Heterospilus alejandroi 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 : 311-312

Heterospilus alejandroi Marsh sp. n. Figure 207

Female.

Body size: 2.5 mm. Color: body dark brown; scape yellow without lateral brown stripe, flagellum brown; wing veins including stigma brown; legs yellow. Head: vertex smooth; frons smooth; face smooth; temple in dorsal view broad but sloping behind eye, width slightly greater than 1/2 eye width; malar space greater than 1/4 eye height; ocell-ocular distance greater than 2.5 times diameter of lateral ocellus; 14-16 flagellomeres. Mesosoma: mesoscutal lobes weakly granulate; notauli smooth posteriorly, meeting at scutellum in small triangular costate area, rarely this area unsculptured; scutellum weakly granulate; prescutellar furrow with 1 cross carina; mesopleuron weakly granulate or smooth; precoxal sulcus scrobiculate, shorter than mesopleuron; venter weakly granulate or smooth; propodeum with basal median areas usually margined but rarely not distinctly margined, granulate, basal median carina absent, areola not margined, areolar area areolate-rugose, lateral areas entirely rugose, apical-lateral corners rarely with small tubercle. Wings: fore wing vein r equal to or longer than vein 3RSa, vein 1cu-a beyond vein 1M; hind wing vein SC+R absent, vein M+CU shorter than vein 1M. Metasoma: first tergum longitudinally costate, length greater than apical width; second tergum longitudinally granulate-costate; anterior transverse groove weakly present, straight; posterior transverse groove weakly present; third tergum smooth; terga 4-7 smooth; ovipositor half as long as metasomal tergum 1.

Holotype female.

Top label (white, printed) - Costa Rica, Puntarenas [;] San Vito, Estac. Biol. [;] Las Alturas, 200m [;] I-II-1995, P. Hanson; second label (red, partially printed and hand written) - HOLOTYPE [;] Heterospilus [;] alejandroi [;] P. Marsh. Deposited in ESUW.

Paratypes.

1 ♀, same data as holotype (ESUW). 4 ♀♀, Costa Rica: San Jose [;] Zurqui de Moravia [;] 1600m, iii.1992 [;] Col. Paul Hanson (ESUW). 3 ♀♀, Costa Rica: San Jose [;] Zurqui De Moravia [;] 1600m. VII-1996 [;] P. Hanson (ESUW). 1 ♀, Costa Rica: San Jose [;] Zurqui de Moravia [;] 1600m, February 1996 [;] P. Hanson, Malaise (ESUW). 1 ♀, Costa Rica: San Jose [;] Zurqui de Moravia [;] 1600m, P. Hanson [;] ix.1995 (ESUW). 2 ♀♀, Costa Rica: Cartago [;] 4km NE Cañon [;] Genesis II, 2350m [;] viii.1995, P. Hanson (ESUW). 1 ♀, Costa Rica: San Jose [;] Cerro de la Muerte [;] 6km. N. San Gerardo [;] 2800m, August 1992 [;] P. Hanson, Malaise (ESUW). 1 ♀, Costa Rica: San Jose [;] 26km. N. San Isidro [;] just S. of Division [;] 2100m, ix-x.1992 [;] P. Hanson, Malaise [;] secondary growth (ESUW). 1 ♀, Costa Rica: Alajuela [;] ACA R.B. San Ramon [;] 900m, Malaise near [;] road, 14-21.vii.1998 [;] L. J. van der Ent (ESUW). 1 ♀, Costa Rica: Puntarenas [;] San Vito, Las Cruces [;] Wilson Botanical Gardens [;] 18-22.iii.1990, 1150m [;] J.S. Noyes (ESUW). 1 ♀, COSTA RICA, Puntar [;] San Vito, Los Fablos [;] 1600m 10-III-89 (MICR).

Comments.

The dark brown body, weakly granulate mesoscutum and smooth metasomal terga 3-7 are distinctive for this species.

Etymology.

Named for my friend and fellow student of the Doryctinae , Alejandro Zaldivar-Riverón.