Cheiloneurus metheus, 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 : 451-453

Cheiloneurus metheus sp.nov.

(Figs 1146-1150; Hab. E 164)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.2-1.3mm): body mostly orange with posterior four-fifths of mesoscutum, propodeum and parts of gaster dark brown, mouth margin pale brown, temple and gena with a diagonal brown streak, paler areas with a weak metallic sheen, darker areas with a weak to moderate metallic sheen; antenna (Fig. 1146) with scape mostly pale orange, ventral margin brown; pedicel pale orange with a dark brown streak; funicle mostly dark orange-brown, mixed pale orange, F6 dark brown; clava dark brown; mesoscutum with silvery setae in posterior four-fifths; fore and hind coxae white, mid coxa pale orange; legs otherwise white to pale orange, with some dark brown areas; fore wing (Fig. 1147) mostly infuscate with basal cell mostly hyaline, a small hyaline area at apex of venation and a narrow hyaline area at apex; head about 4.4X as wide as frontovertex, in facial view slightly broader than long, suboval, genae converging, strongly and evenly curved; frontovertex with two setae medially between anterior ocellus and scrobes; eye separated from scrobe by slightly more than diameter of anterior ocellus, area between eye and scrobe completely smooth; scrobes moderately deep, sharply margined below eye; interantennal prominence subtriangular with an inconspicuous median ridge and with about 25 inconspicuous setae; mandible virtually tridentate; antenna (Fig. 1146) with scape about 2.9X as long as broad; funicle with all segments transverse; linear sensilla on F4-F6; clava 3-segmented, very nearly as long as funicle, sensory area enlarged, extending ventrally nearly 0.5X length of clava, apex obliquely truncate; head width slightly more than flagellum length; mesoscutum (Fig,. 1150) anteriorly with fairly coarse lineolate-reticulate sculpture, posteriorly with polygonally reticulate sculpture; scutellum with a distinct, apical tuft of setae; wings fully developed, fore wing (Fig. 1147) about 2.8X as long as broad; parastigma downcurved; costal cell dorsally naked save for an apical seta, ventrally with a line of setae that is interrupted above parastigma; area below proximal part of parastigma with 11 or 12 setae arranged in two lines; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a naked hyaline area that continues a little way into disc; apical bristle of postmarginal vein about 0.5X as long as marginal vein; mid tibial spur very slightly shorter than basitarsus; propodeum (Fig. 1150) with about five to seven silvery setae adjacent to spiracle, side naked; syntergum about as long as mid tibia with apex acutely angular; ovipositor about 4.1X gonostylus or about 1.5X as long as mid tibia; gonostylus hardly longer than mid tibial spur; exserted part of ovipositor about 0.3X as long as mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.19mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.15mm (CPD).

Head largely pale orange; occiput with a brown spot above foramen; frontovertex with weak brassy, blue and purple reflections, area immediately above scrobes with a purple sheen; temple, gena and area below eye with a weak brassy, purple and green sheen; scrobal area with a very weak brassy and purple sheen; mouth margin pale brown and connecting with a diagonal pale brown line from occipital margin; frontovertex clothed with inconspicuous, pale brown setae, a line of more conspicuous, translucent setae below eye; antenna (Fig. 1146) with radicle pale orange, apex narrowly brown; scape pale orange, ventral margin weakly infuscate in proximal half; pedicel pale orange with an internal dark brown streak along its length; F1-F5 pale orange externally, dark orange-brown internally, F6 dark brown, clava dark brown; maxillary palpus white; pronotum mostly orange, neck pale brown; prosternum orange, anterior to coxa brown; mesoscutum orange in anterior one-fifth or less, posterior four-fifths dark brown with a weak blue-green sheen with some purple reflections, posterior margin purple-brown with a slight purple and brassy sheen, anterior part clothed in relatively sparse dark brown setae, posterior part with relatively dense silvery setae, mixed with a few dark brown setae; tegula orange, apex orange-brown; axilla and scutellum orange, clothed in translucent golden brown and dark brown setae, scutellar tuft black, apex of scutellum slightly dusky; metanotum brown; mesopleuron mostly orange with a weak brassy sheen, posterior half very slightly dusky with a slight purple and green sheen; fore coxa white; fore femur largely white, apically pale orange, tibia pale orange, dorsal margin pale brown subbasally, tarsus pale orange-brown; mid coxa mostly pale orange, dusky proximally; mid femur white, pale orange mixed brown towards apex, tibia pale orange with an incomplete brown subbasal ring and dorsal margin brown along most of its length, spur and tarsus very pale orange; hind coxa white; hind femur pale orange with a small brown apical spot, tibia pale orange, largely dark brown externally along about half its length, tarsus very pale orange; fore wing (Fig. 1147) mostly infuscate, hyaline towards base and at apex; submarginal vein largely pale orange, otherwise venation brown; propodeum orange, laterally slightly dusky with a slight green and purple lustre, 4 or 5 translucent, white setae outside spiracle; gaster pale orange dorsally with a weak brassy, green and purple sheen, sides of gaster and apex of syntergum brownish with a stronger green, blue, brassy, coppery and purple lustre, venter dusky pale orange with a less conspicuous sheen; gonostylus very pale orange.

