Heterospilus itza Marsh

Marsh, Paul M., Wild, Alexander L. & Whitfield, James B., 2013, The Doryctinae (Braconidae) of Costa Rica: genera and species of the tribe Heterospilini, ZooKeys 347, pp. 1-474 : 94-95

Heterospilus itza Marsh sp. n. Figure 61

Female.

Body size: 2.0 mm. Color: head brown; scape yellow without lateral longitudinal brown stripe, flagellum brown, first flagellomere lighter; mesosoma and metasoma dark brown; wing veins including stigma brown; legs yellow. Head: vertex weakly striate, smooth near eyes; frons smooth; face smooth; temple in dorsal view narrow, width about 1/2 eye width; malar space slightly greater than eye height; ocell-ocular distance 2.5 times diameter of lateral ocellus; 14 flagellomeres. Mesosoma: mesoscutal lobes granulate; notauli scrobiculate, meeting at scutellum in triangular rugose area; scutellum granulate; prescutellar furrow with 1 cross carina; mesopleuron granulate; precoxal sulcus scrobiculate, shorter than mesopleuron; venter granulate; propodeum with basal median areas margined, granulate, basal median carina absent, areola not distinctly margined, areolar area rugose, lateral areas entirely rugose. Wings: fore wing vein r slightly shorter than vein 3RSa, vein 1cu-a beyond vein 1M; hind wing vein SC+R absent, vein M+CU shorter than vein 1M. Metasoma: first tergum longitudinally costate, apical width equal to length; second tergum longitudinally costate; anterior transverse groove present, straight; posterior transverse groove absent; third tergum costate at extreme base, smooth apically; terga 4-7 smooth; ovipositor slightly longer than metasoma.

Holotype female.

Top label (white, printed) - COSTA RICA: Puntarenas [;] Rd. to Rincon, 24km W. [;] of Pan-Amer. Hwy, 200m [;] II-III 1989, Hanson & Gauld; second label (red, partially printed and hand written) - HOLOTYPE [;] Heterospilus [;] itza [;] P. Marsh. Deposited in ESUW.

Paratypes.

1 ♀, S.RosaPark, Guan. [;] C. Rica 31 Oct 77 [;] D.H. Janzen [;] Riparian (AEIC).

Comments.

The granulate mesopleuron, single cross carina in the prescutellar furrow, smooth face, longer ovipositor and the absent hind wing vein SC+R are distinctive for this species.

Etymology.

Named for the Itza, an indigenous Mayan people of Guatemala.