Cheiloneurus santaros, 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 : 286-288

Cheiloneurus santaros sp.nov.

( Figs 708-713; Hab. E 108)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.4mm): body dark brown with a weak to moderate metallic sheen; antenna ( Fig. 709) with scape pale orange with dorsal margin partly brown; pedicel dark brown with some pale orange; flagellum dark brown; mesoscutum with sparse, translucent setae that may appear silvery; fore coxa pale orange, mid and hind coxae dark brown; legs largely pale orange with femora and hind tibia and tarsus dark brown; fore wing ( Fig. 711) mostly infuscate, basal cell mostly hyaline, a hyaline area at apex of venation and another opposite which are connected via a narrow apical hyaline area; head ( Fig. 708) about 3.7X as wide as frontovertex, in facial view clearly broader than long, subcircular, genae evenly curved, converging, more strongly curved inwards near mouth; frontovertex with four setae medially between anterior ocellus and scrobes; eye separated from scrobe by about 1.5X diameter of anterior ocellus, area between eye and scrobe with conspicuous sculpture; scrobes moderately deep, not sharply margined, interantennal prominence with about 25 inconspicuous setae, dorsally rounded, without a median ridge; mandible tridentate; antenna ( Fig. 709) with scape about 4.3X as long as broad; funicle with F1 slightly longer than broad, F2-F6 transverse; clava 3-segmented, slightly longer than F3-F6 combined; sensory area enlarged, extending ventrally about 0.5X length of clava, apex obliquely truncate; head width slightly less than flagellum length; mesoscutum ( Fig. 710) with shallow, fairly regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture; scutellum with an indistinct, relatively sparse, subapical tuft of setae; wings fully developed, fore wing ( Fig. 711) about 2.5X as long as broad; parastigma not downcurved; costal cell dorsally with one apical setae, ventrally with a line of setae that is interrupted above parastigma; area below proximal part of parastigma with a group of about 25 uniform, fine setae; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins ( Fig. 712) more or less connected by a naked hyaline area; apical bristle of postmarginal vein about 0.3X as long as marginal vein; mid tibial spur about as long as basitarsus; propodeum ( Fig. 710) with about 20 inconspicuous setae adjacent to spiracle, side naked; syntergum about 0.7X as long as mid tibia with apex acute, produced as a narrow, short, ribbon-like process; ovipositor ( Fig. 713) about 2.6X gonostylus or about 1.8X as long as mid tibia; gonostylus about 1.7X as long as long mid tibial spur; exserted part of ovipositor about as long as mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.43mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.27mm ( CPD) .

Head dark brown to black with a metallic sheen; occiput with a moderate dark, metallic, blue-green sheen with some and coppery violet reflections; frontovertex generally with a moder- ate metallic dark blue-green sheen, with some copper in ocellar area and some violet reflections above scrobes; temple with some metallic dark green adjacent to eye, elsewhere and gena with quite a strong metallic dark blue-green sheen; some violet along malar sulcus and between eye and scrobe; scrobal area metallic dark green, interantennal prominence dorsally violet; antenna ( Fig. 709) with radicle pale orange; scape dusky pale orange with dorsal margin dark brown in proximal 0.4X and ventral margin narrowly dark brown in distal half except at extreme apex, inner surface similar but upper margin not dark brown proximally; pedicel dark brown, extreme apex dusky pale orange, venter narrowly dusky pale orange; flagellum dark brown; palpi very pale orange; thorax dark brown to black with a metallic sheen; pronotum with a moderate metallic dark blue-green sheen with some violet, posterior margin narrowly coppery purple; mesoscutum mostly with a strong metallic dark blue-green and dark green sheen with some violet laterally and posterior margin narrowly coppery purple; mesoscutum clothed with fairly sparse, translucent setae that appear silvery in most lights; tegula dark brown with a slight coppery sheen; axilla with a contrasting coppery sheen; scutellum mostly with a moderate metallic dark blue-green sheen, ridges of reticulate sculpture dark coppery purple, extreme side and apex with a strong metallic dark blue-green and slight coppery sheen, setae dark brown; metanotum with a slight coppery purple sheen; mesopleuron in anterior 0.6X with a strong brassy and metallic dark blue-green sheen, posterior 0.4X coppery, between these an irregular narrow diagonal violet and dark blue area; fore coxa pale orange, mid and hind coxa dark brown with a slight metallic dark blue-green sheen; fore femur brown with apex pale orange, tibia pale orange at extreme base otherwise brown with extreme apex mixed pale orange, tarsus orange-brown, apical tarsomere dark brown; mid femur very slightly dusky pale orange, tibia dark brown, spur dusky orange, tarsus dark brown; hind femur, tibia and tarsus dark brown; fore wing ( Fig. 711) with a small infuscate area at extreme base, hyaline to level with apex of submarginal vein, infuscate from apex of submarginal vein nearly to apex, apical 0.14X hyaline and with inner margin curved, subparallel to apical margin of wing, postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a conspicuous narrow hyaline line ( Fig. 712), anterior wing margin narrowly hyaline from apex of venation; stigmal vein and most of submarginal vein pale orange otherwise venation brown; hind wing hyaline; propodeum dark brown with a dark purple sheen, laterally and side metallic dark green, dark blue and violet, area around spiracle with conspicuous silvery setae; gaster dark brown, dorsally with a coppery sheen, side and venter with a mixed fairly strong metallic green, blue-green, coppery and coppery red sheen; gonostylus dark brown.

