Centistes marshi Aguirre, Almeida & Shaw

Aguirre, Helmuth, Almeida, Luis Felipe Ventura De & Shaw, Scott Richard, 2017, Revision of the genus Centistes (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Euphorinae: Centistini) of Costa Rica, Zootaxa 4216 (1), pp. 1-46 : 33-34

Centistes marshi Aguirre, Almeida & Shaw , sp. n.

( Figs 141–147 )

Female. Body length ( Fig. 141 ): 2.9–3.5 mm. Body color: head black except clypeus light brown and antenna basally light brown turning dark brown towards the apex; mesosoma black with legs yellow except hind tarsus and apical half of hind tibia dark brown; wings hyaline; metasoma black-dark brown. Head ( Figs 142–143 ): antenna with 24–26 flagellomeres; flagellar length/width ratios as follows: F1 = 3.7, F10 = 2.5, last flagellomere = 2.3; last flagellomere terminating apically in a sharp point; pedicel 1.2 × longer than wide; scape 1.7–1.8 × longer than wide; mandibles when closed overlapping for 0.5–0.7 × mandible length; mandible width basally 0.4–0.5 × mandible length; malar space 0.2–0.3 × eye height, and 1.0–1.3 basal mandible width; gena pubescent, except smooth around eye; shortest distance between eyes 1.2 × greater than clypeus width; eye in lateral view 1.8–1.9 × taller than wide; lateral ocellus separated from compound eye by a distance 1.2–1.4 × ocellar width; frons glabrous, except sparse setae around eyes; vertex with a few scattered setae; temple with few scattered setae; temple width 0.7–0.8 × eye width; occipital carina thick and complete. Mesosoma: pronotum glabrous; pronotum in lateral view mostly smooth, medially foveate; propleuron with anterior and medial margins rugose, remaining surfaces smooth; median mesonotal lobe anteriorly pubescent, posteriorly glabrous; lateral mesonotal lobes mostly glabrous with a single row of setae on lateral border; notauli either absent or only present anteriorly ( Fig. 145 ); pit on mesoscutum large and oval ( Fig. 145 ); scutellar sulcus with one carina; scutellar disc sparsely pubescent; mesopleuron centrally glabrous, borders and area below precoxal sulcus pubescent; precoxal sulcus foveate; metanotum irregularly longitudinally carinated; metapleuron pubescent; propodeum pubescent except dorsum glabrous; propodeum either with or without strong transversal carina, and with a median-longitudinal dorsal carina present ( Fig. 144 ); propodeum surfaces carinate-rugose except smooth areas on dorsum. Legs: hind coxa 1.5–1.6 × longer than middle coxa; hind femora length 4.7-5.0 × maximum width; hind tibia length 9.6–10.0 × longer than maximum width; hind tibial spur 0.3 × as long as hind basitarsus; ratio of hind tarsomeres from basitarsus apically 25:14:12:8:14. Wings: fore wing length 3.2–3.8 mm; pterostigma 3.2 × longer than maximum width; length of marginal cell 2R1 along anterior wing margin equal to length of pterostigma; vein r-rs 0.4 × as long as pterostigma width; vein Rs+M either absent or present as a short stub; vein m-cu basal with vein RS; hind wing with three sickle-shaped hamuli. Metasoma: first tergite basally 0.5 × as wide as apical width, and 1.4–1.6 × longer than apical width; sculpture of first tergite longitudinally costate with costae almost parallel ( Fig. 146 ); spiracle of tergum one situated on lateral margin near the half of segment; hypopygium short and ventrally convex, with dorsal margin rounded; ovipositor sheath 3.3–4.4 × longer than basal width, and 1.2–1.3 × as longer as basitarsus; ovipositor sheath densely pubescent, and terminating in a sharp point ( Fig. 147 ).

Male. Unknown.

Holotype female. COSTA RICA: San Jose, 26 km N. San Isidro just S. of Division , 2100 m, ii–iv. 1993, P. Hanson leg., Malaise, secondary growth. Deposited in UWIM.

Paratypes. COSTA RICA: One female, San Jose, 26 km N. San Isidro, just S. of Division , 2100 m, ii-iv.1993, P. Hanson leg., Malaise, Secondary growth. One female , San Jose, 26 km N. San Isidro just S of Division , 2100 m, viii–ix.1991, P. Hanson, Malaise, secondary growth. One female , San Jose, 26 km N. San Isidro just S of Division , 2100 m, ii–iv.1993, P. Hanson leg., Malaise, secondary growth.

Comments. Centistes marshi , C. achterbergi and C. longicaudatus have long, narrow, and, more or less, parallel-sided ovipositor sheaths. But, C. marshi has the unique combination of black-dark brown face, brown stigma on the front wing, and bulging eyes in dorsal view ( Figs 142–143 ).

Etymology. This species is named in honor of Dr Paul Marsh, eminent hymenopterologist who has greatly contributed to the knowledge of the Costa Rican Braconidae .

Figures

FIGURES 141 – 147. Centistes marshi sp. n. 141) Lateral habitus, 142) anterior head, 143) dorsal head, 144) propodeum, 145) mesoscutum, 146) dorsal metasoma, 147) long ovipositor sheaths with protruding ovipositor.