Cheiloneurus repola, 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 : 395-397

Cheiloneurus repola sp.nov.

(Figs 1006-1010; Hab. E 149)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.1-1.7mm): body mostly orange to pale orange-brown, generally with a weak metallic sheen; mesoscutum and propodeum dark brown, gaster dark brown mixed orange-brown, darker areas with a stronger metallic sheen; antenna (Fig. 1008) with scape pale orange; pedicel pale orange; funicle with proximal segments dark brown mixed pale orange, remainder of flagellum dark brown; mesoscutum with evenly distributed, moderately dense, silvery setae; fore coxa pale orange, mid coxa brown, hind coxa white to pale orange; legs mostly orange but with mid and hind tibia and hind femur dark brown; remnant of fore wing hyaline; head (Fig. 1010) about 2.7X as wide as frontovertex, in facial view a little longer than broad, genae straight and converging, curved inwards near mouth; frontovertex with about 18 inconspicuous setae medially between anterior ocellus and scrobes; eye separated from scrobe by about 3X diameter of anterior ocellus, area between eye and scrobe with distinct sculpture, scrobes very shallow with rounded margins; interantennal prominence with about 35 inconspicuous setae and dorsally rounded; mandible tridentate; antenna (Fig. 1008) with scape about 6.9X as long as broad; flagellum slightly flattened, F1-F3 longer than broad, F4-F6 transverse; head width about equal to length of F1-F5 combined; linear sensilla on F3-F6; clava 3-segmented, slightly longer than F5-F6 combined, apex broadly rounded but sensory area extending about 0.2X along clava; mesoscutum (Fig. 1007) with uniform, shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture; scutellum with a distinct, apical tuft of setae; wings shortened, not reaching base of gaster; fore wing remnant (Fig. 1006) about 4X as long as broad; mid tibial spur about as long as basitarsus; propodeum (Fig. 1007) with about 15 submedial setae as well as 20 setae adjacent to spiracle, latter not extending down side; syntergum very nearly as long as mid tibia; ovipositor (Fig. 1009) about 3.4X gonostylus or about 1.8X as long as mid tibia; gonostylus about 1.8X as long as mid tibial spur; exserted part of ovipositor about as long as mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.69mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.54mm (AD) .

Head with occiput pale orange, otherwise generally slightly dusky orange to pale orange-brown, temple and gena slightly darker; frontovertex and scrobal area with weak brassy, blue and purple reflections, more strongly purple between eye and scrobe; temple and gena with a stronger pale blue, brassy, green and coppery sheen, gena more coppery; frontovertex clothed with very short, inconspicuous, translucent, pale brown setae along inner eye margins, gena and interantennal prominence with similar, but more widely scattered setae; maxillary palpus dark brown; antenna (Fig. 1008) with radicle pale orange, extreme apex with a slender brown ring; scape pale orange; pedicel pale orange, slightly dusky dorsally; funicle with F1-F2 pale orange ventrally, dark brown dorsally, F3-F6 and clava dark brown; pronotum dorsally dark brown with brassy, purple and coppery reflections, neck and side dusky orange; prosternum orange; mesoscutum dark brown with a coppery sheen, clothed with moderately dense, translucent, silvery setae; tegula orange with apex orange-brown; axilla orange; scutellum orange, proximal two-thirds paler orange, clothed with translucent, pale brown setae, subapical tuft black; metanotum orange-brown; mesopleuron chestnut brown, anteriorly with a weak purple, green and brassy sheen, posteriorly with a mixed blue, purple, coppery and brassy sheen; mesosternum chestnut brown; fore leg orange; mid coxa brown; mid femur orange, mid tibia dark brown, apices orange, mid tibial spur more or less white, tarsus pale orange, apex dark brown; hind coxa orange; hind femur brown, hind tibia brown mixed dark brown, tarsus yellow, apex dark brown; fore wing remnant hyaline (Fig. 1006); propodeum dark brown medially with a strong green and coppery sheen, laterally and on side with a strong coppery sheen; a group of about 15 translucent, silvery setae outside spiracle that extends nearly to posterior margin of propodeum; gaster mostly orange-brown, basal tergites with a moderately strong coppery sheen, side and venter predominantly with a brassy and coppery sheen; gonostylus very pale orange, extreme apex dark brown.

