Prochiloneurus abelio, 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 : 470-473

Prochiloneurus abelio sp.nov.

(Figs 1184-1190; Hab. E 168)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.9mm): head orange, frontovertex dusky and slightly metallic with some brown and more strongly metallic areas near ocelli, temple and gena with a distinct brown streak; antenna (Fig. 1185) with flagellum dark brown; thorax largely orange, posterior half or so of mesoscutum dark brown with a moderate violet and coppery sheen and clothed with dense silvery setae; mesopleuron mostly orange, posterior one third dark brown; fore wing (Fig. 1186) with a group of 3 to 6 pale setae below proximal half of parastigma but without a group of pale setae below distal half; hyaline apex of fore wing slightly less than 1.5X as wide as length of marginal vein; fore wing without a subapical band of paler setae; propodeum dark brown, laterally strongly metallic purple, blue and green, with about 10 silvery setae surrounding spiracle; gaster entirely dark brown with a metallic sheen; head (Fig. 1187) about as broad as high and about 5.6X as wide as frontovertex; antennal scrobes dorsally weakly margined, carinate laterally; antenna (Fig. 1185) with scape slightly broadened and flattened, about 3.9X as long as broad, broadest slightly below middle; paler parts of mesoscutum (Fig. 1190) generally with obliquely elongate, striate-reticulate sculpture, posterior, darker part with more regular, rounded, polygonally reticulate sculpture; apical scutellar tuft about 0.3X as long as scutellum; fore wing (Fig. 1186) about 2.7X as long as broad; line of setae on ventral surface of costal cell continuous above parastigma; exserted part of ovipositor about 0.5X as long as gaster. Male: Unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.89mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.58mm (CPD).

Head generally orange; occiput with a dark brown triangular mark above foramen and hypostomal area bordered brown; frontovertex a little dusky between posterior ocelli; temple and gena with a distinct, brown streak from occipital margin to scrobal margin near torulus; mouth margin with brown areas below toruli connected by a faint, curved, brown line; ocellar area and area between occipital margin and posterior ocelli with a distinct purple sheen with some dark blue and green reflections, more strongly metallic dark blue and purple between posterior ocelli, frontovertex in front of ocelli with a weak brassy, coppery and purple sheen, slightly more strongly purple immediately above scrobes; area between eye and scrobe with a weak green, blue, coppery and purple sheen; temple and gena with a stronger metallic green, blue-green and brassy sheen, temple with mixed with a little purple, dark brown areas weakly coppery, lower gena weakly brassy and coppery with weak blue and green reflections; interantennal prominence mostly with a weak brassy sheen with a weak purple lustre dorsally; frontovertex with inconspicuous, translucent, pale brown setae along inner eye margins, these continued below eye; gena and interantennal prominence with numerous, scattered setae, those on interantennal prominence slightly more dense; maxillary palpus white, terminal segment pale orange; antenna (Fig. 1185) with radicle dark brown, proximally orange; scape largely orange, apical one-third white, extreme apex dark brown, ventral margin narrowly dark brown for most of its length, more widely so on internal surface, dorsal margin dusky, outer surface with an incomplete brown band at about two-thirds; pedicel and flagellum dark brown; pronotum pale orange with weak coppery and brassy reflections, posterior margin translucent; propleuron orange, brown anterior to coxa; prosterum orange, anteriorly dusky; anterior half or less of mesoscutum orange with weak brassy and coppery reflections and with relatively sparse dark brown setae, posterior half or so dark brown with a moderately strong violet and slightly coppery sheen and clothed with relatively dense silvery setae, posterior margin of mesoscutum orange-brown with a weak brassy and purple sheen; tegula orange, apex orange-brown; axilla orange with very weak brassy and coppery reflections, with dark brown setae; scutellum orange with weak coppery and brassy reflections, with translucent, golden brown setae, posteriorly with black setae, sub apical tuft black, apical setae off-white and translucent; metanotum dark brown; mesopleuron anteriorly orange with a weak brassy and purple sheen, posterior one-third dark brown with a coppery and green sheen; mesosternum orange; fore coxa white; fore femur white at extreme base, otherwise orange, bordered brown towards apex, tibia orange bordered brown, tarsus slightly dusky orange; mid coxa brown; mid femur mostly white, but apically pale orange with dorsal margin brown, tibia pale orange with a brown streak externally for about two-thirds its length, spur and tarsus orange; hind coxa very pale orange-brown, almost white; hind femur dark brown in proximal half, distal half orange, extreme apex dark brown, tibia mainly dark brown, orange at apex, tarsus orange; fore wing (Fig. 1186) mostly infuscate but hyaline towards base and at apex, submarginal vein pale orange, rest of venation brown; propodeum dark brown, medially with a purple and brassy sheen, laterally with a stronger purple sheen bordered by a strong metallic dark blue and green area towards mid-line, side dark metallic blue, about 10 translucent silvery setae around spiracle; gaster dark purple-brown, mainly with coppery, brassy, blue and green reflections, sides of tergites largely metallic blue and green mixed with some copper; gonostylus pale orange.

