Cheiloneurus cero, 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 : 413-415

Cheiloneurus cero sp.nov.

(Figs 1054-1060)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.5mm): body mostly orange with some brown areas with a weak to moderate metallic sheen on head, mesoscutum and gaster; mouth margin narrowly dark brown; temple with a distinct diagonal, brown streak to gena; antenna (Fig. 1060) with scape pale orange; pedicel pale orange with a pale brown longitudinal streak; flagellum dark brown; posterior part of mesoscutum with dense silvery setae; fore and hind coxae white, mid coxa pale orange; legs mostly white to pale orange with some brown areas; fore wing (Fig. 1059) mostly infuscate with basal cell almost completely hyaline, a small hyaline area at apex of venation and an opposite hyaline area on posterior wing margin, apex weakly infuscate, not hyaline; head (Fig. 1056) about 4.5X as wide as frontovertex, in facial view slightly longer than broad, subcircular with genae converging and fairly evenly curved; frontovertex naked medially above scrobes; eye separated from scrobe by about 0.6X diameter of anterior ocellus, area between eye and scrobe with very shallow sculpture, virtually completely smooth, scrobal margin rounded; interantennal prominence with about 40 inconspicuous setae and with a weak, dorsal, median ridge; mandible tridentate; antenna (Fig. 1060) with scape about 2.9X as long as broad; funicle with F1 subquadrate, remaining segments clearly transverse; head width nearly equal to length of pedicel and funicle combined; linear sensilla on F3-F6; clava 3-segmented, slightly shorter than funicle; sensory area enlarged and forming an oblique truncation, extending about 0.5X along ventral margin; mesoscutum (Fig. 1057) anteriorly with coarse, longitudinally elongate, striate-reticulate sculpture; scutellum with a distinct, apical tuft of setae; wings fully developed; fore wing (Fig, 1059) about 2.6X as long as broad; parastigma slightly downcurved; costal cell dorsally with two apical setae and ventrally with a complete line of setae; area below proximal part of parastigma with a group of about 10-12 setae in two lines that connect with a line of setae on cubital vein track toward wing base; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a naked hyaline area that continues a little way into disc (Fig. 1058); apical bristle of postmarginal vein about 0.5X as long as marginal vein; mid tibial spur clearly shorter than basitarsus; propodeum (Fig. 1057) with about seven or eight setae adjacent to spiracle, side naked; syntergum about 0.9X as long as mid tibia; ovipositor (Fig. 1054) about 3.8X gonostylus or about 1.1X as long as mid tibia; gonostylus about as long as mid tibial spur; exserted part of ovipositor about 0.3X as long as mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.52mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.48mm ( CPD) .

Head generally pale orange; occiput with a brown, triangular mark above foramen; frontovertex slightly dusky with a weak purple, blue and green lustre, strongest in ocellar area; temple and upper gena with a weak brassy and purple sheen, lower gena similar but less shiny; area between eye and scrobe with a weak green and purple sheen; lower face with a curved, dark brown line between toruli and mouth margin; temple with a diagonal, pale brown line to top of gena, not reaching dark brown line above mouth margin; frontovertex clothed with inconspicuous, translucent, pale brown setae, a line of fine, translucent setae between eye and scrobe; maxillary palpus white; antenna (Fig. 1060) with radicle pale orange; scape pale orange; pedicel pale orange, a pale brown streak internally along its length; funicle and clava dark brown; pronotum orange with neck broadly dark brown; prosternum orange, dark brown outside coxa; mesoscutum orange in anterior half, posteriorly dark brown with a moderate dark, metallic blue and purple sheen, posterior margin purple-brown, anterior part clothed in relatively sparse dark brown setae, posterior part clothed in relatively dense, translucent, silvery setae mixed with a few dark brown setae; tegula orange with apex orange-brown; axilla and scutellum orange clothed with dark brown setae, subapical tuft black; metanotum orange-brown; mesopleuron pale orange, posteriorly orange-brown, anterior part with a very weak brassy sheen, posterior part with a weak brassy, coppery and purple sheen; fore coxa white; fore femur white with apical one-third pale orange, weakly marked pale brown, tibia largely pale orange with a very weak subbasal, pale brown band, tarsus pale orange; mid coxa pale orange; mid femur white, apex pale orange, tibia mostly pale orange but with an incomplete subbasal brown band and with dorsal margin brownish for about one-third its length, spur and tarsus pale orange; hind coxa white; hind femur white proximally with distal two-thirds pale orange, knee narrowly brown, tibia and tarsus pale orange; fore wing (Fig. 1059) mostly infuscate, hyaline towards base, but weakly infuscate at apex; parastigma yellow, remainder of venation brown; propodeum orange, side orange-brown with a weak green, coppery and purple sheen, about 5 or 6 pale, translucent setae near spiracle; gaster dark brown with a green, brassy, coppery and purple sheen, Gt1 with a blue sheen laterally; gonostylus very pale orange.

