Cheiloneurus bion, 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 : 352-353

Cheiloneurus bion sp.nov.

( Figs 878-883; Hab. E 128)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.4-2.2mm): head mostly orange-brown, thorax mostly orange, remainder of body dark to black with a weak to moderate metallic sheen; antenna ( Fig. 878) with scape white margined dark brown or orange; pedicel and flagellum dark brown; darker area of mesoscutum clothed with silvery setae; fore and hind coxae white, middle coxa white sometimes mixed brown; legs white to pale orange with brown areas on femora and tibiae; fore wing ( Fig. 878) mostly infuscate with a V-shaped hyaline area proximal to linea calva, a small hyaline area at apex of venation and opposite on posterior wing margin, apex less strongly infuscate; head ( Fig. 883) about 3.6X as wide as frontovertex, in facial view slightly longer than broad, suboval, genae converging and weakly curved; frontovertex naked medially below anterior ocellus; eye separated from scrobe by about 0.8X diameter of ocellus, area between eye and scrobe completely smooth, scrobal margin carinate; interantennal prominence dorsally rounded with about 40 conspicuous setae; mandible with two teeth and a truncation; antenna ( Fig. 878) with scape about 4.6X as long as broad; funicle with F1 about 2X as long as broad, remaining segments longer than broad or sometimes F5 quadrate and F6 transverse; head width slightly less than length of flagellum; linear sensilla on F4-F6, sometimes also F4; clava 3-segmented, about as long as F4-F6 combined; sensory area large and forming an oblique truncation, extending nearly 0.4X along ventral margin; mesoscutum ( Fig. 882) with coarse linear sculpture medially in anterior half and laterally, otherwise with polygonally reticulate sculpture; scutellum with a distinct apical tuft of setae; wings fully developed; fore wing ( Fig. 880) about 3.0X as long as broad; parastigma very distinctly curved downwards; costal cell dorsally with 1 or 2 setae at apex and ventrally with a single complete line of setae that is broadly interrupted above parastigma; area below proximal part of parastigma with a group of about 20 setae; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a naked hyaline area that extends a little way into disc ( Fig. 879); apical bristle of postmarginal vein about 0.7X as long as marginal vein; mid tibial spur about as long as basitarsus; propodeum with about 5 setae around each spiracle, side naked; syntergum about as long as mid tibia; ovipositor ( Fig. 881) about 2.7X gonostylus or 2.2X as long as mid tibia; gonostylus about 2.3X as long as mid tibial spur; exserted part of ovipositor about 1.5X as long as mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 2.24mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.90mm (CPD).

Head pale orange-brown, darker on frontovertex, temple and gena; a moderate blue sheen on frontovertex, mixed purple anteriorly and behind ocelli; area between eye and scrobe brassy; top of interantennal prominence shining metallic blue, area between toruli green; mouth margin with a slight green lustre; temple largely metallic green or blue-green, mixed brassy; gena with a slight blue sheen, mixed purple; frontovertex with inconspicuous dark brown setae; antenna ( Fig. 878) with radicle pale orange; scape white, with proximal two thirds of ventral margin narrowly dark brown, upper margin externally pale orange, internally with distal two-thirds dark brown; pedicel and flagellum dark brown; thorax orange with some darker areas; neck of pronotum laterally dark brown; mesoscutum posteriorly dark brown with a weak purple and indigo sheen, the anterior margin of the dark brown area convexly curved and extending a little more than half-way across mesoscutum, darker area clothed in silvery setae that are more dense anteriorly and laterally, setae in paler area pale brown; tegula orange-brown; axilla dusky posteriorly; scutellum largely clothed in pale brown setae, subapical tuft conspicuous and black; metanotum dark brown with a slight purple sheen; mesopleuron anterior slightly dusky and with a slight brassy, green and purple sheen, posterior half with a very weak purple and brassy sheen; fore coxa white; fore femur pale orange with a brown streak externally in distal half connected to an inconspicuous, brown, subapical ring, tibia mostly brown with apices white or pale orange; mid coxa ventrally brown, otherwise dirty white; mid femur white, apex pale orange with a small, external, subapical brown streak, tibia pale orange, dark brown, then white at extreme base and with a elongate, subbasal brown spot; hind coxa white; hind femur pale orange, pale brownish along ventral margin, hind tibia pale orange, but narrowly white basally with a small, faint, brown, subbasal spot externally; tarsi orange, pretarsi slightly dusky; fore wing ( Fig. 880) infuscate with a hyaline pattern, especially proximally; submarginal vein pale yellow, otherwise venation brown; propodeum dark purple-brown with a green lustre, medially slightly purplish and brassy; sides with not more than 5 inconspicuous silvery setae near spiracle; gaster dark purple-brown, mixed coppery, purple and brassy, sides and outer plate of ovipositor additionally with some metallic blue and green; gonostylus pale yellow.