Head (Fig. 1187) about 5.6X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.8X as high as deep, anteriorly fairly evenly curved from occipital margin to top of scrobes, virtually straight from top of scrobes to mouth margin, interantennal prominence weakly protuberant between toruli; occipital margin sharp, weakly carinate; vertex with a short groove about midway between posterior ocellus and occipital margin; ocelli forming an angle of about 50°; frontovertex quite shiny, with shallow, fairly regular, fine, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size generally a little smaller than diameter of facet, area above scrobes with coarser, more irregular, transversely elongate sculpture; narrowest point between eye and scrobe about 0.15X length of scape, with very shallow sculpture, almost completely smooth; temple with shallow, irregular, transversely elongate, sculpture, gena with similar, but slightly deeper, more longitudinally elongate sculpture; scrobes deep, very broadly ∩-shaped, meeting, dorsally very smooth and weakly margined, lateral margin carinate; interantennal prominence without median ridge, broadly rounded and largely with weak, regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture but completely smooth dorsally; antenna as in Fig. 1185; scape slightly broadened and flattened, broadest slightly below middle, about 3.9X as long as broad; F1 slightly longer than broad, F2 subquadrate, F3-F6 clearly transverse, segments larger and broader distad, linear sensilla present only on F4-F6; clava clearly broadened, slightly longer than funicle, sutures oblique, sensory area enlarged, extending ventrally about 0.8X length of clava, apex strongly obliquely truncate; eye slightly overreaching occipital margin, clothed in very inconspicuous short setae that are much shorter than diameter of facet; inner eye margins clearly diverging below anterior ocellus; malar sulcus absent; clypeal margin weakly convex medially; mandible with three teeth; apical segment of maxillary palpus not enlarged, hardly longer than radicle. Relative measurements: HW 87, HH 87.5, FV 15.5, POL 6, OOL 0, OCL 10, AOL 9, EL 64, EW 47, MS 32, SL 47, SW 12.

Thorax (Fig. 1190) with polygonally reticulate sculpture on pronotum, mesoscutum axilla and scutellum that is similar to that in ocellar area, but of slightly smaller mesh, sculpture on posterior part of mesoscutum a little shallower; pale parts of mesoscutum with fine, longitudinally oblique, striate-reticulate sculpture, darker parts with more regular, rounded, polygonally reticulate sculpture; axilla and scutellum with sculpture slightly deeper and coarser and of slightly larger mesh; visible part of mesoscutum about 2.3X as broad as long; scutellum about 1.2X as broad as long, with a distinct subapical tuft, setae about 0.3X as long as scutellum; mid tibia with an conspicuous external carina for about half its length; hind femur about 4.2X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 1186, 1188; costal cell naked dorsally at apex; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a naked, hyaline streak; propodeum medially about 0.17X as long as scutellum and smooth. Relative measurements: FWL 99.5, FWW 37; HWL 76.5, HWW 22.

Gaster with syntergum about 0.6X as long as mid tibia; tergites Fig. 1189; ovipositor Fig. 1184, exserted part about 0.5X as long as gaster or mid tibia. Relative measurements: OL 75.5, GL 29 [MT 45].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 1.89-1.93mm and the head varies from about 5.6-6.0X as wide as the frontovertex. The material from Peru, excluded from the type series, is very similar to the material from Costa Rica, but may be up to 2.30mm in overall length with larger specimens having the head about 6.7X as wide as the frontovertex, the mesopleuron is more extensively dark brown with only a relatively small anterior area orange and the metallic band on the mesoscutum much less shiny.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Limón, RB Hitoy Cerere, Send. Cascada, LN 643300 184500, 0-100m, #60671, 18-30.xi.2000 (F. Umaña) . Paratype: COSTA RICA, 1E, Alajuela, 7km N Boca Tapada, Laguna Lagarto Lodge , 10°41’N 84°11’W, 55m, 18-19.ii.2018 (J.S. Noyes) . Holotype and paratype

in NHMUK.

Non type material. PERU, 1E, Madre de Dios, Rio Tambopata Res. , 12°50’S 69°20’W, 3-16.x.1983 (N.E. Stork); 2E , Madre de Dios, Rio Tambopata Res. , 12°50’S 69°20’W, 17.x-1.xi.1983 (N.E. Stork); 1E , Madre de Dios, Pto Maldonado , 3.i.1984 (L. Huggert); 1E , Loreto, Iquitos, Granja Unap , 9.ii.1984 (L. Huggert); 1E , Loreto, Iquitos, Barillal , 10.ii.1984 (L. Huggert). Material in NHMUK .

COMMENTS. The material identified as Prochiloneurus abelio from Peru is very probably this species but is excluded from the type material because of slight colour differences and the disjunct distribution .