Leptodrepana pamelabbas Dadelahi & Shaw

Dadelahi, Samin D., Shaw, Scott R., Aguirre, Helmuth & Almeida, Luis Felipe V. de, 2018, A taxonomic study of Costa Rican Leptodrepana with the description of twenty-four new species (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Cheloninae), ZooKeys 750, pp. 59-130 : 87

Leptodrepana pamelabbas Dadelahi & Shaw sp. n. Figs 67-71

Diagnosis.

In dorsal and posterior views, two small weakly protruding tubercles are visible at the carapace apex. The mesopleuron is medially rugose with wrinkles appearing somewhat parallel. Body mostly brownish black except yellowish brown patches baso-laterally below dorsal carinae; wings lightly pigmented with darker area below stigma covering apical half of 1st submarginal cell and anterior portion of 2nd submarginal cell.

Holotype female.

BL 2.4 mm; FWL 2.3 mm; CL 1.12 mm; CW 0.36 mm; CL/CW 3.11.

Description.

Color. Head brownish black, clypeus brown, mandibles yellow, blackish brown apically; palpi yellowish white; antennae brown with scape and pedicel yellowish brown; mesosoma brownish black; fore and middle legs with coxa, trochanter and trochantellus yellowish white, femur and tibia yellowish brown; hind leg similar to fore and middle legs but trochantellus, femur and tibia dark brown; tibia with narrow basal band of yellowish white; wings lightly pigmented with darker area below stigma covering apical half of 1st submarginal cell and anterior portion of 2nd submarginal cell; yellowish brown venation; carapace mostly black, with yellowish brown patches baso-laterally below dorsal carinae.

Head. HW 0.63 mm; HL 0.48 mm; HW/HL 1.32; face, genae, vertex and ocellar triangle rugulose-punctate; frons depressed impunctate-weakly punctate with median carina faint and weakly foveolate; clypeus weakly punctate and apical margin rounded; occipital carina complete.

Mesosoma. Pronotum deeply foveolate antero-laterally to rugose-foveolate at propleural margin; propleuron weakly areolate-rugose; mesoscutum medially with irregular pitted grooves between notauli so that area appears areolate-rugose; notauli indistinct; median and lateral mesonotal lobes rugose-punctate; scutellar sulcus with six well-defined depressions, all longer than wide; scutellar disc punctate; mesopleuron anteriorly rugose and medially regularly rugose (roughly parallel wrinkles); wide foveate band at precoxal sulcus; propodeum coarsely areolate-rugose with distinct transverse carina raised into small and roughly equal medial and lateral flanges.

Metasoma. Carapace areolate-rugose to shiny and weakly punctate at apex; in dorsal and posterior views, carapace apex with blunt barely projecting tubercles; in lateral view, apex terminates in broad point.

Variation of paratype females. Color: basal quarter of carapace yellowish brown or carapace entirely black/brown; HW 0.63-0.68 mm; HL 0.48-0.53 mm; HW/HL 1.28-1.37; BL 2.4-2.53 mm; FWL 2.3-2.47 mm.; CL 1.12-1.24 mm; CW 0.36-0.44 mm; CL/CW 2.8-3.2.

Paratype males. No males.

Material examined.

Holotype female: SAN JOSE, Cerro de la Muerte, 26 km N San Isidro, 2100 m, ii–v.1991 (P. Hanson) [UWIM]. Paratype data: 1♀, GUANACASTE, P. N. Santa Rosa, Bosque Humedo mature evergreen dry forest in clearing fully insolated part of the day, 300 m, 28.xii.1985-18.i.1986 (I. Gauld & D. Janzen).

Remarks.

Leptodrepana pamelabbas and L. alexisae are similar in size, shape, and color. However, the following characters may be used to separate the two species. In dorsal and posterior views, two small weakly protruding tubercles are visible at the carapace apex of L. pamelabbas (Figs 69, 71). The mesopleuron is medially rugose with wrinkles appearing somewhat parallel. At the precoxal sulcus there is a wide foveate groove. In females, the flagellum is uniform in width. In dorsal view, the carapace apex of L. alexisae lacks projecting tubercles instead it has a protruding flange (Fig. 6). In posterior view, two planar points, either strongly or weakly arched between, are visible (Fig. 4). The mesopleuron has a small shiny impunctate area medially with the immediate surrounding area foveolate. The precoxal sulcus appears foveolate. In females, the flagellum is slightly dilated medially.

Etymology.

This species name is an arbitrary arrangement of letters to form a euphonious combination.