Dalek elana, 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 : 662-664

Dalek elana sp.nov.

(Figs 1823-1827)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.5mm): scape (Fig. 1826) pale brown proximally otherwise pale orange; mesoscutum dull metallic dark green; all coxae dark brown to black; clypeal margin medially slightly convex; OOL equal to OCL; antenna (Fig. 1826) with scape about 5.6X as long as broad; funicle segments all clearly longer than broad, subequal, linear sensilla on all segments; mesoscutum with sculpture shallower than on scutellum (Fig. 1825); scutellum with side and apex completely smooth and shiny; mid tibial spur shorter than basitarsus; fore wing (Fig. 1823) about 2.5X as long as broad; propodeum with about 30 setae around spiracle, side with rough sculpture; apex of syntergum weakly rounded; ovipositor slightly longer than mid tibia, exserted part less than 0.1X as long as mid tibial spur; gonostylus slightly longer than mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.48mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.46mm ( CPD) .

Head mainly black; frontovertex shiny with a metallic dark green sheen mixed with coppery on occipital margin; temple, gena, scrobes, interantennal prominence and mouth margin shining coppery purple, temple and gena very shiny; frontovertex, gena and interantennal prominence with fairly inconspicuous brown setae; antenna (Fig. 1826) with radicle orange-brown, scape pale orange, pale brown in proximal half; pedicel dark brown, ventrally pale orange, flagellum dark brown; maxillary palpus very pale orange, virtually white; pronotum black generally with a brassy sheen and some weak dark green reflections, slightly coppery on side; propleuron and prosternum black; mesoscutum overall, dull, metallic, dark green with some weak coppery purple reflections; tegula dark brown with a slight brassy and purple sheen; axilla black with a very weak brassy sheen; scutellum dorsally slightly duller than mesoscutum, with a metallic, dark blue sheen and some weak coppery reflections towards apex, apical 0.3X of scutellum and side strongly shining coppery, metallic green and blue-green; mesoscutum clothed with inconspicuous, translucent pale brown setae, axilla and scutellum with dark brown setae; metanotum black, with a weak brassy sheen; mesopleuron dark brown with a brassy sheen; mesosternum dark brown; fore coxa black; fore femur proximally dark brown, apical half pale orange, tibia pale orange, tarsus orange-brown; mid coxa dark brown; mid femur white to very pale orange in proximal half, apex dark brown, tibia pale orange with a wide, dark brown subbasal ring extending to about 0.5X, spur and tarsus pale orange; hind coxa dark brown; hind femur pale orange proximally, apical half or so dark brown, tibia with extreme base pale orange, a broad, dark brown subbasal ring, apical half or so dusky pale orange with an inconspicuous, brownish subapical ring, tarsus dusky pale orange; wings more or less hyaline butfore wing with a small infuscate spot below marginal vein (Figs 1823, 1827), venation slightly dusky pale orange; propodeum black with a weak brassy sheen, side dorsally with a weak green sheen, about 30 conspicuous, long, silvery setae behind and outside spiracle extending most of the way to posterior margin; gaster dark brown, with a distinct coppery purple sheen, dorsal part of Gt1 with a strong metallic blue-green and green sheen in proximal two-thirds, side of gaster anteriorly coppery, otherwise with a mixed metallic green, brassy and coppery sheen; gonostylus dark brown, extreme apex pale orange.

Head about 2.6X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.7X as high as deep; occipital margin sharp, strongly carinate; ocelli forming an angle of about 110°; frontovertex shiny, with irregular, moderately deep, rounded to transversely elongate polygonally reticulate to imbricate-reticulate sculpture of mesh size generally subequal to, or clearly larger than eye facet; frontovertex with piliferous punctures very shallow, 2 setae in front of anterior ocellus, a line of sparse setae along inner eye margin continued along lower eye margin; interantennal prominence with two submedian lines of short, inconspicuous setae; temple and gena much more shiny than frontovertex, anterior part of temple and upper part of gena completely smooth, posterior part of temple and lower and posterior part of gena with very shallow longitudinally elongate, strigose to striate-reticulate sculpture; eye virtually reaching occipital margin, separated by less than 0.5X diameter of facet, with sparse, fairly inconspicuous setae that are much shorter than diameter of facet, eye separated from scrobal margin by about 0.3X diameter of ocellus, area between eye and scrobe with shallow sculpture; scrobes very shallow, narrowly ∩-shaped, meeting, fairly smooth but with shallow, transversely elongate, imbricate-reticulate sculpture, extremely weakly margined dorsally and laterally; interantennal prominence weak, dorsally moderately acute, and virtually smooth; antenna as in Fig. 1826; scape subcylindrical, about 5.6X as long as broad; all funicle segments clearly longer than broad, subequal in length, segments slightly broader distad, linear sensilla present and conspicuous on all segments; clava hardly broader than F6, about as long as F4-F6 combined, sutures not oblique, sensory area slightly enlarged, at apex only giving it a rounded appearance; malar sulcus absent; clypeal margin slightly convex medially; mandible with two acute teeth and a truncate, upper tooth. Relative measurements: HW 107, HH 93, FV 41.5, POL 18, OOL 5, OCL 5, AOL 10, EL 63, EW 51, MS 30, SL 50, SW 9.

Thorax (Fig. 1825) in dorsal view with pronotum short, mostly hidden by head; pronotum dorsally with imbricate-reticulate to polygonally reticulate sculpture that is slightly deeper than that on frontovertex above scrobes; mesoscutum with coarse, regular polygonally reticulate sculpture that is slightly deeper than sculpture on pronotum; axilla with polygonally reticulate sculpture that is finer and slightly shallower than that on mesoscutum; dorsal part of scutellum with similar sculpture to mesoscutum, but conspicuously deeper and of much smaller mesh size, vertical apex (approximately apical 0.3X) and side completely smooth and shiny; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.5X as broad as long; scutellum convex, about as broad as long, apex very thin and flange-like, slightly overhanging scutellum medially; fore wing with venation and distribution of setae as in Figs 1823, 1827; costal cell with a single line of setae dorsally in apical two-fifths or so; mid tibial spur slightly shorter than basitarsus; propodeum (Fig. 1825) medially about 0.24X as long as scutellum and strongly sculptured, with several irregular carinae and sculpture medially, side with rough reticulate sculpture; side of propodeum sharp and carinate posteriorly above hind coxa, with a distinct triangular tooth about half way to spiracle. Relative measurements: FWL 125, FWW 51; HWL 88.5, HWW 22.5.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about 0.8X to apex; syntergum about 0.7X as long as mid tibia, with apex weakly rounded; ovipositor (Fig. 1824) slightly exserted, the exserted part less than 0.1X as long as mid tibial spur. Relative measurements: OL 91, GL 26 [MT 84, MTS 21].

Variation. Only holotype examined.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Cartago, La Cangreja , 9°48’N 83°58’W, 1950m, vi-vii.1992 (P. Hanson) . Holotype in NHMUK .