Psyllaephagus heles, 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 : 584-585

Psyllaephagus heles sp.nov.

(Figs 1519-1524)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.4mm): antenna (Fig. 1521) with scape very pale orange; flagellum unicolourous brown; tegula dark brown; mid femur brown; hind tibia mostly pale orange with a very weak subbasal brown band in proximal 0.25X; head (Fig. 1523) about 3.1X as wide as frontovertex and about 2.8X as wide as mouth opening; ocelli forming an acute angle with posterior ocellus closer to eye than to occipital margin; frontovertex with piliferous punctures that are hardly larger than diameter of eye facet; clypeal margin very slightly emarginate, straight; antenna (Fig. 1521) with scape about 5X as long as broad, slightly longer than minimum width of frontovertex; pedicel clearly longer than F1 which is slightly longer than broad, all funicle segments longer than broad, except F6 which is more or less quadrate, linear sensilla present on F2-F6, segments of clava subequal in length; mandible with two teeth and a broad truncation; mesoscutum a little more shiny than scutellum with sculpture of similar depth to that on scutellum, but sculpture on scutellum slightly coarser and more longitudinally elongate; than mesoscutum, with cells arranged in whorls or longitudinal lines; scutellum flat; fore wing (Fig. 1522) about 2.5X as long as broad; costal cell with only a single line of setae dorsally; marginal vein (Fig. 1519) about 2X as long as broad; linea clava closed; Gt3 with a distinct, strongly reticulate area anteromedially; hypopygium Fig. 1524; ovipositor (Fig. 1520) longer than mid tibia and hidden; second valvifer with about 11 subapical setae. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length 1.37mm ( CPD) .

Head generally black with occiput and frontovertex quite dull with weak coppery purple and dark green reflections, scrobal area similar, but a little more shiny, area between and below toruli with a violet sheen, mouth margin with a weak dark blue sheen, anterior part of gena coppery violet, posterior part of gena and temple similar to frontovertex, but perhaps slightly more shiny; setae on frontovertex, interantennal prominence and gena moderately distinct, translucent and pale brown; antenna (Fig. 1521) with radicle dark brown; scape very pale orange; pedicel and flagellum brown; thorax generally dark brown to black; pronotum generally coppery, side coppery purple; mesoscutum relatively bright, metallic dark blue, posterior area and side margins narrowly coppery; tegula dark brown with a slight coppery sheen; axilla with a weak coppery purple sheen; scutellum coppery, posteriorly metallic dark green, side narrowly metallic dark green; metanotum with a slight brassy green and purple lustre; mesopleuron with a slight metallic coppery purple, green and brassy lustre; all coxae dark brown; femora dark brown, fore and mid femora pale orange at apices, hind femur pale orange at distal apex; fore tibia pale orange, weakly marked pale brown subbasally, tarsus slightly dusky pale orange; mid tibia pale orange with a narrow, very weak, subbasal pale brown band to about 0.25X, spur and tarsus pale orange; hind tibia pale orange with a narrow, very weak, subbasal pale brown band to about 0.25X, tarsus slightly dusky pale orange; wings (Fig. 1522) hyaline; propodeum dark purple-brown, generally with a slight coppery purple and brassy sheen, side with a metallic dark green sheen and with a few pale, translucent setae outside spiracle; gaster dark brown, dorsally mainly with a coppery sheen, Gt1 with a strong metallic dark blue and slight brassy sheen, side and venter mainly with a coppery purple sheen mixed with some purple, green, blue and brassy reflections; gonostylus dark brown.

Head (Fig. 1523) about 3.1X as wide as frontovertex and about 2.8X as wide as mouth opening, in profile about 1.7X as high as deep, evenly curved from occipital margin to top of scrobes and then fairly straight to mouth margin, with interantennal prominence not protuberant; occipital margin rounded but more or less acute, not carinate; ocelli forming an angle of about 85°; frontovertex with fairly regular, moderately deep, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size subequal to eye facet or perhaps a little smaller, piliferous punctures shallow and small, hardly larger than eye facet, generally separated by at least about their own diameters; frontovertex with about 7 or 8 pairs of setae in front of anterior ocellus, a partial second line descends between eye and scrobe to gena; temple and gena with shallow, longitudinally elongate, imbricate-reticulate to polygonally reticulate sculpture; eye reaching occipital margin, with conspicuous, pale setae, each slightly longer than diameter of facet; scrobes relatively shallow scrobes broadly ∩-shaped, meeting, weakly margined dorsally and laterally with shallow, slightly transversely elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture; interantennal prominence weak, narrowly rounded dorsally, with shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture; antenna as in Fig. 1521; scape subcylindrical, about 5X as long as broad; funicle segments subequal in length and becoming slightly broader distad, F1-F5 slightly longer than broad, F6 subquadrate, linear sensilla present on F2-F6; clava slightly shorter than F4-F6 combined, sensory area enlarged and extending nearly half way along ventral surface giving apex an obliquely truncate appearance; malar sulcus absent; clypeal margin very slightly emarginate medially; mandible with two teeth and a broad truncation. Relative measurements: HW 80, HH 67, FV 26, POL 14, OOL 2, OCL 3.5, AOL 9, EL 51, EW 40, MS 20, SL 30, SW 6.

Thorax in dorsal view with pronotum short, largely hidden by head, dorsally with slightly irregular, moderately deep, imbricate-reticulate to polygonally reticulate sculpture that is very slightly shallower than sculpture on frontovertex, but of similar mesh size; mesoscutum with regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture that is similar in depth and mesh size to that in ocellar area on frontovertex; axilla with much shallower polygonally reticulate sculpture than mesoscutum; scutellum generally with polygonally reticulate sculpture that is similar to that on mesoscutum, but slightly coarser, more irregular and more longitudinally elongate; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.8X as broad as long; scutellum flat, about as long as broad; fore wing with venation and distribution of setae as in Figs 1519, 1522; costal cell with only a single line of dorsal setae; propodeum medially about 0.1X as long as scutellum, virtually smooth, but with some very shallow, reticulate sculpture anteriorly. Relative measurements: FWL 95.5, FWW 36.5; HWL 63.5, HWW 17.

Gaster with hypopygium (Fig. 1524) reaching about 0.8X along gaster; Gt3 with a distinct, strongly reticulate area anteromedially; syntergum about 0.6X as long as mid tibia, with apex rounded; ovipositor (Fig. 1520) hidden. Relative measurements: OL 46, GL 34 [MT9.5].

Variation. Only holotype examined.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Guanacaste, BN Diriá, Vista del Mar , LN 233900 358750, 890m, #64075, vii-viii.2001 (I. Jiménez) . Holotype in NHMUK .

COMMENTS. Psyllaephagus heles is very close to both alisanos and trioziphagus , all three species having a very flat scutellum and Gt3 with a distinct, strongly reticulate area anteromedially. Apart from the characters given in the key, females of heles differ from those of both alisanos and trioziphagus in having the scape about 5X as long as broad and all funicle segments longer than broad, whereas in alisanos and trioziphagus the scape is less than 4.5X as long as broad and at least F6 is quadrate or transverse