Ammonoencyrtus xanthos, 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 : 529-531

Ammonoencyrtus xanthos sp.nov.

(Figs 1334-1338; Hab. E 193)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.1-1.3mm): area above mouth margin dark brown; mesoscutum orange-brown with a moderate metallic sheen, contrasting a little with slightly dusky orange scutellum; fore and hind coxa dusky orange to orange-brown, mid coxa orange; legs mostly orange; hind basitarsus dark brown; head about 4.5-5.2X as wide as frontovertex; antenna (Fig. 1336) with dorsal margin of pedicel not produced in lateral view; sensory part of clava slightly more than 2X as long as straight part of ventral margin; frontovertex with about 15 setae, excluding those along eye margin; scutellum (Fig. 1338) mostly with uniform conspicuous, polygonally reticulate sculpture that is clearly deeper than shallower imbricate-reticulate sculpture of mesoscutum, only extreme side and apex smooth and shiny; exserted part of ovipositor much shorter than mid tibial spur. Male: Unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.31mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.27mm (CPD).

Head generally slightly dusky orange with very weak purple and brassy sheen; area above transfacial carina with a relatively strong purple and violet sheen, this continuing laterally mixed with metallic blue-green between eye, and scrobal margin onto upper gena; temple with a moderate purple and violet sheen; mouth margin dark brown between mandibular bases; setae on frontovertex, temple, gena and interantennal prominence dark brown; antenna (Fig. 1336) with radicle orange-brown, apex dark brown; scape dusky orange, broadly bordered dark brown ventrally and with dorsal margin dark brown with a slight brassy sheen, remainder of antenna dark brown with a brassy sheen; thorax with pronotum orange, neck marked dark brown; propleuron and prosternum orange-brown; mesoscutum orange-brown with a moderate purple and blue sheen; tegula orange-brown with a weak brassy and purple sheen; axilla orange with a weak brassy sheen; scutellum slightly dusky orange with a weak brassy and coppery sheen, side and extreme apex with a purple and blue sheen; mesopleuron dusky orange with a mixed brassy, coppery and purple sheen; fore coxa slightly dusky pale orange; fore femur proximally pale orange, slightly dusky orange towards apex, tibia dusky orange proximally, pale orange apically, tarsus orange with terminal segment dark brown; mid coxa orange; mid leg generally coloured as fore leg; hind coxa orange-brown; hind femur slightly dusky orange, tibia mostly dusky orange, but with apical one-quarter pale orange, basitarsus and two apical tarsomeres dark brown, remaining tarsomeres pale orange; fore wing mostly infuscate but hyaline towards base and at apex, venation dusky orange, marginal vein dark brown, apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a fairly straight hyaline streak; hind wing hyaline; propodeum dusky orange with a weak brassy lustre, side with a relatively strong coppery purple and green lustre, setae outside spiracle dark brown and moderately conspicuous; gaster dark brown with a mixed purple, coppery and brassy sheen, with some metallic green and blue reflections on side and ventrally, syntergum dusky pale orange; gonostylus dark brown with apex pale orange.

Head about 5.2X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.5X as long as deep, frontovertex evenly convex from occiput to top of scrobes then virtually straight to mouth margin with interantennal prominence only slightly protuberant; vertex with a distinct, elongate, oval, shiny bottomed depression adjacent to eye margin between posterior ocellus and occipital margin; ocelli forming an angle of about 50°; frontovertex about 3.8X as long as broad, narrowest slightly in front of anterior ocellus, slightly shiny with very shallow, fine, polygonally-reticulate sculpture of cell diameter about 0.5X diameter of eye facet, completely smooth above transfacial carina; temple and gena with longitudinally elongate, imbricate-reticulate sculpture of similar depth to that on frontovertex; eye reaching occipital margin, naked; occipital margin sharp, weakly carinate; narrowest point between eye and transfacial carina about 3X diameter of facet; narrowest point of the connection of the interantennal prominence to the frontovertex not carinate, and only slightly narrower than diameter of anterior ocellus; area immediately above transfacial carina with about 9 setae; antenna as in Fig. 1336; scape subtrapezoidal with proximal part of dorsal margin 0.6X length of distal part and with the proximal part of the ventral margin about 1.45X as long as the distal part; distal part of dorsal margin of scape and dorsal margin of pedicel flat and completely smooth and shiny; pedicel not produced dorsally, about 0.4X as wide as F1, setae uniform; F1 about 1.1X as long as F2 and subequal in width, remaining segments progressively slightly narrower; clava about 0.9X as wide as F1, dorsally about as long as funicle, sutures oblique, apex strongly obliquely truncate, sensory area about 2.2X as long as ventral margin; mandible with two teeth and a moderately broad truncation. Relative measurements: HW c62, HH c52, FVL 46; FV 12, POL 5, OOL 0, OCL 5.5, AOL 7, EL 38, EW 34, MS c27.5, SL (dorsal margin) 38.5, SL (lamina) 43, SW 26.

Thorax (Fig. 1338) with polygonally reticulate to imbricate-reticulate sculpture on pronotum and mesoscutum that is of similar depth and mesh size to sculpture on frontovertex; axilla with slightly deeper, slightly transversely elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture; scutellum with similar sculpture to axilla, but conspicuously deeper and more rounded; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.6X as broad as long; scutellum about as broad as long; mid tibia without an external carina; hind femur about 3.9X as long as broad; fore wing venation and setation as in Figs 1334, 1337; area proximad of anal angle more or less completely infuscate with only a slight hint of a hyaline area; costal cell with 8 or 9 setae dorsally at apex; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins (Fig. 1337) connected by a naked, hyaline streak; propodeum (Fig. 1338) about 0.13X as long as scutellum, quite smooth but with a few shallow, very short, longitudinal carinae posteriorly near middle, about 4 setae anterior to and outside spiracle. Relative measurements: FWL 73.5, FWW 33.5; HWL 54, HWW 16.5.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about half way to apex, without a distinct, posterior, median projection (mucro); last tergite about 0.8X as long as mid tibia, with apex weakly acute; ovipositor hardly exserted, the exserted part about 0.2X as long as mid tibial spur or less than 0.1X length mid tibia.

Paratype. Funicle with linear sensilla present only on F4-F6; hypopygium Fig. 1335. Relative measurements: OL 70, GL 22 [MT 54].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 1.14-1.31mm, the mesoscutum may have an additional metallic green sheen, the head may be only about 4.5X as wide as the frontovertex, there may be only 5 or 6 setae dorsally at apex of costal cell of fore wing and there may be 5 or 6 setae outside spiracle on propodeum.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Heredia, 6km NE Vara Blanca , 10°11’N 84°07’W, 2000m, 20/M/NOTN, iv.2002 (INBio-OET-ALAS) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Heredia, Vara Blanca, Finca la Georgina, 2200m, ix.1989 (P. Hanson); 1E, San José, Zurqui de Moravia , 1600m, iii.1992 (P. Hanson) . Holotype in MZUCR, paratypes in NHMUK .