Oodia, 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 : 176-177

Genus OODIA gen.nov.

Type species: Oodia japetus sp.nov. Gender masculine.

Female. Overall length about 1.5mm.

Body robust, generally dark brown with a weak to moderate metallic sheen; wings mainly hyaline, but fore wing partly infuscate, venation orange-brown.

Head subcircular, in facial view, about as long as broad; about 4X as wide as frontovertex; occipital margin acute, sharp and carinate; in profile with frontovertex evenly rounded from occipital margin to just above scrobes, more strongly curved at top of scrobes then virtually straight to mouth margin; eye reaching occipital margin, clothed in fairly conspicuous, translucent setae that are about as long as diameter of facet; dorsal tentorial arms reaching frontovertex about midway between torulus and eye margin, slightly below level of dorsal margin of torulus; scrobes shallow, ∩-shaped; antennal torulus a little below lower eye margin, separated from mouth margin by about its own length; antenna with scape subcylindrical, about 4X as long as broad; funicle 6-segmented with segments at least about as long as broad, becoming slightly shorter and broader distally, with conspicuous linear sensilla on all segments; clava 3-segmented, hardly wider than funicle, sutures subparallel, not oblique; sensory area at apex only giving it a rounded or hardly truncate appearance; malar sulcus present, conspicuous; mouth margin fairly straight; mandible with three very acute teeth; palp formula 4-3.

Thorax with pronotum short with posterior margin evenly concave, just visible behind head; mesoscutum with notaular lines completely absent; axillae more or less meeting medially, but separated by a distinct carina; scutellum convex with fairly dense, evenly distributed setae, those at apex hardly longer than those at base; mid tibial spur about as long as basitarsus; wings fully developed; fore wing about 2.6X as long as broad; costal cell with at least two lines of setae ventrally and a single line of setae dorsally in apical two-fifths; parastigma indistinct, hardly widened; hyaline break present at apex of submarginal vein; marginal vein about 5X as long as broad; stigmal vein nearly as long as marginal, curved subapically with distinct uncus and campaniform sensilla arranged in a line; postmarginal vein about as long as stigmal vein; linea calva dorsally entire and open; filum spinosum distinct, with 5 or 6 peg-like modified setae; mesopleuron separated from base of gaster – posterior margin not extending past posterior margin of propodeum but clearly separating propodeum laterally from hind coxa; mesophragma projecting very slightly into base of gaster; propodeum about 0.2-0.25X as long as scutellum; medially virtually smooth, with shallow sculpture; about 10-12 setae on side in spiracular area.

Petiole about 0.4X as wide as propodeum, anelliform; gaster slightly shorter than thorax; Gt2 anteriorly with a broad, strongly reticulate, submedian area; paratergites absent, outer plate of ovipositor completely separate from syntergum, subtriangular, slender, about 3X as long as broad; hypopygium not reaching apex, about 2X as broad as long, anterolateral and anteromedian processes short, insignificant, posterior margin with a shallow, median invagination; syntergum V-shaped, shorter than mid tibia, apex forming an angle of about 90°; ovipositor about as long as mid tibia and 4X as long as gonostylus; second valvifer without subapical setae; gonostylus freely articulated.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

COMMENTS. It is difficult to place this genus within the Encyrtinae as there do not appear to be any significant character states that are uniquely shared with any other taxa. Conversely, there are no convenient characters that can be used to separate Oodia easily from any other taxa either. However, Oodia should be recognisable by the combination of the funicle with conspicuous linear sensilla, the strongly tridentate mandible, the densely hairy, convex scutellum, the weakly infuscate fore wing and the elongate marginal and postmarginal veins. Superficially Oodia looks similar to some species of Rhytidothorax (Bothriothoracini) but differs in having a strongly tridentate mandible, the mesopleuron nearly touching base of gaster and the gonostylus freely articulated. In Rhytidothorax the mandible is generally very slender with only 1 or 2 acute teeth, the mesopleuron is clearly separated from the base of the gaster by the propodeum and hind coxa and the gonostylus is immovably fused to the second valvifer.

Oodia is included in the current volume because the wing venation suggests a possible relationship with the Cheiloneurini , although the complete absence any sort of shiny-bottomed groove or pit adjacent to the eye margin between hind the posterior ocellus and occipital margin indicates that this is unlikely.