Cheiloneurus betes, 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 : 401-403

Cheiloneurus betes sp.nov.

(Figs 1025-1029; Hab. E 152)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.2-1.6mm): body mostly orange with posterior part of mesoscutum, propodeum and gaster dark brown, mouth margin brown, temple and gena with a diagonal brown streak, paler areas with a weak metallic sheen, darker areas with a weak to moderate metallic sheen; antenna (Fig. 1027) with scape mostly pale orange, ventral margin brown; pedicel white with a dark brown streak; funicle pale orange, mixed brown; clava dark brown; mesoscutum with silvery setae in posterior half; coxae white; legs otherwise white to pale orange, with some brown areas; fore wing (Fig. 1029) mostly infuscate with basal cell mostly hyaline, a small hyaline area at apex of venation, a larger one opposite and a subtriangular hyaline area at apex; head about 6.6X as wide as frontovertex, in facial view slightly broader than long, subcircular, genae converging, weakly curved inwards, more strongly so near mouth; frontovertex with one seta medially between anterior ocellus and scrobes; eye separated from scrobe by about 1.5X diameter of anterior ocellus, area between eye and scrobe completely smooth; scrobes deep, sharply margined and carinate below eye; interantennal prominence dorsally rounded, with a weak median ridge and with about 30 inconspicuous setae; mandible tridentate; antenna (Fig. 1027) with scape about 1.7X as long as broad; funicle with segments transverse; linear sensilla on F5-F6; clava 3-segmented, about as long as pedicel and funicle combined, sensory area enlarged, extending about 0.7X along ventral surface of clava, apex obliquely truncate; head width greater than flagellum length but slightly less than pedicel and flagellum combined; mesoscutum (Fig. 1028) anteriorly with fine, longitudinally elongate, striate to striate-reticulate sculpture, posteriorly with polygonally reticulate sculpture; scutellum with a distinct, apical tuft of setae; wings fully developed, fore wing (Fig. 1029) about 2.5-2.6X as long as broad; parastigma downcurved; costal cell dorsally naked but for a single setae at apex, ventrally naked but for two lines of setae in proximal 0.4X; area below proximal part of parastigma with an irregular line of five or six setae; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a naked hyaline area that continues a little way into disc (Fig. 1026); apical bristle of postmarginal vein slightly more than 0.5X as long as marginal vein; mid tibial spur about as long as basitarsus; propodeum with about four or five silvery setae adjacent to spiracle, side naked; syntergum about 0.8X as long as mid tibia with apex more or less rounded; ovipositor (Fig. 1025) about 3.7X gonostylus or about 1.4X as long as mid tibia; gonostylus about 1.2X as long as mid tibial spur; exserted part of ovipositor about 0.3X as long as mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.62mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.53mm (CPD).

Head largely pale orange; occiput with a triangular brown spot above foramen; frontovertex slightly dusky, ocellar area with a weak blue and purple sheen, anterior parts of frontovertex with a slightly weaker green sheen, area immediately above scrobes brassy and above this purple; temple, gena and area below eye with a weak brassy, purple and green sheen; scrobal area with a very weak brassy and purple sheen; a curved brown line between mouth margin and toruli; temple with a diagonal brown line from occipital margin connecting outside torulus with a brown line along mouth margin; frontovertex clothed with inconspicuous, pale brown setae, a line of more conspicuous, translucent setae below eye; interantennal prominence with moderately dense, short, translucent setae; antenna (Fig. 1027) with radicle pale orange, apex narrowly dark brown; scape very pale orange, apex white, ventral margin brown nearly to apex; pedicel mostly white with a dark brown streak along dorsal surface; funicle mostly pale orange but segments internally marked brown; clava dark brown almost black; maxillary palpus white; pronotum mostly orange, neck and area above coxa dark brown; propleuron orange, in front of coxa dark brown; prosternum yellow; mesoscutum orange (Fig. 1028) in anterior half, posterior half dark brown with a strong metallic blue-green and green sheen, posterior margin purple-brown with a slight brassy and purple sheen, anterior part clothed in relatively sparse golden brown and dark brown setae, posterior part with relatively dense silvery setae, mixed with a few dark brown setae; tegula orange, apex orange-brown; axilla and scutellum orange, clothed in translucent golden brown and dark brown setae, scutellar tuft black; metanotum orange; mesopleuron mostly orange with a weak brassy sheen, posteriorly slightly dusky with a slight purple and green sheen; mesosternum pale orange; fore coxa white; fore femur mostly white, apical one-third orange and pale brown, tibia pale orange, dorsal margin pale brown proximally, tarsus pale orange, pale orange-brown at apex; mid coxa white, ventrally dirty white, mid femur white, slightly dusky towards apex, tibia largely pale orange with knee brown, an incomplete brown subbasal ring and dorsal margin brown along two-thirds of its length, spur and tarsus very pale orange, almost white; hind coxa white; hind femur white at extreme base, otherwise pale orange but margined brown distally with a small, brown, apical spot, tibia pale orange, with an incomplete, subbasal brown ring and a brown spot on ventral margin beyond this, tarsus pale orange, brown at apex; fore wing (Fig. 1029) mostly infuscate, hyaline towards base and at apex; submarginal vein largely very pale orange, otherwise venation brown; propodeum orange medially with a slight brassy lustre, laterally brown with a slight blue and purple sheen, side orange with a weak brassy sheen, 6 or 7 translucent, pale setae outside spiracle; gaster dark brown with a coppery, purple and green sheen, Gt1 metallic green and brassy, medially purple, orange proximally on side, syntergum largely orange laterally, side and venter mainly with coppery, green, blue and brassy reflections; gonostylus very pale orange.