Head ( Fig. 708) in facial view about 3.7X as wide as frontovertex with gena convex and converging, in profile anteriorly fairly rounded in profile and about 1.7X as high as deep, frontovertex fairly evenly curved from occipital margin to top of scrobes, angled at top of scrobes and fairly straight to mouth margin, with interantennal prominence weakly protuberant; ocelli forming an angle of about 60°; frontovertex with only a line of setae along eye margin, otherwise naked; some conspicuous scattered setae on lower gena and interantennal prominence; occipital margin sharp, not carinate; a short, oval groove present on eye margin behind posterior ocellus; frontovertex with moderately deep, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size slightly smaller than eye facet, area between eye and scrobe with similar sculpture; temple and gena very shiny with shallow, longitudinally elongate, striate-reticulate sculpture, area immediately below eye almost smooth, anterior part of lower gena with moderately deep, elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture; scrobes with moderately deep, polygonally reticulate sculpture; interantennal prominence with fairly shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture; narrowest part between eye and scrobal margin equal to 1.5X diameter of anterior ocellus, scrobes moderately deep, meeting dorsally, well-defined but not sharply margined, broadly ∩-shaped, interantennal prominence dorsally rounded, without a median ridge; antenna as in Fig. 709; scape slightly broadened, broadest slightly above middle, about 4.3X as long as broad; funicle with F1 narrowest, very slightly longer than broad, F2-F6 all transverse, very slightly increasing in length and width distad, linear sensilla present on F4-F6; clava about 1.15X as broad as F6, very slightly longer than F3-F6 combined, outer suture oblique, sensory area slightly enlarged, extending about 0.5X along ventral margin, giving apex a distinct, obliquely truncate appearance; eye reaching occipital margin, appearing naked but with sparse, extremely short setae; inner eye margins subparallel, but slightly converging anteriorly, narrowest part of frontovertex about midway between anterior ocellus and scrobes; malar sulcus absent; clypeal margin medially conspicuously emarginate; mandible with 3 sharp teeth, lowermost tooth longest; apical segment of maxillary palpus hardly enlarged, about 1.5X as long as radicle. Relative measurements: HW 105, HH 95, FV 29, POL 16.5, AOL 17, OOL 0.5, OCL 6, EL 66, EW 55.5, MS 35, SL 49, SW 11.5.

Thorax ( Fig. 710) with pronotum slightly exposed behind head, with moderately deep, fine, imbricate-reticulate to polygonally reticulate sculpture that is about as deep as sculpture on frontovertex; mesoscutum mainly with fairly regular, fine polygonally reticulate sculpture that is very slightly shallower than that on pronotum, a little coarser laterally; axilla with polygonally reticulate sculpture that is about as deep as sculpture in ocellar area; scutellum convex, with coarse deep, slightly to very elongate polygonally reticulate sculpture that is clearly much deeper than that on mesoscutum and more or less arranged in whorls, apex and extreme side mirror smooth and shiny; visible part of mesoscutum about 2.4X as broad as long; scutellum about as long as broad, with an indistinct, sparse subapical tuft, the longest setae of which are at least 0.2X as long as scutellum; hind femur about 4.0X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 711, 712; costal cell with at most 1 seta dorsally at apex; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a naked, hyaline streak ( Fig. 712); mid tibia without a carina; propodeum medially about 0.12X as long as scutellum and more or less smooth; spiracle surrounded by about 15 conspicuous setae. Relative measurements: FWL 85, FWW 34; HWL 74, HWW 19.5.

Gaster without “gland-like” structures on Gt1 or Gt5; hypopygium reaching about 0.6X to apex; syntergum about 0.7X as long as mid tibia, with apex acute and apparently produced as a narrow, short, ribbon-like process; ovipositor as in Fig. 713, exserted, the exserted part about as long as mid tibial spur or 0.35X as long as mid tibia. Relative measurements: OL 62.5, GL 23.5 [MT 35].

Variation. Only holotype examined.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Guanacaste, PN Santa Rosa, Bosque Humedo , 10°51’N 85°37’W, 300m, 20.ii.2007 (J.S. Noyes) . Holotype in NHMUK .