Cheiloneurus racidia, 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 : 272-274

Cheiloneurus racidia sp.nov.

( Figs 679-681; Hab. E 101)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.3-1.4mm): body mostly orange, temple and gena with a broad, diagonal dark brown stripe, ocellar area dusky, pronotum partially brown, mesoscutum with a triangular brown area posteriorly, mesopleuron with a dark brown median band and gaster dark brown, darker areas with a weak to moderate metallic sheen; antenna ( Fig. 680) with scape very pale orange, ventral margin dark brown; pedicel pale orange with a dark brown stripe; funicle pale yellow, proximal segments dusky, clava dark brown; mesoscutum with dense silvery setae on dark brown triangular area; all coxae white; legs almost completely white, mid and hind knees marked dark brown; fore wing ( Fig. 680) mostly infuscate with basal cell almost completely hyaline, a small hyaline area at apex of venation and another on opposite wing margin, apex with a triangular hyaline area; head about 11X as wide as frontovertex, in facial view about as long as broad, with a distinct transfacial carina, gena bulging at transfacial carina; frontovertex with a setae medially above scrobes; eye separated from scrobe by about 3X diameter of anterior ocellus, area between eye and scrobe mostly completely smooth, scrobes deep and carinately margined laterally and dorsally; interantennal prominence with about 20 fairly conspicuous setae and dorsally acute; mandible tridentate; antenna ( Fig. 681) with scape about 1.8X as long as broad; funicle with all segments transverse, proximal segments subquadrate; head width clearly more than length of flagellum; linear sensilla on F4-F6 or absent from F4; clava 3-segmented, as long as funicle; sensory area enlarged and forming an oblique truncation, extending about 0.6X along ventral margin; mesoscutum mostly with fine longitudinally elongate striate to striate-reticulate sculpture, triangular area near posterior margin medially with fairly shallow, imbricate polygonally reticulate sculpture; scutellum without a distinct apical tuft of setae; wings fully developed; fore wing ( Fig. 680) about 2.4X as long as broad; parastigma clearly downcurved; costal cell naked; area below proximal part of parastigma with a line of two of three setae; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a naked hyaline area that continues someway into disc ( Fig. 679); apical bristle of postmarginal vein about as long as marginal vein; mid tibial spur very slightly shorter than basitarsus; propodeum with about 3 setae adjacent to spiracle, side naked; syntergum about as long as mid tibia; ovipositor about 3.7X gonostylus or about 1.6X as long as mid tibia; gonostylus about 1.3X as long as mid tibial spur; exserted part of ovipositor about as long as mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.44mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.34mm ( CPD) .

Head with frontovertex and area immediately below eye mainly, dusky orange, but with area between ocelli brown and a small median area immediately above scrobes pale orange; occiput pale orange with a dark brown, triangular mark above foramen; temple and gena with a broad, oblique, brown stripe extending from occipital margin nearly to torulus; other areas pale orange; area between ocelli with a conspicuous dark blue, purple and brassy sheen, frontovertex otherwise with a relatively dull purple and blue sheen; dusky area below eye with a metallic green, blue, brassy and purple sheen, orange part of temple with a distinct purple and blue sheen, anterior to this relatively dull metallic green and brassy; dark brown stripe on temple and gena with a dark blue, coppery, purple and brassy sheen; other areas with a weak purple and brassy sheen; frontovertex with moderately conspicuous, pale brown setae along inner eye margin, these continuing below eye to upper gena; interantennal prominence with relatively dense, conspicuous, silvery setae; maxillary palpus white; antenna ( Fig. 681) with radicle pale orange, dorsally and laterally margined dark brown; scape pale orange proximally brown, and ventral margin dark brown from base to about 0.75X, apex white; pedicel white with a complete dark brown, dorso-lateral stripe; funicle very pale orange, proximal segments slightly dusky; clava dark brown; pronotum largely orange, neck dark brown; propleuron and prosternum pale orange; mesoscutum mostly orange with weak coppery reflections and clothed with relatively sparse, conspicuous, black setae, posterior margin with a broad triangular, dusky area with a conspicuous dark blue and purple sheen that medially projects nearly half way across mesoscutum and clothed with relatively dense, silvery setae, each lateral angle of mesoscutum with a conspicuous, compact tuft of silvery setae; tegula dusky orange, apex orange-brown; axilla and scutellum orange with weak brassy and coppery reflections, setae black; metanotum pale orange; mesopleuron largely pale orange with a weak brassy sheen and a vertical, brown band with a coppery sheen at about two-thirds not quite reaching ventral margin; mesosternum pale orange; all coxae white; fore femur mostly white but dusky pale orange distally, tibia pale orange with an external, pale brown, subbasal spot, tarsus pale orange; mid femur mostly white but orange to dusky orange at apex, tibia mostly white, narrowly bordered dark brown at base, with a slender, interrupted oblique dark brown basal/ subbasal band, apex, spur and tarsus pale orange; hind femur white with apex very pale orange margined pale brown, tibia mostly white with a small, brown subbasal spot dorsally, tarsus pale orange; fore wing ( Fig. 680) mostly infuscate but hyaline towards base and at apex, venation pale orange; propodeum pale orange, slightly dusky laterally, side with 4 or 5 inconspicuous white setae near spiracle; gaster dark brown dorsally with a mixed purple, brassy and green sheen, side and venter with a more green, brassy and coppery sheen; gonostylus very pale orange.