Head ( Fig. 883) in facial view about 3.6X as wide as frontovertex, in profile anteriorly almost evenly rounded, shallow, about 2X as high as deep; occipital margin carinate, occiput without a median groove above foramen; ocelli forming an angle of about 85°; frontovertex slightly shiny, with shallow, transversely elongate, reticulate sculpture of mesh size generally greater than diameter of eye facet; scrobal area and mouth margin with shallower sculpture, interantennal prominence dorsally smooth and shiny; temple virtually smooth, with extremely shallow, longitudinally elongate sculpture, gena with similar sculpture to temple but slightly deeper and of smaller cells; scrobes deep, meeting dorsally, dorsal and lateral margins sharp, carinate; antenna as in Fig. 878; scape hardly broadened and flattened, about 4.6X as long as broad; all funicle segments clearly longer than broad, F1 relatively longest, about 3X as long as broad, segments broadest distad so that F6 is only about 1.2X as long as broad; linear sensilla present only on F3-F4; clava hardly broadened, about as long as F4-F6 combined, sutures oblique, sensory area enlarged, extending about one-third along clava ventrally, giving it a distinct, obliquely truncate appearance; eye almost reaching occipital margin, separated by less than diameter of facet, appearing naked, clothed with extremely short, inconspicuous setae; inner eye margins slightly diverging anteriorly; malar sulcus absent; mandible with 2 short, acute teeth and a truncation. Relative measurements: HW 79, HH 86, FV 22, OD 6, POL 12, OOL 0.5, OCL 7, AOL 9, EL 58, EW 40, MS 30, SL 39, SW 8.5.

Thorax ( Fig. 882) with shallow, irregular, polygonally reticulate sculpture on pronotum, generally of mesh size less than diameter facet; sculpture on mesoscutum, axilla and scutellum similar to that on pronotum, but more regular and significantly coarser; extreme apex and sides of scutellum completely smooth and shiny; visible part of mesoscutum about 2X as broad as long; scutellum very slightly broader than long, with a very distinct subapical tuft, setae at least about half as long as scutellum; hind femur about 4X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 878, 879; costal cell without setae dorsally at apex; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a distinct, naked, hyaline streak ( Fig. 879); propodeum ( Fig. 882) naked but for a few setae anterior and lateral to spiracle, medially about 0.18X as long as scutellum and completely smooth. Relative measurements: FWL 76, FWW 25.5; HWL 68, HWW 17.

Gaster without “gland-like” structures on Gt1 or Gt5; hypopygium reaching about half-way to apex; syntergum about as long as mid tibia, with apex acute; ovipositor ( Fig. 881) well exserted, the exserted part about 1.5X as long as mid tibial spur or about 0.6X as long as mid tibia. Relative measurements: OL 98, GL 36 [MT 44].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 1.36-2.24mm, the mid coxa may be completely white or dirty white mixed brown, in smaller specimens F5 may be quadrate and F6 transverse, linear sensilla may be present on F3-F6 or F4-F6, otherwise little variation noted in material examined.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Heredia, 3km S. Puerto Viejo, OTS-La Selva, 100m, canopy fog Carapa sp. , FOT/02, 15.iii.1993 . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Heredia, Estacion Biologica La Selva , 10°26’N 84°01’W, 75m, 24-25.ii.2011 (J.S. Noyes); 3E , Heredia, Santo Domingo, INBio Parque , 9°59’N 84°08’W, 14.ii.2015 (J.S. Noyes) . Holotype in NHMUK, paratypes in MZUCR and NHMUK .