Esphora rhea, 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 : 677-679

Esphora rhea sp.nov.

(Figs 1861-1867; Hab. E 277)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.7-1.9mm): fore wing (Figs 1864, 1865) not infuscate below marginal vein; antenna (Fig. 1866) with scape about 2-2.4X as long as broad; funicle with F1-F2 subequal, quadrate or transverse, F4-F6 longer than broad, gradually increasing in size; ovipositor (Fig. 1861) less than 3X as long as gonostylus, clearly exserted, the exserted part more than 0.6X as long as mid tibia spur, gonostylus at least about 1.7X as long as mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.69mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.56mm (CPD).

Head with occiput and frontovertex dull, metallic dark green with some purple reflections, face dark coppery purple immediately above scrobes; temple metallic green mixed coppery; gena coppery purple mixed brassy, position of malar sulcus indicated by a violet and dark blue sheen; area immediately below lowest part of eye violet mixed with some dark blue; scrobes largely coppery purple mixed violet; extreme dorsal part of interantennal prominence dark blue and violet, below this coppery and slightly brassy, area between toruli rainbow-like violet, purple, dark blue, green and brassy, mouth margin coppery mixed dark green; frontovertex, gena and interantennal prominence with very inconspicuous brown setae; antenna (Fig. 1866) with radicle dark brown; scape dark brown with a weak brassy and purple sheen, pale orange at extreme apex; pedicel dark brown; F1-F2 and F5-F6 yellow, F3-F4 and clava dark brown; maxillary palpus white; pronotum black, generally with a weak coppery purple sheen; propleuron and prosternum black; mesoscutum moderately bright, metallic blue-green, mixed with some green, and purple reflections, posterior margin coppery purple; tegula dark brown with a weak coppery purple sheen; axilla dark purple-brown with a weak coppery and brassy sheen; scutellum mostly similar to axilla but side and apex more strongly metallic dark green, extreme apex and side shining metallic blue-green, mixed coppery purple; mesoscutum, clothed with fairly inconspicuous, dark brown setae, scutellum with conspicuous dark brown setae; metanotum dark purple-brown with a weak brassy sheen; mesopleuron dark brown, mainly with a weak purple, green and coppery sheen; mesosternum dark brown; all coxae dark brown; fore femur dark brown with extreme base pale yellow, tibia dark brown with apical 0.3X pale orange, extreme base dark orange-brown, tarsus dusky pale orange with apical tarsomeres dark brown; mid femur with proximal 0.4X pale yellow, apex dark brown, tibia with proximal half dark brown, apex pale yellow, spur pale yellow, tarsus pale orange; hind femur dark brown, tibia pale orange, apical 0.2X pale orange, tarsus mostly orange-brown with basitarsus pale orange and apical tarsomere dark brown; wings (Fig. 1864) hyaline; propodeum dark brown with a weak brassy sheen, side with a strong, metallic green sheen, about 10 moderately conspicuous, translucent, silvery setae outside spiracle, these not extending down side of propodeum; gaster dark brown, with a distinct coppery purple sheen, dorsal part of Gt1 with a strong metallic blue-green sheen, side of gaster with a mixed metallic green, brassy and coppery sheen; gonostylus dark brown, extreme apex pale orange.

