Heterospilus nephus 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 : 127-129

Heterospilus nephus Marsh sp. n. Figure 85

Female.

Body size: 4.5-5.0 mm. Color: head entirely yellow; scape yellow without lateral longitudinal brown stripe, flagellum brown; mesosoma bicolored, mesoscutum, mesopleuron on lower half, venter and upper and lower margin of pronotum yellow, propleuron brown, pronotum medially, subalar area of mesopleuron, metanotum and propodeum dark brown; metasomal tergum 1 dark brown, tergum 2 dark brown medially, yellow laterally, tergum 3 dark brown basally, brown apically, yellow laterally, terga 4-6 dark brown basally, yellow apically and laterally, tergum 7 yellow; wing veins including stigma brown; legs yellow. Head: vertex transversely costate; frons trans versely costate; face weakly granulate, often partially smooth; temple in dorsal view narrow, width less than 1/2 eye width; malar space greater than 1/4 eye height; ocell-ocular distance 1.5 times diameter of lateral ocellus; 32-35 flagellomeres. Mesosoma: mesoscutal lobes granulate; notauli scrobiculate, meeting at scutellum in triangular rugose area; scutellum granulate; prescutellar furrow with 3 cross carinae; mesopleuron granulate; precoxal sulcus weakly scrobiculate, rarely smooth, shorter than mesopleuron; venter granulate; propodeum with basal median areas margined, granulate, basal median carina absent, areola not distinctly margined, areolar area rugose, lateral areas rugose posteriorly, granulate anteriorly. Wings: fore wing vein r shorter than vein 3RSa, vein 1cu-a beyond vein 1M; hind wing vein SC+R present, vein M+CU shorter than vein 1M. Metasoma: first tergum longitudinally costate-granulate, apical width equal to length; second tergum longitudinally costate-granulate, width nearly 4 times length; anterior transverse groove present, sinuate; posterior transverse groove weakly indicated or absent; third tergum costate at base, granulate at apex; terga 4-7 granulate at base, smooth at apex; ovipositor longer than metasoma.

Holotype female.

Top label (white, printed) - COSTA RICA-Heredia Prov. [;] La Selva Biological Station [;] 10°26'N, 84°01'W, 100m [;] Canopy fogging 32 [;] 3.xi.1994 [;] Project ALAS(FVK32); second label (red, partially printed and hand written) - HOLOTYPE [;] Heterospilus [;] nephus [;] P. Marsh. Deposited in ESUW.

Paratypes.

2 ♀♀, same data as holotype (ESUW). 2 ♀♀, same data as holotype with dates of 19.x.1994, 11.xi.1994 and Canopy fogging 26, 35 (ESUW). 1 ♀, same locality data as holotype, Malaise trap 09, #327 [;] 15.i.1994 [;] Project ALAS(M.09.327) (ESUW). 1 ♀, S.RosaPark,Guan, Guan. [;] C. Rica 20 Aug 77 [;] D.H. Janzen [;] Dry Hill (AEIC). 1 ♀, COSTA RICA. Prov. Limón. R.B. [;] Hitoy Cerere, Send. Espavel, 560m, 15 [;] MAR 2003, B. Gamboa, Red de Golpe. [;] L.S. 401200 569800 #73280 (INBC).

Comments.

The yellow mesoscutum and the granulate base of metasomal terga 4-6 are distinctive for this species. This species is similar to Heterospilus variegatus Ashmead from St. Vincent, West Indies, but the ovipositor is longer than the metasoma in Heterospilus nephus but shorter than the metasoma in Heterospilus variegatus .

Etymology.

The specific name is from the Greek Heterospilus nephos , meaning cloud, in reference to the type series being collected by canopy fogging at the La Selva Biological Station.