Heterospilus nixoni 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 : 134-136

Heterospilus nixoni Marsh sp. n. Figure 90

Female.

Body size: 3.0-3.5 mm. Color: head bicolored with face and vertex usually brown and eye orbits and temple yellow or lighter brown; scape yellow or light brown, without lateral longitudinal brown stripe, flagellum brown, apical 3-5 flagellomeres white; mesosoma dark brown, often lighter along notauli and on scutellum; metasoma dark brown, apical terga 3-7 often marked with yellow; legs yellow, all tibiae at extreme base and all tarsi brown; wing veins brown, stigma bicolored brown with yellow at base and apex. Head: vertex transversely costate; frons transversely costate; face smooth; temple in dorsal view narrow, sloping behind eye, about equal to 1/2 eye width; malar space greater than 1/4 eye height; ocell-ocular distance about 2.5 times diameter of lateral ocellus; 20-26 flagellomeres. Mesosoma: mesoscutal lobes granulate; notauli scrobiculate, meeting at scutellum in triangular rugose area; scutellum smooth; prescutellar furrow with 3 cross carinae; mesopleuron smooth; precoxal sulcus weakly scrobiculate, shorter than mesopleuron; venter smooth; propodeum with basal median areas distinctly margined, smooth, basal median carina distinct, areola not distinctly margined, areolar area rugose, lateral areas entirely rugose. Wings: fore wing vein r shorter than vein 3RSa, vein 1cu-a slightly beyond or interstitial with vein 1M; hind wing vein SC+R present, vein M+CU shorter than vein 1M. Metasoma: first tergum longitudinally costate, length greater than apical width; second tergum longitudinally costate; anterior transverse groove weakly present, straight; posterior transverse groove weakly present or absent, often represented by shallow scrobiculate line; third tergum entirely smooth; terga 4-7 smooth; ovipositor equal to 3/4 length of metasoma.

Holotype female.

Top label (white, printed) - COSTA RICA: San Jose, [;] Cerro de la Muerte, [;] 26km N San Isidro, 2100m, [;] ii-v.1991 [;] Paul Hanson; second label (red, partially printed and hand written) - HOLOTYPE [;] Heterospilus [;] nixoni [;] P. Marsh. Deposited in ESUW.

Paratypes.

2 ♀♀, same data as holotype (ESUW). 8 ♀♀, Costa Rica: San Jose [;] 26km. N. San Isidro [;] just S. of Division [;] 2100m, vi–vii.1992, viii–ix.1991, iv-v.1993, ii–iv.1993 and xi.1992-i.1993 [;] P. Hanson, Malaise [;] secondary growth (ESUW). 2 ♀♀, Costa Rica: San Jose [;] Cerro de la Muerte [;] 6km. N. San Gerardo [;] 2800m, iii–iv 1993 and November 1993 [;] P. Hanson, Malaise (ESUW). 2 ♀♀, Costa Rica: San Jose [;] Cerro de la Muerte [;] 2km W Empalme [;] 2300m, June 1995 [;] P. Hanson, Malaise (ESUW). 1 ♀, COSTA RICA: San Jose [;] 16km S. Empalme [;] 2600m, III-IV 1989 [;] P. Hanson & I. Gauld (ESUW). 1 ♀, Costa Rica: Cartago [;] 4km NE Cañon [;] Genesis II, 2350m [;] vi.1996, P. Hanson (ESUW). 1 ♀, Costa Rica: Puntarenas [;] San Vito, Estac. Biol. [;] Las Alturas, 1050m [;] ix-xi.1992, Paul Hanson, [;] ex. Malaise trap (ESUW).

Comments.

The species is distinguished from Heterospilus reinhardi by the smooth face.

Etymology.

Named for the British entomologist Gilbert E. J. Nixon who described many Old World Braconidae during the middle 1900s.