Head (Fig. 1862) about 2.6X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.8X as high as deep; a small, oval, shiny-bottomed depression adjacent to eye margin about midway between posterior ocellus and occipital margin; ocelli forming an angle of about 110°; frontovertex shiny, with fairly regular, moderately deep, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size generally subequal to slightly larger than eye facet, sculpture between posterior ocellus and occipital margin less regular and more transversely elongate; frontovertex with piliferous punctures shallow, 4 in front of anterior ocellus, a line of sparse setae along inner eye margin continued along lower eye margin; interantennal prominence with two submedian lines of inconspicuous setae; temple and gena a little more shiny than frontovertex, with conspicuous, longitudinally elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture of relatively large mesh; eye virtually reaching occipital margin, separated by much less than 0.5X diameter of facet, with very inconspicuous pale setae, each much shorter than diameter of a facet, separated from scrobal margin by a little more than diameter of ocellus, area between eye and scrobe with transversely elongate, imbricate-reticulate sculpture; scrobes shallow, more or less ∩-shaped, meeting dorsally, very weakly margined dorsally and laterally; interantennal prominence shallow, dorsally rounded and separated from frontovertex, with shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture; antenna as in Fig. 1866; scape broadened and flattened, about 2.0X as long as broad; funicle with F1-F2 smallest, subequal, subquadrate, F3-F4 larger, subequal, slightly longer than broad, F5-F6 largest, subequal, slightly longer than broad, segments becoming broader distad; clava nearly 1.2X as broad as F6, about as long as F4-F6 combined, sutures hardly oblique, sensory area small, but extending about 0.2X along ventral surface giving apex a rounded or slightly pointed appearance; clypeal margin evenly and strongly concave; mandible with two acute teeth and a broadly truncate, upper tooth. Relative measurements: HW 90.5, HH 80, FV 35, POL 19, OOL 2.5, OCL 5.5, AOL 12, EL 50, EW 40, MS 36, SL 42, SW 21.5.

Thorax (Fig. 1863) in dorsal view with pronotum short, largely hidden by head; pronotum, mesoscutum and axilla with polygonally reticulate to imbricate-reticulate sculpture that is slightly finer and shallower than that on frontovertex; scutellum conspicuously convex, slightly velvety in appearance, with polygonally reticulate sculpture that is clearly deeper than that on mesoscutum, cells in middle one-third rounded, laterally longitudinally elongate to striate reticulate, apex with shallow sculpture, side completely smooth and shiny; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.8X as broad as long; scutellum about as long as broad, apex not thin and flange-like; fore wing with venation and distribution of setae as in Figs 1864, 1865; costal cell with a single line of setae dorsally in apical 0.4X or so; mid tibial spur slightly longer than basitarsus; propodeum medially about 0.1X as long as scutellum and more or less smooth, side with some shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture; side of propodeum (Fig. 1863) posteriorly rounded above hind coxa and without a tooth. Relative measurements: FWL 119, FWW 49.5; HWL 85, HWW 25.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about 0.5X to apex; syntergum about as long as mid tibia, with apex acute; ovipositor exserted, the exserted part about 0.7X as long as mid tibial spur or nearly 0.3X as long as mid tibia.

Paratype. Funicle with linear sensilla only on F3-F6; hypopygium Fig. 1867; ovipositor Fig. 1861). Relative measurements: OL 162, GL 67 [MT 77, MTS 29].

Variation. Females vary in length from 1.65-1.87mm, F2 may be pale yellow or brown and the apex of the scutellum may be virtually completely smooth.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Cartago, San José, 20km SE Empalme , 2800m, ix.1988 (P. Hanson) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Heredia, 6km ENE Vara Blanca , 10°11’N 84°07’W, 2000m, 20/M/ TN, iii.2012 (INBio-OET-ALAS); 1E, Heredia, Braulio Carrillo NP, 2500m, Est. Barva, 2500m, viii-ix.1989 ( INBio Team); 1E , San José, Cerro de la Muerte, YPT, 5.iv.1985 (L. Masner); 1E, San José, 5km E Villa Mills, LS 389550 500050, 8-20.i.1996 (A. Picado, B. Gamboa); 3E, San José, 19km S Empalme, Mirador Quetzal , 9°39’N 83°82’W, 2600m, xii.1999, i.2000 and v.2000 (P. Hanson); 1E , Puntarenas, Est. Altamira, Send. a Casa Coca, LS 331750 574400, 1700m, #84976, 11-20.xi.2005 ( D. Rubí ) . Holotype in MZUCR, paratypes in NHMUK, MZUCR and CNC .