Cheiloneurus mantua, 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 : 264-265

Cheiloneurus mantua sp.nov.

( Figs 656-660; Hab. E 99)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.5-1.9mm): body generally dark brown to black with a weak to moderate metallic sheen; antenna ( Fig. 658) with scape pale orange, dorsal margin brown proximally; pedicel mostly pale orange, proximally dark brown; funicle pale orange; clava dark brown; mesoscutum with uniform, silvery setae; coxae white; hind tibia mostly pale orange, legs otherwise white to pale orange with a few brown areas; fore wing ( Fig. 657) almost completely hyaline but weakly infuscate immediately below marginal and stigmal veins, a hint of a weakly infuscate median streak in apical half; head ( Fig. 656) about 4X as wide as frontovertex, in facial view nearly 1.1X as broad as long, subcircular, gena weakly and evenly curved; frontovertex naked medially below anterior ocellus; area between eye and scrobe slightly narrower than diameter of anterior ocellus, with distinct sculpture, scrobal margin rounded; interantennal prominence dorsally rounded with only a few long setae; mandible with two long, sharp lower teeth and a very short upper tooth; antenna ( Fig. 658) with scape about 4.5X as long as broad; funicle with F1 subquadrate, other segments strongly transverse, becoming larger distad; head about as wide as length of pedicel and flagellum combined; linear sensilla on F5-F6; clava 3-segmented, slightly longer than funicle, sensory area large and forming an oblique truncation, extending about 0.5X along ventral margin; mesoscutum ( Fig. 660) with polygonally reticulate sculpture; scutellum with a distinct, but very short apical tuft of setae; wings fully developed; fore wing ( Fig. 657) about 2.5X as long as broad; parastigma not curved downwards; costal cell dorsally with 2 or 3 setae at apex and a single, complete line of setae ventrally; area below proximal part of parastigma with a group of about 15 setae; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins ( Fig. 659) not connected by a naked hyaline area; apical bristle of postmarginal vein about 0.4X as long as marginal vein; mid tibial spur very nearly as long as basitarsus; propodeum ( Fig. 660) with about 15 setae around each spiracle, not extending down side; syntergum about as long as mid tibia; ovipositor about 3.2X gonostylus or 1.6X mid tibia; gonostylus about 1.8X as long as mid tibial spur; exserted part of ovipositor about 0.4X as long as mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.84mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.77mm (CPD).

Head black with weak, blue and purple reflections on frontovertex; ocellar area more strongly purple; scrobal area mostly with a stronger blue-green sheen, mixed with purple, especially on interantennal prominence between toruli; mouth margin narrowly purplish; gena and temple with a brighter, slightly brassy metallic green sheen, strongest immediately below eye, some coppery reflections on lower gena; frontovertex with inconspicuous dark brown setae; antenna (Fig,. 658) with radicle pale orange, apex with a dark brown ring; scape pale orange, proximally with a narrow, dark brown ring, dorsal margin brown in proximal two-thirds or so; pedicel mostly pale orange, proximally dark brown; funicle pale orange; clava dark brown; thorax mostly dark brown to black; pronotum coppery with green and brassy reflections; mesoscutum clothed with uniform, translucent silvery setae and with a metallic green to blue-green sheen mixed with coppery and brassy reflections, posterior margin coppery purple; tegula dark brown; axilla dull, dark purple-brown with coppery reflections; scutellum noticeably less shiny than mesoscutum, but with blue-green and coppery reflections, clothed with dark brown setae, extreme sides and apex shining green mixed coppery; metanotum with slight purple sheen; mesopleuron in posterior half with a coppery-purple and brassy sheen, anterior half mixed blue and brassy, these narrowly separated by a coppery, dark blue and violet sheen; fore coxa white; fore femur white to pale yellow, with a subapical, brown spot externally; fore tibia pale orange with a very small, subbasal, brown spot externally; mid coxa white; mid femur white to pale yellow with a subapical brown spot externally, tibia pale orange with a subbasal brown spot externally; hind coxa white; hind femur white in proximal half or so, otherwise pale orange-brown, tibia mostly pale orange with an incomplete, narrow, subbasal brown ring; tarsi pale orange, pretarsi slightly dusky; fore wing ( Fig. 657) almost completely hyaline but weakly infuscate immediately below marginal and stigmal veins, a hint of a weakly infuscate median streak distad of pale brown venation; propodeum dark purple-brown; sides metallic green with a few conspicuous silvery setae in spiracular area; gaster dark purple-brown, Gt1 largely metallic blue-green; remainder of dorsum of gaster slightly coppery, mixed purple and brassy, sides of gaster towards apex and outer plates of ovipositor mixed metallic green, coppery and brassy; gonostylus dark brown, extreme apex orange.

Head ( Fig. 656) about 4X as wide as frontovertex, not subtriangular in profile, occipital margin carinate, occiput without a median groove above foramen; ocelli forming an angle of about 50°; frontovertex slightly shiny, with conspicuous reticulate sculpture of mesh size generally very slightly smaller than diameter of eye facet; scrobal area and mouth margin with shallower sculpture; gena and temple with more elongate sculpture of larger mesh; scrobes shallow, meeting dorsally, dorsal and lateral margins weakly rounded; antenna as in Fig. 658; scape hardly broadened and flattened, about 4.5X as long as broad; F1 subquadrate, remaining segments strongly transverse and broadest distad; clava moderately broad, about as long as funicle, sutures oblique, sensory area enlarged, extending about one-third along clava ventrally and giving it an obliquely truncate appearance; eye reaching occipital margin, clothed with inconspicuous setae, each of which is about as long as diameter of facet; inner eye margins not converging anteriorly; malar sulcus absent; mandible with two long, acute, lower teeth and a short upper tooth. Relative measurements: HW 71, HH 66, FV 18, OD 6, POL 7.5, OOL 1, OCL 6, AOL 9, EL 44, EW 38, MS 28, SL 35, SW 8.

Thorax ( Fig. 660) with shallow, irregular, polygonally reticulate sculpture on pronotum, generally of mesh size subequal to diameter of facet; sculpture on mesoscutum generally of similar depth to that on pronotum, but more regular and of smaller mesh; sculpture on axilla similar to that on mesoscutum, but slightly deeper; scutellum with conspicuously deeper, polygonally reticulate sculpture; apex and sides narrowly completely smooth; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.7X as broad as long; scutellum slightly broader than long, with a very short subapical tuft, setae about one-quarter as long as scutellum; hind femur about 3.7X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 657, 659; costal cell with only 3 setae dorsally at apex; no naked streak present between apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins ( Fig. 659); propodeum with moderately dense setae in spiracular area, side naked, medially less than 0.1X as long as scutellum and with some shallow polygonally reticulate sculpture. Relative measurements: FWL 73, FWW 29; HWL 58, HWW 16.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about half-way to apex; syntergum about as long as mid tibia and with apex acute; ovipositor slightly exserted, the exserted part about 0.4X as long as mid tibial spur.

Paratype. Funicle with linear sensilla present only on F5-F6; gaster without “gland-like” structures on Gt1 or Gt5; gonostylus about 1.8X as long as mid tibial spur. Relative measurements: OL 54, GL 17 [MT 33].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 1.48-1.84mm, otherwise little in type material examined.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Puntarenas, Las Cruces , MT/YPT, 18-22.iii.1990 (J.S. Noyes) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Puntarenas, same data as holotype; 1E, Puntarenas, San Vito , 1200m, coffee, iii-iv.1996 (P. Hanson) . Holotype in MZUCR, paratypes in NHMUK .

COMMENTS. See comments under mirabel (p. 263).