Cheiloneurus myndus, 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 : 251-253

Cheiloneurus myndus sp.nov.

( Figs 625-630; Hab. E 96)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.7-2.3mm): body generally dark brown to black with a weak to moderate metallic sheen; antenna ( Fig. 625) with scape dark brown, apical one-third yellow; pale orange; pedicel dorsally dark brown, venter and apex yellowish; funicle pale orange, slightly dusky proximally; clava dark brown; mesoscutum with uniform, silvery setae; coxae white, mid coxa proximally dark brown; hind tibia mostly dark brown, legs otherwise white to pale orange with extensive dark brown areas; fore wing ( Fig. 626) almost completely hyaline but weakly infuscate immediately below marginal and stigmal veins; head about 3.8X as wide as frontovertex, in facial view about as broad as long, subcircular, genae converging, weakly and evenly curved; frontovertex naked medially below anterior ocellus; area between eye and scrobe about as wide as diameter of anterior ocellus, with distinct sculpture, scrobal margin rounded; interantennal prominence dorsally rounded with only a few long setae; mandible with two long, sharp lower teeth and a very short, sharp, upper tooth; antenna ( Fig. 625) with scape about 3.3X as long as broad; funicle with F1 slightly longer than broad, other segments subquadrate, becoming larger distad; head very slightly wider than length of funicle; linear sensilla on F2-F6; clava 3-segmented, slightly longer than F2-F6 combined, sensory area large and forming an oblique truncation, extending nearly 0.5X along ventral margin; mesoscutum ( Fig. 628) with polygonally reticulate sculpture; scutellum with a distinct apical tuft of setae; wings fully developed; fore wing ( Fig. 626) about 2.4-2.5X as long as broad; parastigma not curved downwards; costal cell dorsally with 4 to 6 setae at apex and a single, complete line of setae ventrally; area below proximal part of parastigma with a group of about 15-20 setae; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins ( Fig. 630) not connected by a naked hyaline area; apical bristle of postmarginal vein about 0.7X as long as marginal vein; mid tibial spur about as long as basitarsus; propodeum ( Fig. 628) with about 30 setae around each spiracle, side naked; syntergum about as long as mid tibia; ovipositor (Fg. 628) about 3.7X gonostylus or 1.6X mid tibia; gonostylus about 1.1X as long as mid tibial spur; exserted part of ovipositor about 0.5X as long as mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 2.05mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.95mm (CPD).

Head black with weak, blue and purple reflections on frontovertex; scrobal area mostly with a purple sheen; scrobes with a blue sheen; torulus connected to eye margin and other torulus by a narrow, metallic blue line; mouth margin narrowly purplish; gena and area above mouth margin coppery; temple adjacent to eye and gena immediately below eye metallic green and brassy, posterior temple coppery; frontovertex with inconspicuous dark brown setae; antenna ( Fig. 625) with radicle dark brown; scape dark brown, apical one-third yellowish; pedicel dorsally dark brown, apical one-third pale orange, venter pale yellow; funicle pale orange, F1-F4 slightly dusky dorsally; clava dark brown; thorax mostly dark brown to black; pronotum with a slight coppery, green and brassy sheen; mesoscutum clothed with uniform, translucent silvery setae and with a weak, dark blue sheen with pale green reflections, posterior margin dark purple-brown; tegula dark brown; axilla dull purple with dark blue reflections; scutellum weak metallic, dark blue, slightly coppery medially, clothed with dark brown setae, sides and apex shining blue; metanotum with slight purple sheen; mesopleuron in posterior half with a coppery purple and brassy sheen, anterior half mixed blue and brassy, these narrowly separated by a coppery, dark blue and violet sheen; fore coxa white; fore femur white proximally, apical half dark brown, extreme apex white, tibia narrowly white proximally, remainder of basal half dark brown, apex pale orange; mid coxa dark brown, apex white; mid femur white in proximal half and extreme apex, otherwise dark brown, tibia narrowly white proximally, a dark brown subbasal band extending a little less than half-way, remainder very pale orange; hind coxa white; hind femur white in proximal half, otherwise dark brown, tibia narrowly white at apices, otherwise dark brown; fore and mid tarsi pale orange, hind tarsus white to pale yellow; pretarsi slightly dusky; fore wing ( Fig. 626) almost completely hyaline but weakly infuscate immediately below marginal and stigmal veins, venation pale brown; propodeum dark purple-brown; sides, including area around spiracle, metallic green with conspicuous silvery setae in spiracular area; gaster dark purple-brown, Gt1 largely dark metallic blue with some golden and coppery reflections; remainder of gaster mixed purple and brassy, syntergum mixed distinctly bluish, sides of gaster towards apex mixed metallic green and blue, outer plates of ovipositor dull, dark blue-green; gonostylus dark brown, extreme apex orange.

