Perilampus arasy Yoo and Darling sp. nov.

Figs 15 [♀], 16[♂]

Type Material. Holotype [♀]. Paraguay: Pirapo. " PARAGUAY: Pirapo December 1971 – January 1972. L Peña". The holotype is point- mounted (♀: ROME162301 - CNC). ROM Online Collection.

Paratypes [1 ♀, 6 ♂]. Brazil: Santa Catarina. Nova Teutônia, 27°11'0"S, 52°23'0"W (1 ♂: F Plaumann, ROME143109 - NHMUK) . São Paulo (1 ♀: VN Alin, ROME143093 - UCDC. 4 ♂: VN Alin, ROME143094 - UCDC; VN Alin, ROME143095 - UCDC; VN Alin, ROME143096 - UCDC; VN Alin, ROME143097 - UCDC) . Inst. Florestal - Capital, 23°24'S, 46°36'W (1 ♂: EP Teixeira, ROME145009 - UFES) .

Description. FEMALE (Fig. 15). Length: 3.3–3.4 mm. Color: head iridescent greenish blue or violet, with black coloration on vertex (Fig. 15F); mesosoma and metasoma iridescent greenish blue or violet; clypeus ventral margin black; antenna with scape and pedicel weakly iridescent greenish blue or violet, flagellum dark brown or black, lighter ventrad and distad (Fig. 15G).

Head (Fig. 15E–I): in dorsal view weakly transverse, width less than twice length, HW/HL about 1.9. Frontal carina: in anterior view straight to weakly sinuate below midlevel of eye; in dorsal view abruptly narrowed V shape around median ocellus, FC/MOD about 1.2 (Fig. 15E); distance from lateral ocellus long, FCLO/LOD about 1.0 (Fig. 15E). Scrobal cavity (Fig. 15G): in anterior view narrow, SW/HW about 0.4. Ocelli (Fig. 15E): a line between anterior margin of lateral ocelli nearly bisecting median ocellus. POL/OOL 1.5–1.6. Ocellar ratios LOD: POL: OOL: LOL: 1, 3.0–3.1, 1.8–1.9, about 1.1. Vertex: smooth, without large piliferous punctures. Parascrobal area: in lateral view abruptly narrowed near lower eye margin, 0.2–0.3 EH above lower eye margin (Fig. 15I); width wide, PSW/EL about 0.4; sculpture smooth, without large piliferous punctures. Gena: with wide and long smooth area along outer eye margin, striate behind. Malar space: MSL/EH about 0.2. Lower face: with setae sparse laterad torulus, and sparse or dense below. Clypeus (Fig. 15H): CW/ CH about 1.4; ventral margin concave; with wide bare area without setae near dorsal margin, often extending ventrad along lateral margin.

Mesosoma (Fig. 15B–D): Lateral panel of pronotum: about as wide as prepectus, LPP/PPT 0.8–0.9; without flange or with small, rounded flange below level of mesothoracic spiracle in posterior oblique view (Fig. 15C). Mesofemoral depression: smooth. Mesoscutum: punctures angulate, with narrow and weakly coriarious interspaces (Fig. 15B); lateral lobe smooth along notaulus; parascutal carina broadly curved, acuminate. Mesoscutellum: apex with inner margins gradually diverging; punctures angulate, with narrow and weakly coriarious interspaces. Axilla (Fig. 15D): in lateral view imbricate dorsad, and carinate ventrad.Axillula: smooth dorsad. Fore wing: stigma small, 2.0–2.5× as wide as postmarginal vein width.

MALE (Fig. 16). Length: usually smaller, 3.0– 3.2 mm. As in female, except: Color: mesonotum black. Frontal carina (Fig. 16B): distance from lateral ocellus shorter, FCLO/LOD 0.8–0.9. Scape (Fig. 16F, G): pits sparse mesad and ventrad, and dense dorsad and laterad, covering about 0.2× scape length.

Etymology. The specific epithet is derived from Arasy, the goddess of the sky in the mythology of the Guarani people, one of the major indigenous groups in South America.

Diagnosis. Perilampus arasy has a parascrobal area that is abruptly narrowed near the lower eye margin (Figs 15I, 16E), a narrow frontal carina that is abruptly narrowed around the median ocellus (Figs 15E, 16B), a long distance between the frontal carina and the lateral ocellus (0.9–1.0 LOD for females; about 0.8 LOD for males), and an iridescent greenish blue or violet body without cupreous iridescence (Fig. 15B).

Distribution. Neotropical: Brazil (Santa Catarina, São Paulo) and Paraguay (Itapúa).

Host association. Perilampus arasy is a hyperparasitoid, parasitizing dipteran parasitoids of Chrysomelidae ( Coleoptera). Hosts: Tachinidae ( Diptera). Lydinolydella sp. from Stichotaenia conviva (Stal) ( Chrysomelidae) (Teixeira and Casari-Chen 1992).

Remarks. See P. tupa . The only specimen of P. arasy with a host record is ROME189084. This host association with Chrysomelidae will need to be verified by subsequent rearings. Perilampus is rarely associated with Chrysomelidae but has been recorded for P. seneca Yoo and Darling, which are usually hyperparasitoids associated with Lepidoptera (Yoo and Darling 2024) .