Head (Fig. 1010) about 2.7X as wide as frontovertex, shallow in profile, about 1.7X as high as deep, anteriorly quite uniformly curved, interantennal prominence slightly protuberant; occipital margin rounded; ocelli forming an angle of about 85°; frontovertex slightly shiny, with distinct, coarse, fairly regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size subequal to diameter of eye facet; narrowest area between eye and scrobe slightly more than 3X as wide as diameter of anterior ocellus, area immediately below lowest part of eye with distinct, polygonally reticulate sculpture; scrobes very shallow, not meeting, not sharply margined; interantennal prominence and gena with similar sculpture to frontovertex, dorsally broadly meeting frontovertex; temple with similar sculpture, but of slightly larger mesh; antenna as in Fig. 1008; scape subcylindrical, about 6.9X as long as broad; funicle with segments slightly bilaterally flattened, F1-F3 longer than broad, F4-F6 transverse, F5 broadest, segments mostly broader and slightly shorter distally; clava not broadened, slightly longer than F5-F6 combined, sutures hardly oblique, sensory area enlarged, but extending ventrally not more than 0.2X along clava, apex broadly rounded; eye not reaching occipital margin, separated by about 3X diameter of facet, clothed in inconspicuous, short setae, each much shorter than diameter of facet; inner eye margins strongly diverging anteriorly; malar sulcus absent; clypeal margin weakly concave medially; mandible tridentate; apical segment of maxillary palpus about 1.5X as long as radicle and relatively broad and flattened, only about 2.5X as long as broad. Relative measurements: HW 54, HH 61, FV 20, POL 9.5, OOL 2.5, OCL 10, AOL 7, EL 42, EW 25, MS 23, SL 38, SW 5.5.

Thorax (Fig. 1007) with pronotum medially exposed behind head, about as long as mesoscutum, pronotum and mesoscutum with polygonally reticulate sculpture that is similar to that on frontovertex; axilla and scutellum with similar sculpture to mesoscutum, but coarser and deeper, slightly elongate on side of scutellum; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.9X as broad as long; scutellum about 1.1X as long as broad, with a distinct subapical tuft, setae mostly about 0.8X as long as scutellum; mid tibia without an external carina; hind femur about 5.2X as long as broad; fore wing reduced (Fig. 1006), not quite reaching posterior margin of propodeum; propodeum (Fig. 1007) medially about 0.36X as long as scutellum, completely smooth, about 10 scattered submedial setae present as well as about 20 long, conspicuous setae on each side near spiracle. Relative measurements:

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about half-way to apex; syntergum about as long as mid tibia, with apex narrowly truncate; ovipositor clearly exserted, the exserted part about as long as mid tibial spur or one-third mid tibia.

Paratype. Funicle with linear sensilla present only on F3-F6; gaster without “gland-like” structures on Gt1 or Gt5; ovipositor Fig. 1009. Relative measurements: FWL 16.5, FWW 4; OL 68, GL 20 [MT 37].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 1.09-1.65mm and the paratypes are generally paler than the holotype with the dorsal part of the pronotum being orange-brown, and the scutellum and paler parts of the legs being pale orange

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Guanacaste, Guanacaste NP (error for Santa Rosa NP ), 7km E HQ, “small house”, 9-10.iii.1990 (J.S. Noyes) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 4E, Guanacaste, same data as holotype . Holotype in MZUCR, paratypes in NHMUK .

COMMENTS. The form of the antenna, narrow fore wing and numerous medial setae on frontovertex suggest that Cheiloneurus repola is close to compressicornis . It can be separated from all related species by the strongly reduced wings and presence of about 8-15 submedial setae on the propodeum. No other Costa Rican species is known to have submedial setae on the propodeum.

See also comments under compressicornis (p. 398).