Cheiloneurus moloch, 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 : 309-311

Cheiloneurus moloch sp.nov.

( Figs 767-771)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.6mm): body more or less completely dark brown with a weak to moderate metallic sheen; antenna ( Fig. 768) with scape mostly white with dorsal and ventral margins largely brown; pedicel and flagellum dark brown; mesoscutum without silvery setae; coxae dark brown; legs otherwise mostly dark brown; fore wing ( Fig. 770) mostly infuscate with basal cell mostly hyaline, a small hyaline area at apex of venation which virtually connects with a larger hyaline area opposite, two or three paler, virtually hyaline, longitudinal streaks from apical margin connect with this paler transverse line, apex with a narrow hyaline area; head about 5.5X as wide as frontovertex, in facial view clearly longer than broad, subrectangular, genae slightly converging, straight, but strongly curved inwards near mouth; frontovertex naked medially between anterior ocellus and scrobes; eye separated from scrobe by about diameter of anterior ocellus, area between eye and scrobe completely smooth and shiny; scrobes deep, sharply margined, carinate below eye; interantennal prominence with about 35 inconspicuous setae and dorsally rounded and without a median ridge; mandible with one tooth and a broad truncation; antenna ( Fig. 768) with scape about 3.9X as long as broad; F1-F5 slightly longer than broad, F6 transverse; linear sensilla on F2-F6; clava 3-segmented, slightly shorter than F4-F6 combined; sensory area enlarged, extending ventrally nearly 0.4X length of clava, apex obliquely truncate; head width about equal to flagellum length; mesoscutum mostly with uniform, fine, polygonally reticulate sculpture, laterally becoming more longitudinally elongate; scutellum with a distinct, apical tuft of setae; wings fully developed, fore wing ( Fig. 770) about 2.9X as long as broad; parastigma downcurved; costal cell dorsally with one or two apical setae, ventrally with a complete line of setae in proximal 0.8X, apex naked; area below proximal part of parastigma with a group of about 6-8 setae; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a naked hyaline area that continues a little way into disc ( Fig. 771); apical bristle of postmarginal vein a little less than 0.5X as long as marginal vein; mid tibial spur hardly longer than basitarsus; propodeum with about seven inconspicuous setae adjacent to spiracle, side naked; syntergum about 0.7X as long as mid tibia with apex broadly truncate; ovipositor about 4.3X gonostylus or hardly longer than mid tibia; gonostylus slightly longer than 0.6X as long mid tibial spur; exserted part of ovipositor about 0.1X as long as mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.62mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.60mm ( CPD) .

Head dark brown; frontovertex generally with a weak blue-green and purple sheen, more strongly metallic green between eye and occipital margin, area above scrobes more purplish; area between eye and scrobe purple and dark blue; temple and upper part of gena more strongly metallic green, blue-green and purple; lower gena orange-brown and relatively dull purple and blue-green; top of scrobes and dorsal part of interantennal prominence metallic green; lower part of interantennal prominence with a dull purple sheen, lower margins of toruli connected by a narrow metallic purple, blue and brassy line, below this purple, mouth margin coppery; area immediately outside torulus orange; frontovertex clothed with inconspicuous, pale brown setae, these continued as a line below eye; gena with a few short, translucent setae; and interantennal prominence with relatively dense, short, translucent setae; antenna ( Fig. 768) with radicle orange, dark brown on sides; scape mostly white, ventral margin dark brown from base to widest part, dorsal margin dark brown, widest towards apex with apex dark brown; pedicel and flagellum dark brown, almost black; maxillary palpus dark brown, proximal segments slightly paler brown; thorax mainly dark brown, dorsally virtually black; pronotum with a weak brassy sheen and coppery reflections, side orange; mesoscutum with a weak blue sheen and slight coppery reflections, clothed with evenly distributed dark brown setae; tegula dark brown with a weak purple sheen; axilla pale orange-brown clothed with dark brown setae; scutellum more or less matt, but with weak metallic reflections, extreme apex smooth and shiny with a weak coppery and blue-green sheen; mesopleuron chestnut brown with a weak blue, purple and coppery sheen; legs almost completely brown to dark brown, apex of mid tibia and mid tarsi pale orange; fore wing ( Fig. 770) mostly infuscate, largely hyaline towards base, submarginal vein pale orange-brown, venation otherwise brown; propodeum dark brown, virtually black, medially with a weak purple sheen, area around spiracle metallic green and blue-green, 6 or 7 dark brown setae outside spiracle; gaster dark brown, mostly with purple, brassy, coppery and green reflections; visible part of gonostylus pale orange.

