Pseudhomalopoda festa, 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 : 77-78

Pseudhomalopoda festa sp.nov.

( Figs 146-151; Hab.E 24)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.2-1.9mm): mid tibia white to very pale yellow, dark brown towards base; fore wing ( Fig. 148) with paired hyaline spots at apex of venation separated by about length of marginal vein; no distinct hyaline spot present in middle of wing below marginal vein; head about 2.9-3.0X as wide as frontovertex; mandible with 1 acute tooth and a broad, slightly concave truncation; an inconspicuous line of sparse silvery setae adjacent to eye above scrobe; scape about 2.3-2.7X as long as broad; funicle segments ( Fig. 146) slightly broadened, all transverse but not more than about 1.5X as broad as long; linear sensilla present on all funicle segments; pedicel and flagellum combined at least as long as head width; costal cell of fore wing ventrally with 2 or 3 lines of setae proximally but only a single line in apical half; postmarginal vein much shorter than stigmal vein ( Fig. 147); linea calva entire or interrupted by single seta. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.39mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.29mm (CPD).

Head dark brown to black with a distinct metallic lustre; occiput metallic dark blue-green, violet immediately behind eye; frontovertex mostly metallic dark blue-green; narrowly coppery and brassy along eye margin; a coppery red band above scrobes, below this narrowly metallic dark green and then coppery; scrobes otherwise blue-green and green mixed with some coppery; temple with a violet band from lower eye to occiput and towards inner mouth margin; area between eye and scrobe metallic dark blue; gena coppery and blue-green; mouth margin coppery purple; frontovertex with a few, fairly inconspicuous, scattered, brown setae; an inconspicuous line of sparse, silvery setae across frontovertex and below eye; gena and mouth margin with scattered, inconspicuous, translucent, white setae; interantennal prominence with an inconspicuous pair of submedian lines of setae similar to those on gena; maxillary palpus white; radicle pale orange, with a dark brown apical ring; remainder of antenna dark brown; thorax dark brown to black with a metallic lustre; pronotum with a dark blue-green sheen, posterior margin violet; mesoscutum mostly bright metallic dark blue with a violet sheen;. posterior margin violet; tegula dark brown with a weak coppery purple sheen; axilla with a weak coppery purple and brassy sheen; scutellum dorsally quite dull with a weak coppery purple sheen, side more strongly shining dark blue and apex coppery purple; mesopleuron with a moderate coppery purple and dark blue sheen; coxae dark brown; fore femur brown, tibia pale orange with an external brown spot basally, tarsus pale orange, apical tarsomere brown; mid femur dark brown, dusky pale orange towards extreme base, tibia white to very pale yellow with extreme base dark brown and a short brown streak along dorsal margin proximally, spur and tarsus very pale yellow, apical tarsomere orange-brown; hind femur and tibia dark brown; tarsus white, apical tarsomere brown; fore wing with a pattern of hyaline and infuscate areas as in Fig. 148; hind wing hyaline; propodeum dark purple-brown with a weak brassy sheen; gaster dark purple-brown, dorsally with a coppery purple sheen, with some metallic green and coppery red reflections; side and venter of gaster with coppery, blue, brassy and green reflections; gonostylus dark brown.