Head (Fig. 1056) about 4.5X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.7X as high as deep, anteriorly interantennal prominence hardly protuberant level with torulus; occipital margin sharp, not carinate; ocelli forming an angle of about 65°; frontovertex quite shiny, with shallow, fairly regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh slightly smaller than diameter of eye facet, ocellar area with slightly deeper sculpture; narrowest area between eye and scrobe about 0.7X as wide as diameter of anterior ocellus, area immediately below lowest part of eye with very shallow sculpture, virtually completely smooth and shiny; scrobes shallow, broadly ∩-shaped, not sharply margined; interantennal prominence with similar sculpture to frontovertex, clothed in sparse translucent setae, dorsally acute and with a weak median ridge, scrobes meeting; temple virtually smooth with very shallow, irregular, elongate sculpture, gena with slightly deeper, irregular, reticulate sculpture; antenna as in Fig. 1060; scape broadened and flattened, about 3X as long as broad, broadest in middle; funicle with F1 subquadrate, F2-F6 clearly transverse; linear sensilla present only on F3-F6; clava clearly broadened, slightly shorter than funicle, sutures oblique, sensory area enlarged, extending ventrally about 0.4X along clava, giving it an obliquely truncate appearance; eye reaching occipital margin, virtually naked, but with sparse, very short setae, each much shorter than diameter of facet; inner eye margins more or less parallel; malar sulcus absent; clypeal margin weakly concave medially; mandible tridentate, teeth short; apical segment of maxillary palpus not enlarged, about as long as radicle. Relative measurements: HW 72, HH 68, FV 16, POL 7, OOL 0, OCL 4.5, AOL 7, EL 45, EW 37, MS 32, SL 29, SW 10.

Thorax (Fig. 1057) with irregular, polygonally reticulate sculpture on pronotum that is about as deep as that on frontovertex; mesoscutum in posterior two-fifths with fairly regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture that is clearly deeper than that on frontovertex, sculpture in anterior three-fifths coarse striate-reticulate and about as deep as that on pronotum; axilla with similar sculpture to pronotum, scutellum with slightly deeper and more longitudinally elongate sculpture; axilla and scutellum with similar sculpture to that on anterior part of mesoscutum, elongate on sides of scutellum; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.9X as broad as long; scutellum about 1.1X as broad as long with a distinct subapical tuft, setae mostly about 0.4X as long as scutellum; mid tibia without a distinct, external carina; hind femur about 4X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 1058, 1059; costal cell dorsally with 1 seta at apex; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a distinct, naked, hyaline streak (Fig. 1058); propodeum (Fig. 1057) medially about 0.12X as long as scutellum and virtually smooth, side virtually completely smooth. Relative measurements: FWL 63, FWW 24.5; HWL 53, HWW 13.

Gaster without “gland-like” structures on Gt1 or Gt5; hypopygium (Fig. 1055) reaching about half-way to apex; syntergum about 0.9X as long as mid tibia, with apex rounded; ovipositor (Fig. 1054) slightly exserted, the exserted part about one-quarter length of mid tibial spur or less than 0.1X mid tibia. Relative measurements: OL 39.5, GL 10.5 [MT 35].

Variation. Only holotype examined.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Puntarenas, 24km W Piedras Blancas , 8°46’N 83°24’W, iii.1992 (P. Hanson) . Holotype in NHMUK .

COMMENTS. Cheiloneurus cero is very similar to mora , but apart from having a relatively slightly larger clava and larger sensory area on the clava (see key), cero differs from mora , and many other similar species ( dirce , amethes , omorus , alopes , etc.) in having the apex of the fore wing weakly infuscate, without a distinct hyaline area. It also differs from mora in having the diagonal brown mark on the temple pale and clearly not reaching the brown line along the mouth margin, the hind tibia is also virtually completely pale orange, whereas in mora the dark brown line on the temple connects with the dark brown on the mouth margin and the hind tibia is orange with a brown subbasal band and a diagonal brown stripe externally for about two-thirds of its length. Additionally in cero the curved hyaline streak connecting the postmarginal and stigmal veins is much better defined and longer than in mora (compare Figs 1058 and 1109). There are also minor differences in head width and relative proportions of constituent parts of the ovipositor, but as these are based on only two individuals they might be unreliable.