Head about 11X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.5X as high as deep, frontovertex evenly and weakly curved between occipital margin and transfacial carina; occipital margin sharp, not carinate; a very small, oval, shiny bottomed depression adjacent to eye near occipital margin; ocelli forming an angle of about 35°; frontovertex very shiny, mostly completely smooth, but with shallow, irregular, imbricate reticulate sculpture between occipital margin and anterior ocellus; submedian area between eye and transfacial carina with a wide, shallow, shiny bottomed, depression or fovea; temple and gena mostly completely smooth, but lower temple and upper gena with an area of distinct, rough, longitudinally elongate, striate sculpture extending from lateral parts of transfacial carina; scrobes quite smooth; narrowest point between eye and transfacial carina nearly 2.5X diameter of anterior ocellus; transfacial carina medially very strongly concave in dorsal view, laterally bulging anteriorly; scrobes deep, broadly ∩-shaped; interantennal prominence, with very shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture and dorsally acute with an inconspicuous, shallow median carina that nearly extends to transfacial carina; antenna as in Fig. 681; scape broadened and flattened, about 1.8X as long as broad, dorsal margin slightly convex; funicle with F1-F4 smaller and subquadrate, F5-F6 larger and clearly transverse, segments larger and broader distad; clava moderately enlarged, about 1.5X as wide as F6, as long as funicle, sutures oblique, sensory area enlarged, extending about 0.6X along ventral margin, apex strongly obliquely truncate; eye reaching occipital margin, clothed in conspicuous setae, each slightly longer than diameter of facet; inner eye margins clearly converging either side of posterior ocelli; malar sulcus absent; clypeal margin weakly concave medially; mandible with 2 acute teeth and a short, almost rounded upper tooth. Relative measurements: HW 55.5, HH 57, FVL 50, FV 5, POL 2.5, OOL 0, OCL 5.5, AOL 8.5, EL 45, EW 28, MS 30, SL 34, SW 18.5.

Thorax with pronotum slightly exposed behind head, about 0.7X as long as mesoscutum; pronotum with polygonally reticulate to imbricate-reticulate sculpture that is clearly deeper and finer than any sculpture on frontovertex; mesoscutum mostly with fine longitudinally elongate striate to striate-reticulate sculpture with a small triangular area near posterior margin medially with fairly shallow, imbricate polygonally reticulate sculpture; axilla and scutellum with fine polygonally reticulate sculpture that is a little deeper than that on pronotum, becoming more longitudinally elongate, striate-reticulate laterally on scutellum, apex and side of scutellum completely smooth and shiny; visible part of mesoscutum about 2.2X as broad as long with setae in middle more conspicuous than those laterally; scutellum about 1.1X as long as broad, without a distinct subapical tuft, but with a subapical group of longer setae, subapical pair longest and about 0.4X as long as scutellum; mid tibia with a weakly swollen subbasally, basal carina extending about half way along its length; hind femur about 4.7X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 679, 680; costal cell naked; propodeum medially about 0.1X as long as scutellum and virtually smooth. Relative measurements: FWL 57, FWW 23.5; HWL 47, HWW 10.5.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about 0.5X; syntergum about as long as mid tibia, with apex more or less rounded; ovipositor slightly exserted, the exserted part about as long as mid tibial spur or 0.3X mid tibia.

Paratype. Funicle with linear sensilla present only on F4-F5; gaster without “gland-like” structures on Gt1 or Gt5. Relative measurements: OL 88.5, GL 24 [MT 55].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 1.29-1.44mm, the mouth margin may be pale brown medially, otherwise little variation noted in material examined.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Guanacaste, Maritza ( ACG), 700m, MT/YPT, 20.i-24. ii.1996 (J.S. Noyes). Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Puntarenas, San Vito, Las Cruces, Wilson Bot. Gdns, 1500m, 18-22.iii.1990 (J.S. Noyes); 1E, Puntarenas, Pen. Osa , 8km S. R. Rincon, Coopermarti, x.1990 (A. Retama); 1E, Puntarenas, Pen. Osa , 23km N Puerto Jimenez, La Palma, x-xi.1990 (P. Hanson). Holotype in MZUCR, paratypes in NHMUK.