Cercobelus tartarus, 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 : 617-619

Cercobelus tartarus sp.nov.

(Figs 1675-1679)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 2.3mm): scape mostly pale orange; wings mostly hyaline, but fore wing (Figs 1675, 1676) weakly infuscate below apex of venation; all coxae dark brown; fore and mid femora mostly dark brown; hind tibia dark brown without a distinct white basal band; antenna (Fig. 1678) with scape about 4.4X as long as broad; pedicel about 1.6X as long as broad; funicle segments slightly longer than broad; antenna with or without linear sensilla on F1; F1 subequal to F2; mandible with 1 short, obtuse tooth and a broad truncation with a weakly serrate margin; fore wing (Fig. 1676) with marginal vein about 2X as long as broad; hind wing about 3.5X as long as broad; propodeum with a longitudinal, median carina, spiracle separated from anterior margin of propodeum by about 0.15X its own diameter; apex of syntergum smooth; hypopygium (Fig. 1679) completely longitudinally divided, with moderately long anterior apodemes. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 2.32mm; excluding ovipositor, 2.18mm ( CPD) .

Head black and slightly shiny, parts of interantennal prominence and gena with a weak coppery purple sheen; antenna (Fig. 1678) with radicle dark brown; scape pale orange, brown on dorsal margin proximally; pedicel largely pale orange, dark brown proximally; flagellum pale orange, but proximal segments slightly dusky dorsally, terminal segment of clava slightly dusky; maxillary palpus pale orange; thorax black and slightly shiny; mesoscutum and tegula with a dull dark green and weak purple sheen; axilla slightly shiny with a weak purple sheen; scutellum shiny with a brassy and very weak purple sheen; mesopleuron with a weak purple and brassy sheen; all coxae dark brown; fore femur dark brown, extreme apices pale orange, tibia dark brown, apices pale orange, tarsus pale orange, apical tarsomeres dusky; mid femur and tibia narrowly pale orange proximally, broadly dark brown medially and pale orange at apex, spur white, tarsus white to very pale yellow, apical tarsomere dark brown; hind leg dark brown with only extreme apex of tibia and proximal tarsomeres slightly paler dark orange-brown; wings virtually hyaline, but fore wing (Fig. 1675) with a narrow, infuscate area extending about half way across wing from marginal and stigmal veins; propodeum dark brown and slightly shiny; gaster dark brown, moderately shiny with brassy, purple and green reflections; gonostylus dark brown.

Head about 1.9X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.8X as high as deep, more or less evenly, convexly rounded from occipital margin to top of scrobes, then hardly curved to mouth margin; occipital margin sharp, carinate; ocelli forming an angle of about 120°; frontovertex shiny, in ocellar area with moderately deep, regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size subequal to eye facet, of larger mesh in front of anterior ocellus; temple with longitudinally elongate, polygonally reticulate to striate sculpture; gena with polygonally reticulate sculpture, more longitudinally elongate posteriorly; eye separated from occipital margin by about 0.3X diameter of posterior ocellus, or about 1.5X diameter of facet, with inner margin hardly sinuate, clothed with fairly conspicuous, pale brown setae that are each a little longer than diameter of facet; scrobes shallow, ∩-shaped, meeting, virtually smooth but with shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture; interantennal prominence weak, dorsally rounded, with moderately deep, polygonally reticulate sculpture; upper margin of torulus about level with lower eye margin; antenna as in Fig. 1678; scape slightly broadened, about 4.4X as long as broad; pedicel about 1.6X as long as broad; funicle segments subequal, all slightly longer than broad, becoming slightly broader distad, linear sensilla present on all funicle segments; clava about as long as F2-F4 combined; tentorial pit visible below torulus; mandible with 1 short, more or less obtuse tooth and a broad truncation with a weakly serrate margin. Relative measurements: HW 100, HH 85, FV 53, POL 26.5, OOL 9.5, OCL 7, AOL 13.5, EL 54, EW 38, MS 31, SL 39.5, SW 9.

Thorax in dorsal view with pronotum slightly elongate, a large part visible behind head, with posterior margin moderately concave, more strongly so laterally, weakly so medially; pronotum with shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture, of smaller mesh size than that in ocellar area, and conspicuously shallower; mesoscutum with similar sculpture to that on frontovertex in front of anterior ocellus, but of slightly larger mesh size; axilla with slightly transversely elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture of similar mesh size and depth to that on pronotum; scutellum with irregular, imbricate-reticulate to polygonally reticulate sculpture of similar mesh size to that on mesoscutum, but conspicuously shallower, apex and side virtually completely smooth and shiny; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.4X as broad as long and medially about 4X as long as pronotum; scutellum about 1.1X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and distribution of setae as in Figs 1675, 1676; marginal vein about 2X as long as broad; propodeum medially about 0.17X as long as scutellum, with a median, longitudinal carina and two, shallow, submedian carinae, otherwise virtually completely smooth, spiracle separated from anterior margin by about 0.15X its own diameter. Relative measurements: FWL 107.5, FWW 43.5; HWL 73, HWW 21.

Gaster very slightly longer than thorax, syntergum about 0.6X as long as mid tibia, with apex broadening, truncate and smooth; hypopygium (Fig. 1679) about 1.2X as long as broad, longitudinally divided with moderately long anterior apodemes; ovipositor (Fig. 1677) exserted, the exserted part about 0.6X as long as mid tibial spur or 0.2X as long as mid tibia. Relative measurements: OL 51.5 [MT 110].

Variation. Only holotype examined.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Guanacaste, Cacao (ACG), 1100 m, MT/YPT, 26.i-24. ii.1996 ( JS. Noyes) . Holotype in NHMUK .

COMMENTS. Females of Cercobelus tartarus are very similar to those of godoyae . Apart from the relatively shorter funicle segments (see key), tartarus can be separated from godoyae by having the marginal vein of the fore wing more than 2X as long as broad and the hypopygium less slender with the posterior lobes strongly delimited from the anterior part by a deep invagination that is about half as deep as width of lobe. In godoyae the marginal vein is punctiform, and the hypopygium is more slender, about 1.4X as long as broad, with the posterior lobes hardly delimited from the anterior part with an invagination that is not more than about 0.1X as wide as lobe.