Head about 3.8X as wide as frontovertex, not subtriangular in profile, occipital margin carinate, occiput with a partial, very shallow, median groove immediately above the foramen not reaching the occipital margin; ocelli forming an angle of about 80°; frontovertex slightly shiny, with conspicuous reticulate sculpture of mesh size generally very slightly smaller than diameter of eye facet; scrobes, mouth margin, gena and temple with shallower sculpture; gena and temple with more elongate sculpture; scrobes shallow, meeting dorsally, dorsal and lateral margins weakly rounded; antenna as in Fig. 625; scape broadened and flattened, about 3.3X as long as broad; all funicle segments subquadrate, broader and larger distad, only F1 slightly longer than broad; clava moderately broad, about as long as F2-F6 combined, sutures oblique, sensory area enlarged, extending about half-way along clava ventrally and giving it an obliquely truncate appearance; eye reaching occipital margin, clothed with fairly conspicuous setae, each of which is about as long as diameter of facet; inner eye margins not converging anteriorly; malar sulcus absent; mandible with two long, acute, lower teeth and a short upper tooth. Relative measurements: HW 80, HH 80, FV 21, OD 5.5, POL 13.5, OOL 1, OCL 5, AOL 11, EL 51, EW 40, MS 30, SL 44, SW 13.5.

Thorax ( Fig. 628) with shallow, irregular, polygonally reticulate sculpture on pronotum, generally of mesh size subequal to diameter of facet; sculpture on mesoscutum generally of similar depth to that on pronotum, but more regular and of smaller mesh; sculpture on axilla similar to that on mesoscutum, but slightly deeper; scutellum with conspicuously deeper, polygonally reticulate sculpture; apex and sides narrowly completely smooth; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.8X as broad as long; scutellum about as long as broad, with a distinct subapical tuft, setae about one-third as long as scutellum; hind femur about 3.4X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 626, 630; costal cell with only 4 setae dorsally at apex; no naked streak present between apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins ( Fig. 630); propodeum ( Fig. 628) with numerous setae in spiracular area, side naked, medially about 0.15X as long as scutellum and with shallow irregular sculpture. Relative measurements: FWL 100, FWW 40; HWL 76, HWW 21.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about half-way to apex; syntergum hardly longer than mid tibia and with apex acute; ovipositor slightly exserted, the exserted part about 0.5X as long as mid tibial spur.

Paratype. Funicle with linear sensilla present only on F2-F6; gaster without “gland-like” structures on Gt1 or Gt5; hypopygium Fig, 629; ovipositor ( Fig. 627) with gonostylus about 1.1X as long as mid tibial spur. Relative measurements: OL 72, GL 19.5 [MT 46].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 1.68-2.26mm, the fore wing varies from 2.4- 2.5X as long as broad, otherwise little in material examined.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, San José, Zurqui de Moravia , 1600m, vi.1995 (P. Hanson) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 10E, San José, same data as holotype but various dates i.1989 - x.1995 ; 1E, Heredia, 6km ENE Vara Blanca , 10°11’N 84°07’W, 2000m, 20/TN/ALL, iii.2002 (INBio-OET-ALAS). Holotype in MZUCR, paratypes in MZUCR and NHMUK .

COMMENTS. Cheiloneurus myndus is superficially similar to miklo . Apart from the lack of an infuscate streak in the apical half of the fore wing Cheiloneurus myndus differs from miklo in having the scape and hind tibia mostly dark brown, the scape about 3.3X as long as broad, linear sensilla on F2-F6, and the scutellum with a distinct apical tuft that is nearly half as long as the scutellum. In miklo the scape is mostly pale orange, the hind tibia is yellowish with a narrow subbasal dark brown band, the scape is about 4.6X as long as broad, linear sensilla are present only on F4-F6 and the scutellum with a weak apical tuft of setae that is only about one-quarter as long as the scutellum.