, otherwise pale orange; fore femur externally with proximal one-third dark brown, remainder pale orange, internally with brown area slightly more extensive, tibia mostly pale orange with a short subbasal brown stripe externally, tarsus dusky orange, apical tarsomere brown; mid femur mostly pale orange margined brown in distal two thirds, mid tibial spur and tarsus pale yellow, almost white; hind femur largely dark brown, apical half mostly orange to orange-brown with dorsal margin dark brown, tibia with proximal one-quarter or so dark brown, a slightly broader dark brown band at about 0.4X, remainder pale orange, tarsus white with apical tarsomere orange-brown; fore wing ( Fig. 326) generally infuscate, hyaline below proximal half of submarginal vein and with a complete, slightly irregular, hyaline band immediately distad of apex of venation; hind wing hyaline; propodeum medially and side anteriorly dark brown with a weak purple sheen, area around spiracle pale orange; gaster dark brown, dorsally mostly with a coppery sheen but TI with mixed coppery red, metallic dark blue-green and brassy reflections and apex of syntergum with a mixed purple and metallic darkblue sheen, side and venter with mixed coppery red, metallic dark green, blue-green and brassy reflections; gonostylus white.

Head ( Fig. 328) about 6.0X as wide as frontovertex, slightly collapsed, but in profile about 1.9X as high as deep, tangent to frontovertex forming an angle of about 75° with that of face; occipital margin rounded, indistinct; no oval depression adjacent to eye near occipital margin; ocelli forming an angle of about 38°; frontovertex hardly shiny with moderately deep, fine, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size mostly a little smaller than eye facet; temple and gena with moderately deep, fine, longitudinally elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture; top of scrobes and interantennal prominence with fairly shallow, regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture, mouth margin with similar, but slightly deeper, coarser sculpture; scrobes extremely shallow, indistinct; antenna as in Fig. 323; scape very slightly broadened and flattened, about 3.8X as long as broad; funicle with all segments slightly longer than broad and gradually increasing in width distad, F1 about 1.9X as long as broad, F6 about 1.2X as long as broad, linear sensilla present only on F3- F6; clava nearly as long as F4-F6 combined, sutures parallel, outer suture incomplete and dorsally oblique; sensory area small, at apex only giving it a narrowly truncate appearance; eye slightly overreaching occipital margin, naked; malar sulcus present; clypeal margin weakly concave, but medially with a shallow convex lobe; mandible virtually tridentate, with one acute tooth and a concave, upper truncation. Relative measurements: HW 142, HH 127, FV 23.5, POL 11, OOL 0, OCL 3(?), AOL 21, EL 79, EW 75, MS 67, SL 70, SW 18.5.

Thorax with visible part of mesoscutum about 1.6X as broad as long; scutellum about 1.3X as broad as long with subapical setae about 0.7X its length; hind femur about 3.4X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 325, 326; propodeum medially about 0.1X as long as scutellum. Relative measurements: FWL 113, FWW 46; HWL 86, HWW 22.

Gaster with hypopygium ( Fig. 324) reaching about 0.5X towards apex; last tergite about 0.8X as long as mid tibia, with apex rounded; ovipositor ( Fig. 327) hidden. Relative measurements: OL 58, GL 11 [MT 53].

Variation. Only holotype examined.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Guanacaste, PN Bosque Diría, 10°10’N 85°34’W, 200m, 14-15.ii.2011 (J.S. Noyes) . Holotype in NHMUK .

COMMENTS. Of the previously described species, Neococcidencyrtus orion is most similar to dryslidis Noyes but differs in having a distinct brown band across the face above the toruli and all funicle segments longer than broad. In dryslidis the face is without a brown band above the toruli and the antenna has F1-F5 transverse.