Head (similar to that of letos Fig. 1051) about 4.4X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.4X as high as deep, anteriorly quite straight below top of scrobes, interantennal prominence hardly protuberant; occipital margin sharp, not carinate; ocelli forming an angle of about 50°; frontovertex quite shiny, with shallow, fairly regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture, hardly deeper in ocellar area, mesh size slightly smaller than diameter of eye facet; area immediately above scrobes with slightly transversely elongate sculpture, interantennal prominence with shallow sculpture, scrobes with distinct sculpture, temple and posterior gena with shallow, irregular, longitudinally elongate sculpture, anterior gena with slightly deeper, irregular, reticulate sculpture; area between eye and scrobe a little broader than diameter of anterior ocellus and virtually completely smooth; scrobes moderately deep, meeting dorsally, sharply margined only immediately below eye, very broadly ∩-shaped, interantennal prominence subtriangular, narrowly rounded dorsally and with an inconspicuous median ridge; antenna as in Fig. 1146; scape broadened and flattened, about 2.9X as long as broad; funicle with all segments transverse, larger and broader distad; clava clearly broadened, about as long as funicle, sutures oblique, sensory area enlarged, extending nearly half-way along clava, giving it a distinct, strongly obliquely truncate appearance; eye reaching occipital margin, appearing naked but clothed with extremely short setae that are much shorter than diameter of facet; inner eye margins clearly diverging below anterior ocellus; malar sulcus absent; clypeal margin virtually straight medially; mandible with 1 acute tooth and a broad concave truncation, virtually tridentate; apical segment of maxillary palpus not enlarged, hardly longer than radicle. Relative measurements: HW 70, HH 66, FV 16, POL 8, OOL 0, OCL 7, AOL 10, EL 49, EW 39, MS 30.5, SL 32, SW 11.

Thorax (Fig. 1150) with irregular, polygonally reticulate sculpture on pronotum that is similar in depth to that on frontovertex; mesoscutum with fairly coarse longitudinally elongate, lineolate-reticulate sculpture in anterior half or so, about as deep as that on pronotum; axilla and scutellum with similar sculpture to pronotum, but a little coarser and deeper, sculpture on scutellum very slightly more elongate laterally; visible part of mesoscutum about 3X as broad as long; scutellum about as 1.1X as broad as long with a distinct subapical tuft, setae mostly about half as long as scutellum; hind femur about 4.2X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 1147, 1148; costal cell naked or with 1 or 2 setae dorsally at apex; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a distinct, naked, hyaline streak (Fig. 1148); mid tibia with an indistinct, external subbasal carina for about half its length; propodeum (Fig. 1150) medially a little less than 0.1X as long as scutellum and more or less smooth. Relative measurements: FWL 73.5, FWW 26; HWL 64, HWW 13.5.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about 0.4X to apex; syntergum about as long as mid tibia, with apex acutely angular; ovipositor slightly exserted, about one-third as long as mid tibial spur or 0.1X as long as mid tibia.

Paratype. Funicle with linear sensilla present only on F4-F6; gaster without “gland-like” structures on Gt1 or Gt5; hypopygium Fig. 1149. Relative measurements: OL 47.5, GL 11.5 [MT 32].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 1.15-1.29mm, the mesoscutum may be only about 2.4X as broad as long and with anterior one-third orange, the gaster may be pale orange ventrally and Gt1 may be almost completely dark brown with a distinct metallic green sheen, otherwise little in material examined,

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Puntarenas, Pen. Osa , Puerto Jimenez , 8°32’N 83°19’W, iii.1992 (P. Hanson) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Heredia, Santo Domingo , INBio, 1100m, YPT (compost), 6-7.iii.1996 (L. Masner); 1E , Puntarenas, Pen. Osa , 5km N Puerto Jimenez , 10m, x.1990 (P. Hanson) . Holotype in MZUCR, paratypes in NHMUK .

COMMENTS. See comments under numitor (p. 434).