Sosara, 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 : 679-680

Genus SOSARA gen.nov.

Type species: Sosara geras sp.nov. Gender feminine.

Female. Length about 1.0- 1.2mm.

Body robust, generally dark with a weak to moderate metallic sheen; funicle with unicolourous pale segments; dorsum of thorax with dark setae; legs generally dark with pale areas; wings virtually hyaline, but very weakly infuscate in apical half; propodeum dark with a weak metallic sheen, side more strongly metallic, some long, conspicuous, silvery setae near spiracle; gaster dark with a metallic sheen.

Head in profile about 1.7X as high as deep, anteriorly fairly evenly curved from occipital margin to top of scrobes, more strongly curved at top of scrobes and virtually straight to mouth margin, interantennal prominence hardly protuberant; occipital margin carinate; frontovertex a little more than 0.3X head width and with irregular, polygonally reticulate sculpture and sparse, shallow piliferous punctures; ocelli forming a right angle; temple and gena with shallow, longitudinally elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture; eye nearly reaching occipital margin, naked; scrobes extremely shallow, virtually absent; antenna attached closer to level of lower eye margin than to mouth margin; scape strongly broadened and flattened, about 1.5X as long as broad, about 0.5X as long as head width; funicle segments quadrate or transverse, broader towards apex, F1 sometimes slightly longer than broad; linear sensilla on most segments; clava much shorter than funicle, 3-segmented, sutures subparallel, sensory area slightly enlarged and extending a little way along ventral surface, giving apex of clava a slight, obliquely truncate appearance; malar sulcus present; mouth about 0.4X head width, clypeal margin emarginate, very slightly produced medially; mandible with one tooth and a very broadly, slightly concave upper truncation; palp formula 4-3.

Thorax with pronotum short; mesoscutum without notaular lines; scutellum convex, with deeper sculpture than mesoscutum, extreme apex and side completely smooth and shiny, subapical setae relatively dense and elongate forming a loose, but distinct tuft; mid tibial spur longer than basitarsus; fore wing fully developed, about 2.8X as long as broad; costal cell with only 1 line of setae ventrally and a line of setae dorsally in apical two-fifths or so; submarginal vein with an apical hyaline break; marginal vein at least about 3X as long as broad, slightly longer than stigmal vein and slightly more than 2X as long as postmarginal vein; linea calva open; filum spinosum present, consisting of 3 or 4 peg-like setae; posterior margin of mesopleuron not reaching level with posterior margin of propodeum, falling short by distance equivalent to about half to two-thirds diameter of propodeal spiracle; propodeum short, more or less smooth, side with some shallow sculpture, rounded above hind coxa, without a posterolateral tooth behind spiracle; about 20 setae near spiracle, extending part way to posterior margin but not hind coxa.

Gaster with hypopygium not reaching more than about 0.8X to apex; paratergites absent; syntergum shorter than mid tibia, apex weakly angular; hypopygium strongly transverse with posterior margin shallowly biconvex with a very shallow median invagination, anterior margin weakly concave without anterolateral lobes; ovipositor not exserted, shorter than mid tibia, outer plates fairly broad and subtriangular; second valvifer with 2 subapical setae, proximally broadly C-shaped.

Male. Unknown.

HOSTS. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Known only from Costa Rica, but probably more widespread in the Neotropics.

COMMENTS. The combination of the obliquely truncate clava, scutellum with deep sculpture and elongate marginal vein suggest that Sosara may be close Alkonia and other genera (e.g. Hebynthus , Raquanus , Mendisa , Caldencyrtus , etc., see comments under Alkonia , p. 708). It can be distinguished from these genera by having the truncation of the clava not extending as much as one-third along the ventral surface of the clava, having the funicle unicolourous with all segments quadrate or transverse, the mandible with one tooth and a broad truncation, the 4-segmented maxillary palp and the strongly transverse hypopygium with a weakly concave anterior margin. Sosara is most similar to Harlarus , but in Harlarus all the funicle segments are clearly longer than broad, the scutellar setae are sparse and evenly distributed so that there is no indication of a subapical tuft, the fore wing is relatively broader and completely hyaline (apart from a small, weakly infuscate area immediately below marginal vein) and the stigmal vein is relatively long, forming a greater angle with the anterior wing margin.

See also comments under Esphora (p. 675).