Sectiliclava arion, 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 : 563-564

Sectiliclava arion sp.nov.

(Figs 1445-1452; Hab. E 211)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.3-1.6mm): antenna (Fig. 1445) mostly dark brown; setae arising from piliferous punctures (Fig. 1447) sparse, translucent, silvery and fairly conspicuous; thorax dark brown with a moderate to strong metallic sheen; scutellum mostly purple and blue; mid tibia brown in proximal half, distal half and hind tibia pale orange; head (Fig. 1445) with conspicuous, completely shiny, piliferous punctures on frontovertex; funicle (Fig. 1445) with F1- F5 all slightly longer than broad, F6 quadrate; mesoscutum (Fig. 1452) with piliferous punctures conspicuous, similar to those on frontovertex. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length 1.34mm (CPD).

Head with occiput black with a weak coppery purple sheen; frontovertex, scrobal area, area between eye and scrobe and gena with very shiny, metallic dark blue, piliferous punctures, area between punctures and temple relatively dull, contrasting, coppery purple; setae arising from piliferous punctures translucent, silvery and fairly conspicuous; antenna (Fig. 1445) with radicle pale orange, mixed brown laterally; scape pale orange, mixed brown apically and along dorsal margin; pedicel and flagellum dark brown; maxillary palpus dark brown; thorax mostly dark brown to black with a metallic sheen dorsally; pronotum with a moderate coppery purple sheen; mesoscutum as frontovertex; tegula dark brown with a weak coppery purple sheen; axilla with a weak coppery purple sheen; scutellum mostly with a distinct purple sheen in proximal 0.6X, mixed with a little metallic blue near base, apical 0.4X metallic dark blue mixed with some green; setae on mesoscutum, translucent and silvery and fairly conspicuous, setae on scutellum dark brown and less conspicuous; metanotum with a weak brassy sheen; mesopleuron generally with a weak brassy sheen, a weak purple sheen posteriorly; all coxae dark brown; all femora dark brown; fore tibia and tarsus pale orange, apical tarsomere pale orange-brown, pretarsus brown; mid tibia brown in proximal 0.5X, pale orange distally, spur and tarsus pale orange, pretarsus brown; hind tibia and tarsus pale orange, apical tarsomere dusky, pretarsus brown; wings hyaline (Fig. 1451); propodeum dark brown, with a slight sheen, side with a metallic blue sheen and with dense silvery setae lateral to spiracle and a group descending part way to hind coxa; gaster dark brown, generally with a fairly strong coppery and purple sheen, with green and blue reflections, Gt1 with a dark blue sheen, syntergum with a metallic green and blue-green sheen; gonostylus dark brown.

Head (Fig. 1447) about 2.1X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 2X as high as deep, menisciform, more or less evenly convex from occipital margin to top of scrobes, then less strongly curved to mouth margin, with interantennal prominence hardly protuberant; occipital margin sharp, carinate; ocelli forming an angle of about 120°; frontovertex shiny, generally with moderately deep, regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size generally a little larger than eye facet, piliferous punctures distinct, completely smooth and shiny and very slightly smaller than diameter of ocellus; temple with shallower, longitudinally elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture; gena with sculpture similar to frontovertex; eye very nearly reaching occipital margin, with inconspicuous, pale setae that are each much shorter than diameter of facet; scrobes virtually absent, very shallow with similar sculpture and piliferous punctures to frontovertex; interantennal prominence distinguishable only between toruli, virtually smooth between piliferous punctures; antenna as in Fig. 1445; scape subcylindrical, about 6.3X as long as broad; F1-F5 slightly longer than broad, F6 quadrate, segments becoming slightly broader distally, linear sensilla present on all funicle segments; clava hardly broadened, about 1.1X as wide as F6, about as long as F4- F6 combined, sutures slightly oblique, sensory area enlarged so that apex has a distinct oblique truncation; malar sulcus absent; clypeal margin slightly concave. Relative measurements: HW 97, HH 90, FV 46, POL 30, OOL 3, OCL 5.5, AOL 16, EL 52, EW 38, MS 37, SL 41, SW 6.5.

Thorax (Fig. 1452) in dorsal view with pronotum short, largely hidden by head, with posterior margin shallowly concave, but slightly more strongly concave medially; pronotum with polygonally reticulate to imbricate reticulate sculpture that is clearly shallower than sculpture on frontovertex between piliferous punctures; mesoscutum with very similar sculpture and piliferous punctures to those on frontovertex with punctures similarly shiny; axilla with similar sculpture to pronotum; scutellum with sculpture that is clearly finer and deeper than that on mesoscutum, with longitudinally elongate striate-reticulate sculpture in a whorl-like pattern that contrasts with polygonally reticulate sculpture at extreme apex; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.8X as broad as long; scutellum about 1.1X as broad as long; fore leg with apical tarsomere (Fig. 1450) slightly shorter than four basal tarsomeres; hind leg with apical tarsomere slightly shorter than two basal tarsomeres; fore wing with venation and distribution of setae as in Figs 1446, 1451, postmarginal vein more or less reaching wing margin; propodeum (Fig. 1452) medially about 0.11X as long as scutellum and with shallow, irregular, reticulate sculpture. Relative measurements: FWL 98, FWW 42; HWL 62, HWW 21.

Gaster with last tergite about 0.6X as long as mid tibia.

Paratype. Mandible with a slightly oblique broad truncation with 4 very short vestiges of teeth; hypopygium Fig. 1459; ovipositor Fig. 1448. Relative measurements: OL 23, MT 53.

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 1.34-1.58mm, otherwise very little variation noted in material available.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, San José , Zurqui de Moravia, 1600m, vi.1995 (P. Hanson) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, San José, Zurqui de Moravia , LN 225700 534800, 1600m, 30.iii-8.iv.2009 (W. Porras) . Holotype MZUCR, paratype in NHMUK .

COMMENTS. See comments under fusui (p. 562).