Head about 5.5X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.9X as high as deep, frontovertex weakly and evenly curved to top of scrobes then slightly angled towards mouth margin and virtually straight from top of scrobes to mouth margin, interantennal prominence bulging conspicuously; occipital margin sharp, weakly carinate; ocelli forming an angle of about 60°; frontovertex quite shiny, with shallow, fairly regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size much smaller than diameter of eye facet, sculpture slightly coarser and more transversely elongate immediately above scrobes; interantennal prominence with moderately deep, regular polygonally reticulate sculpture; temple with very shallow, irregular, longitudinally elongate polygonally reticulate sculpture, posterior part of gena with similar sculpture, anterior part of gena with regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture; area between eye and scrobe about as wide as diameter of anterior ocellus and completely smooth and shiny; scrobes deep, meeting dorsally, sharply margined, carinate below eye, very broadly ∩-shaped, interantennal prominence dorsally broadly rounded, without a median ridge; antenna as in Fig. 768; scape broadened and flattened, broadest above middle, about 3.9X as long as broad; F1-F5 longer than broad, F5 subquadrate, F6 transverse, segments wider and larger distally so that F6 is largest and widest, linear sensilla present only on F2-F6; clava slightly broadened, a little shorter than F4-F6 combined, sensory area slightly enlarged, extending about 0.4X along ventral surface, giving it an obliquely truncate appearance; eye not reaching occipital margin, separated by about 1.5X diameter of facet, clothed with inconspicuous, short setae that are much shorter than diameter of facet; inner eye margins subparallel, narrowest point of frontovertex about midway between anterior ocellus and scrobes; malar sulcus present, but very weak; clypeal margin medially weakly protuberant, but protuberant part slightly concave; mandible with one acute tooth and a very broad, slightly concave truncation; apical segment of maxillary palpus not enlarged, about 1.6X as long as radicle. Relative measurements: HW 91, HH 106.5, FV 16.5, POL 9, OOL 0.5, OCL 15, AOL 12, EL 63, EW 49, MS 45, SL 49, SW 12.5.

Thorax with pronotum hardly exposed behind head and about 0.4X as long as mesoscutum; pronotum slightly shiny with similar sculpture to that between ocelli, but slightly shallower and of slightly smaller mesh; mesoscutum similar to pronotum, mostly with fairly regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture, but this a little longitudinally elongate laterally; axilla and scutellum with polygonally reticulate sculpture that is conspicuously deeper and coarser than sculpture on mesoscutum, sculpture on scutellum laterally quite strongly longitudinally elongate; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.6X as broad as long; scutellum about 1.2X as broad as long with a distinct subapical tuft, setae mostly about 0.75X as long as scutellum; hind femur about 4.9X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 770, 771; costal cell dorsally with 3 setae at apex; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a distinct, naked, hyaline streak ( Fig. 771); mid tibia with a weak, external carina in proximal half; propodeum medially about 0.23X as long as scutellum and smooth. Relative measurements: FWL 97.2, FWW 34; HWL 84, HWW 20.

Gaster without “gland-like” structures on Gt1 or Gt5; hypopygium ( Fig. 769) reaching about 0.4X to apex; syntergum about 0.8X as long as mid tibia, with apex weakly angular, more or less broadly truncate; ovipositor ( Fig. 767) hardly exserted, the exserted part about 0.1X as long as md tibial spur or less than 0.1X as long as mid tibia. Relative measurements: OL 50, GL 11.5 [MT 48.5].

Variation. Only holotype examined,

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Puntarenas, RF Golfo Dulce , 3km SW Rincon, 10m, x-xii.1990 (P. Hanson) . Holotype in NHMUK .

COMMENTS. See comments under herxius (p. 306).