Head about 6.6X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.7X as high as deep, frontovertex quite flat just above scrobes then abruptly curved towards mouth margin, interantennal prominence slightly protuberant; occipital margin sharp, weakly carinate; ocelli forming an angle of about 45°; frontovertex quite shiny, with shallow, fairly regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture, slightly deeper in ocellar area, mesh size slightly smaller than diameter of eye facet; area immediately above scrobes with slightly transversely elongate sculpture, interantennal prominence with shallow sculpture, temple completely smooth adjacent to eye, otherwise with shallow, irregular, longitudinally elongate sculpture, gena with slightly deeper, irregular, reticulate sculpture; area between eye and scrobe about as 1.5X as broad as diameter of anterior ocellus and completely smooth; scrobes deep, meeting dorsally, sharply margined, carinate below eye, very broadly ∩-shaped, interantennal prominence dorsally rounded and with a weak median ridge; antenna as in Fig. 1027; scape strongly broadened and flattened, broadest in distal half, about 1.7X as long as broad; funicle with all segments transverse, clearly becoming wider and larger distally so that F6 is largest and widest; clava strongly broadened, about as long as pedicel and funicle combined, sutures oblique, sensory area very enlarged, extending about 0.7X along ventral surface of clava, giving it a distinct, strongly, obliquely truncate appearance; eye reaching occipital margin, clothed with numerous, conspicuous short setae that are a little shorter than diameter of facet; inner eye margins clearly converging below anterior ocellus; malar sulcus absent; clypeal margin medially weakly concave; mandible with one acute tooth and a broad, concave truncation, more or less tridentate; apical segment of maxillary palpus not enlarged, hardly longer than radicle. Relative measurements: HW 99, HH 96, FV 15, POL 7, OOL 0.5, OCL 9, AOL 9, EL 67, EW 52, MS 44, SL 45, SW 27.

Thorax (Fig. 1028) with pronotum hardly exposed behind head and only about 0.5X as long as mesoscutum; pronotum with fairly regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture that is slightly deeper than that in ocellar area; mesoscutum in anterior half with fine, longitudinally elongate, striate to striate-reticulate sculpture of similar depth to sculpture on pronotum, posterior part with slightly shallower polygonally reticulate sculpture; axilla and scutellum with polygonally reticulate sculpture of similar depth to that on pronotum but of slightly larger mesh on scutellum, sculpture on scutellum more elongate laterally; visible part of mesoscutum about 2X as broad as long; scutellum nearly 1.2X as broad as long with a distinct subapical tuft, setae mostly about 0.5X as long as scutellum; hind femur about 4.2X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 1026, 1029; costal cell naked dorsally at apex; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a distinct, naked, hyaline streak (Fig. 1026); mid tibia with a weak external subbasal carina for about half its length; propodeum (Fig. 1028) medially about 0.16X as long as scutellum and virtually smooth. Relative measurements: FWL 105, FWW 42; HWL 88, HWW 25.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about 0.4X to apex; syntergum about 0.9X as long as mid tibia, with apex weakly angular, more or less rounded; ovipositor slightly exserted, about one-third as long as mid tibial spur or 0.1X as long as mid tibia.

Paratype. Funicle with linear sensilla present only on F5-F6; gaster without “gland-like” structures on Gt1 or Gt5; ovipositor Fig. 1025. Relative measurements: OL 37, GL 10 [MT 27].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 1.18-1.62mm, F1-F4 may be slightly dusky externally, the brown marks on the hind tibia may be connected externally and the fore wing varies from 2.5-2.6X as long as broad.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Guanacaste, Cacao (ACG), 1100 m, MT/YPT, 26.i-24. ii.1996 (J.S. Noyes) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Heredia, OTS La Selva, 100m, canopy fog Pentaclethra, FPM /03, 6.iii.1993 ( INBio / OET) . Holotype in MZUCR, paratype in NHMUK .

COMMENTS. Cheiloneurus betes is superficially similar to praenitens Waterston (1922) , a hyperparasitoid of Trioza Förster ( Hemiptera : Triozidae ) known from Jamaica and Cuba . Both species have a strongly broadened scape and generally pale orange colouration. However, in betes the scape is about 1.7X as long as broad and abruptly narrowed subapically, the clava is relatively large and longer than the pedicel and funicle combined, the mouth margin is marked dark brown and the hind tibia does not have a pair of brown rings. In praenitens the scape is about 2.3X as long as broad and gradually narrowed subapically, the clava is about as long as the funicle, the mouth margin is orange and the hind tibia has a pair of faint brown rings.

See also comments under nasica (p. 441).