Cheiloneurus marcius, 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 : 290-292

Cheiloneurus marcius sp.nov.

( Figs 720-725)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.4mm): body generally orange, gaster mostly dark brown, paler areas with a weak metallic sheen, darker areas with a stronger metallic sheen; antenna ( Fig. 722) with scape mostly pale orange, ventrally margined brown; pedicel very pale orange with a dark brown streak; funicle with proximally brown, distally orange; clava dark brown; posterior half of mesoscutum with dense silvery setae; fore and hind coxae white, mid coxa very pale orange; legs mostly white to pale orange; fore wing (Fg. 725) mostly infuscate with basal cell mostly hyaline, a small hyaline area at apex of venation which continues more broadly around wing apex to opposite margin; head ( Fig. 720) about 5.3X as wide as frontovertex, in facial view slightly broader than long, subrectangular, genae weakly curved, hardly converging, but more strongly curved inwards near mouth; frontovertex with about 4 setae medially between anterior ocellus and scrobes; eye separated from scrobe by about 1.5X diameter of anterior ocellus, area between eye and scrobe completely smooth, scrobes deep and sharply margined; interantennal prominence with more than 100 conspicuous setae and dorsally rounded; mandible tridentate; antenna ( Fig. 722) with scape about 1.8X as long as broad; funicle segments subquadrate; linear sensilla on F4-F6; clava 3-segmented, about as long as funicle, sensory area enlarged, extending about 0.5X along ventral surface of clava giving it a strongly obliquely truncate appearance; head width about equal to length of pedicel and flagellum combined; mesoscutum ( Fig. 721) anteriorly with coarse lineolate sculpture, posteriorly with polygonally reticulate sculpture; scutellum with a distinct, apical tuft of setae; wings fully developed; fore wing ( Fig. 725) about 2.6X as long as broad; parastigma slightly downcurved; costal cell dorsally naked or with a single apical seta, ventrally more or less with a complete line of setae; area below proximal part of parastigma with a line of about 8-10, paler setae that curves towards fore wing base; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a naked, hyaline area that extends a little way into disc ( Fig. 724); seta at apex of postmarginal vein about 0.8X as long as marginal vein; mid tibial spur slightly longer than basitarsus; propodeum ( Fig. 721) with only about five setae adjacent to spiracle; syntergum hardly longer than mid tibia; ovipositor ( Fig. 723) about 3.2X gonostylus or about 1.7X as long as mid tibia; gonostylus about 1.4X 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, 1.37mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.29mm ( CPD) .

Head generally orange; occiput pale orange, slightly dusky near foramen; an oblique, brown stripe across temple towards torulus; frontovertex with a weak metallic blue sheen, stronger metallic green between posterior ocelli, purple immediately above scrobes; temple with a slight metallic blue and purple sheen; shining metallic green and purple between eye and scrobe; gena relatively dull green and brassy with some coppery and purple reflections; top of scrobes delimited by a slightly curved, metallic green band; frontovertex with inconspicuous pale brown setae along inner eye margins; a line of slightly more conspicuous, translucent, white setae below eye; interantennal prominence clothed with dense, conspicuous, silvery setae; maxillary palpus yellow; antenna ( Fig. 722) with radicle orange-brown with a narrow brown apical ring; scape pale orange, apical one-third white, extreme apex brown, ventral margin dark brown, more broadly so proximally, upper margin pale brown proximally, a transverse brown band between apical white area and proximal pale orange area; pedicel very pale orange with a dark brown streak along inner surface; F1 brown, F2-F5 brown dorsally mixed yellow, distal segments more yellow, F6 yellow, clava dark brown; pronotum orange with weak brassy and coppery reflections, neck and area above coxa brown; prosternum pale orange, brown anterior to coxa; mesoscutum orange in anterior half with some very weak coppery and brassy reflections, clothed in relatively sparse golden brown and dark brown setae, posterior half and side brown with a moderately strong, dark blue sheen with some purple reflections, clothed in conspicuous, relatively dense silvery setae, posterior margin purple-brown with a purple sheen; tegula orange with apex orange-brown; axilla and scutellum orange, clothed with golden brown and brown setae, subapical tuft on scutellum black; metanotum orange-brown; mesopleuron orange with a weak brassy sheen, slightly dusky posteriorly with a weak purple and brassy sheen; mesosternum orange; fore coxa and proximal half of fore femur white, fore leg otherwise pale orange; mid coxa slightly dusky, very pale orange; mid femur white in proximal half, apex pale orange, tibia mostly pale orange, white at base and an incomplete, brown subbasal ring, spur and tarsus pale orange; hind coxa white; hind femur pale orange, slightly dusky along margins towards apex, tibia and tarsus pale orange; fore wing ( Fig. 725) mostly infuscate, hyaline towards base, along anterior margin distad of venation and at apex; submarginal vein pale orange, venation otherwise brown; propodeum orange medially, brown laterally with a dark metallic blue and purple sheen, side metallic blue, about 3 or 4 long, translucent, white setae in a line outside spiracle; gaster dark brown with a coppery sheen, Gt1 largely with a metallic blue and green sheen, side and venter largely with green and blue reflections, syntergum pale orange-brown; gonostylus pale orange.

