Cheiloneurus dalycera, 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 : 230-232

Cheiloneurus dalycera sp.nov.

( Figs 572-575; Hab. E 88)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (overall length about 1.1-1.2mm): body dark brown to black with a weak metallic sheen; anterior part of mesoscutum clothed in dark brown setae, posterior part clothed in conspicuous, silvery white setae; fore wing hyaline ( Fig. 575); fore coxa white; head about 4-4.1X as wide as frontovertex; antenna ( Fig. 573) with pedicel slightly longer than F1-F2 combined; funicle with F1-F3 quadrate or transverse, F4-F6 larger and longer than broad; linear sensilla on F4-F6 or absent on F4; clava about as long as F2-F6 combined, apex rounded; mandible with 2 acute teeth and a truncate upper tooth; mesoscutum ( Fig. 572) with longitudinally elongate, lineolate sculpture, some more rounded, cellular sculpture medially and near posterior margin; scutellum with coarse, longitudinally elongate, striate-reticulate sculpture; scutellum without a subapical tuft of setae; fore wing ( Fig. 575) about 2.5X as long as broad; parastigma swollen and slightly downcurved; gaster without “glands” on Gt1 or Gt5; syntergum about as long as broad. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.07mm; excluding ovipositor, 0.97mm (CPD).

Head dark brown to black with a weak metallic lustre; frontovertex coppery purple behind posterior ocelli, area around anterior ocellus dull, metallic dark green mixed coppery purple, area above scrobes purple; temple with a dull metallic green and coppery sheen, area immediately below lowest part of eye relatively shiny green, gena coppery purple mixed dark blue; scrobal area coppery purple, mouth margin coppery, lower part of interantennal prominence mixed metallic dark blue; a line of translucent, brown setae along inner eye margin continuing below eye to gena and along position of malar sulcus; radicle brown; antenna ( Fig. 573) with scape largely pale orange, but brown proximally and along dorsal and ventral margins; pedicel dark brown with apex narrowly dusky pale orange; funicle orange-brown, F5-F6 very slightly paler; clava brown; thorax dark brown to black; pronotum with a weak, coppery purple and brassy sheen; mesoscutum generally with a weak coppery purple sheen, but side and posterior one-third or so with weak metallic, dark blue reflections, anterior part clothed in dark brown setae, posterior part clothed in conspicuous, silvery white setae; tegula dark brown; axilla similarly coloured to mesoscutum; scutellum relatively bright, dorsally with metallic green, blue-green and coppery reflections, extreme side and apex with a strong metallic green and coppery sheen; mesopleuron with a weak, metallic blue, purple and brassy sheen; fore coxa white; fore femur white with dorsal and ventral margins marked with brown in distal half, tibia pale yellow with a dorsal, brown subbasal streak, tarsus dusky pale yellow; mid coxa dark brown; mid femur white with a narrow, subapical brown band in distal half, tibia white with a narrow, subbasal brown band in basal half, spur and tarsus white to very pale yellow; hind coxa dark brown; hind femur dark brown, narrowly white basally, tibia mostly dark brown with apices white, tarsus white with apical tarsomere brown; wings hyaline, venation pale yellow; propodeum dark brown with a weak brassy and purple sheen, a little coppery laterally, side with a metallic green sheen mixed coppery and brassy, outside spiracle with 3 inconspicuous brown setae; gaster dark purple-brown, dorsally with a coppery purple sheen, Gt1 mixed metallic dark blue, green and brassy, side and venter with coppery, blue, brassy and green reflections; gonostylus dark brown, apex pale orange.

Head about 4.1X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.4X as high as deep, tangent to frontovertex above scrobes forming an angle of about 80° with face below top of scrobes; a very small, oval depression adjacent to eye near occipital margin; ocelli forming an angle of about 65°; frontovertex narrowest a little above scrobes, relatively dull, with relatively deep, polygonally reticulate to imbricate-reticulate sculpture, in ocellar area of mesh size conspicuously larger than eye facet, subequal elsewhere; temple and gena with sculpture of similar depth to anterior part of frontovertex, but more longitudinally elongate imbricate-reticulate to polygonally reticulate; area immediately below lowest part of eye completely smooth; scrobes with relatively shallow, irregular, elongate sculpture; interantennal prominence and mouth margin with shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture; scrobes shallow, indistinctly margined, narrowly ∩-shaped; interantennal prominence dorsally indistinctly acute; antenna as in Fig. 573; scape hardly broadened and flattened, about 4.5X as long as broad; all funicle segments slightly longer than broad, increasing in width distad; clava about as long as F2-F6 combined, sutures parallel, sensory area small, at apex only giving it a pointed or slightly rounded appearance; eye more or less reaching occipital margin, clothed with very inconspicuous setae, each much shorter than diameter of facet; malar sulcus absent; mandible with 2 teeth and a truncate upper tooth. Relative measurements: HW 57, HH 46, FV 14, POL 7, OOL 1, OCL 7, AOL 7, EL 32, EW 32, MS 23, SL 27, SW 6.

Thorax ( Fig. 572) with imbricate-reticulate to polygonally reticulate sculpture on pronotum that is about as deep as that in ocellar area; mesoscutum in anterior half or so with fine, longitudinally elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture that is a little deeper than sculpture on pronotum, sculpture anterolaterally more striate reticulate, posterior part with more rounded cells; scutellum with slightly deeper, polygonally reticulate sculpture composed of less elongate cells, extreme side and apex completely smooth; setae on anterior part of mesoscutum about as dense as those on posterior part; scutellum with a distinct, but relatively sparse, subapical tuft of setae; visible part of mesoscutum about 2.0X as broad as long; scutellum about 1.1X as broad as long; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 574, 575; costal cell with 5 or 6 dorsal setae at apex. Relative measurements: FWL 58, FWW 23; HWL 43, HWW 10.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about 0.6X towards apex; last tergite about as long as mid tibia, with apex acute; ovipositor slightly exserted, the exserted part about 0.6X length of mid tibial spur or about 0.25X mid tibia.

Paratype. Funicle with linear sensilla present only on F4-F6 or absent from F4; gaster without “glands” on Gt1 or Gt5. Relative measurements: OL 90, GL 21.5 [MT 58].

Variation.Females vary in overall length from 1.07-1.24mm, the lateral parts of the mesoscutum may have distinct metallic purple and dark blue reflections, some of the funicle segments appear to be quadrate, otherwise very little variation noted in material examined.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Guanacaste, Est. Pitilla, 9km S. Santa Cecilia, LN 329950 380450, 700m, iv.1993 (C. Moraga) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 2E, Guanacaste, Maritza ( ACG), 700m, MT/YPT, 20.i-24.ii.1996 (J.S. Noyes) . Holotype in MZUCR, paratype in NHMUK .