Head about 3.0X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.6X as high as deep, tangent to frontovertex forming an angle of about 50° with that of face; clypeal margin concave, but medially virtually straight; occipital margin weakly emarginate medially, with a shallow vertical groove running from occipital margin to foramen, scale-like seta on occipital margin about 0.7X as long as minimum width of frontovertex; a small, inconspicuous, depression adjacent to eye near occipital margin; ocelli forming an angle of about 85°; frontovertex narrows a little anteriorly; ocellar area with relatively deep, fine, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size slightly smaller than diameter of eye facet, area between anterior ocellus and top of scrobes with similar sculpture, but shallower anteriorly; temple with area adjacent to eye completely smooth and shiny otherwise temple and gena with longitudinally elongate, fine polygonally reticulate sculpture of similar depth to that immediately above scrobes; antenna as in Fig. 146; scape slightly broadened and flattened, broadest at apex, about 2.3X as long as broad; funicle segments slightly bilaterally flattened, all segments slightly transverse, F2 shortest, others subequal in length, segments equal in width, linear sensilla on all segments; clava slightly longer than funicle, sutures parallel, sensory area small, at apex only giving it a rounded appearance; eye not quite reaching occipital margin, virtually naked, but with sparse, very short setae, each much shorter than diameter of facet; no shallow groove below eye mandible with one acute tooth and a broad, slightly concave truncation, virtually tridentate. Relative measurements: HW 89.5, HH 70, FV 30, POL 17, OOL 4, OCL (line between posterior ocellus and scale-like seta on occipital margin) 12, AOL 12.5, EL 34, EW 43, MS 38, SL 37.5, SW 16.

Thorax with transversely elongate, imbricate-reticulate to polygonally reticulate sculpture on pronotum that is similar to that in ocellar area; mesoscutum with rounded, polygonally reticulate to imbricate-reticulate sculpture that is of larger mesh than that on pronotum and clearly shallower; axilla with similar, but finer transversely elongate, polygonally reticulate to imbricate-reticulate sculpture; scutellum dorsally with regular, fine, polygonally-reticulate sculpture that is clearly deeper than sculpture on mesoscutum or axilla, side and apex completely smooth and shiny; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.5X as broad as long; apex of scutellum with inner pair of scale-like setae relatively broad, about 1.4X as long as scutellum, outer pair more slender and about 0.9X as long as scutellum; hind femur about 3.9X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 47, 148; costal cell with 2 or 3 setae dorsally at apex; propodeum medially about 0.13X as long as scutellum. Relative measurements: FWL 210, FWW 78; HWL 175, HWW 41.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about 0.7X towards apex; last tergite about 0.8X as long as mid tibia, with apex narrowly rounded; ovipositor slightly exserted, the exserted part about 0.6X length of mid tibial spur or about 0.25X mid tibia.

Paratype. Gastral tergites Fig. 149; hypopygium Fig. 151; ovipositor Fig. 150. Relative measurements: OL 61, GL 18 [MT 36].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 1.23-1.85mm, otherwise little in material examined.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Guanacaste, PN Palo Verde, Sect. Palo Verde, Estación , LN 385020 260952, 0-50m, #57055, 10-18.vii.2000 (I. Jiménez) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Guanacaste, BN Diriá, Ret. Alr. Torre Control de Incendio, LN238550 358650, 600-700m, #64070, vii-viii.2001 (I. Jiménez);); 1E, Guanacaste, Santa Cruz, Vista del Mar , Torre Cocesna , LN 357490 235340, 970m, #60713, viii-ix.2000 (Y. Cardenas); 1E, Guanacaste, PN Palo Verde, Sect. Palo Verde, C. de Aterrizaje, LN 260952 385020, 10m, #52845, 12.vii.1999 (I. Jiménez); 1E, Guanacaste, ZP Nosara, Fila Maravilla, LN 221350 381700, 800m, #64580, viii-ix.2000 (I. Jiménez); 1E, San José, San Pedro, Montes de Oca , 1100m, Aenistus, 31.v.1987 (P. Hanson); 1E, San José, Zurqui de Moravia , 1600m, viii.1995 (P. Hanson); 1E, San José, Zurqui de Moravia , 1600m, viii.1996 (P. Hanson); 1E, Cartago, PN Tapanti-Macizo de la Muerte, Torre ICE #31, 1800m, #61067, 9.vii-10.viii.2000 ( D. Rubí ); 3E, Puntarenas, Monteverde. St Luis Valley , 1400m, 17.viii.1986, (L. Masner) . Holotype in MZUCR, paratypes in MZUCR, CNC and NHMUK .