Head ( Fig. 720) about 5.3X as wide as frontovertex, in profile 1.5X as high as deep, anteriorly quite straight from top of scrobes to mouth margin, interantennal prominence slightly protuberant; occipital margin sharp, not carinate; ocelli forming an angle of about 50°; frontovertex quite shiny, with shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size much smaller than diameter of facet; narrowest point between eye and scrobe about 1.5X diameter of anterior ocellus and completely smooth; temple quite smooth, but with shallow, irregular, elongate, reticulate sculpture; gena with slightly deeper more regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture; scrobes deep, ∩-shaped, meeting, sharply margined; interantennal prominence dorsally rounded and with shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture; antenna as in Fig. 722; scape strongly broadened and flattened, about 1.8X as long as broad, broadest in middle; funicle segments subquadrate, larger and broader distad; linear sensilla present only on F4-F6; clava clearly broadened, about as long as funicle, sutures slightly oblique, sensory area enlarged, extending ventrally nearly half length of clava, apex appearing strongly obliquely truncate; eye reaching occipital margin, appearing naked, but clothed in sparse, inconspicuous, fine, very short setae, each much shorter than diameter of facet; inner eye margins subparallel, converging slightly anteriorly; malar sulcus absent; clypeal margin very slightly convex medially; mandible with three acute; apical segment of maxillary palpus not enlarged, about as long as radicle. Relative measurements: HW 63, HH 60, FV 12, POL 5.5, OOL 0, OCL 5, AOL 7, EL 41, EW 32, MS 30, SL 31.5, SW 18.

Thorax ( Fig. 721) with pronotum short and hardly exposed behind head, about 0.6X as long as mesoscutum, pronotum with polygonally reticulate sculpture that is a little deeper than that on frontovertex; mesoscutum ( Fig. 721) in anterior half with coarse lineolate sculpture, posterior half with polygonally reticulate sculpture of similar depth; axilla and scutellum with polygonally reticulate sculpture similar to that on pronotum, but perhaps slightly coarser, especially on scutellum where it is longitudinally elongate laterally; visible part of mesoscutum about 2.4X as broad as long; scutellum about as long as broad with a distinct subapical tuft, setae mostly about 0.4X as long as scutellum; mid tibia with a distinct external carina for about half its length; hind femur about 4.2X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 724, 725; costal cell with 2 or 3 setae dorsally at apex; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a distinct, naked, hyaline streak ( Fig. 724); propodeum medially ( Fig. 721) about 0.12X as long as scutellum and virtually smooth, setae on side conspicuous. Relative measurements: FWL 66, FWW 25; HWL 50, HWW 13.5.

Gaster without “gland-like” structures on Gt1 or Gt5; hypopygium reaching about 0.4X to apex; syntergum about 0.9X as long as mid tibia, with apex acute; ovipositor ( Fig. 723) slightly exserted, the exserted part about half as long as mid tibial spur or nearly 0.2X as long as mid tibia. Relative measurements: OL 55, GL 17 [MT 32.5].

Variation. Only holotype examined.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Puntarenas, Est. Altamira, Send. Los Gigantes, LS 321800 572100, 1460m, #62126, iii-iv.2001 ( D. Rubí ) . Holotype in NHMUK .

COMMENTS. See comments under simus (p. 290).