Anisophleps, Fidalgo, 1981

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 : 189-190

Genus ANISOPHLEPS Fidalgo

Anisophleps Fidalgo, 1981:37-38 . Type species: Anisophleps alternata Fidalgo , by original designation and monotypy.

Female. Length about 1.2-1.6mm.

Body mainly orange, often with some weakly metallic or dusky areas; temple and gena with a diagonal brown stripe extending from occipital margin to torulus; mesoscutum posteriorly with a dark, metallic band that contrasts with the orange anterior part; fore wing mainly infuscate from level of proximal part of parastigma, infuscate area delimited subapically by a darker curved area.

Head in profile dorsally hardly convex from occipital margin to just above transfacial carina, bent at right angles at top of transfacial carina and from there virtually straight to mouth margin; transfacial carina strong and uninterrupted, extending to well outside toruli; mandible with 3 acute teeth; palp formula 4-3.

Mesoscutum with at least one or two slender, scale-like setae; notaular lines absent; scutellum with about 10 scattered, slender, scale-like setae in apical half or so, these not forming a compact tuft; sculpture on mesoscutum and scutellum very similar, both with finely striate to striate-reticulate sculpture arranged in concentric whorls around a small imbricate reticulate area in middle; mid tibia with a strong, distinct, subbasal external carina in proximal half; fore wing with apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a naked, hyaline streak; submarginal vein with parastigma strongly downcurved and with a weak to moderate triangular expansion at proximal end of parastigma; marginal vein not more than 2.5X as long as broad, at least a little shorter than stigmal vein and about as long as postmarginal vein; axillae strongly raised above level of scutellum.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about two-thirds along gaster; ovipositor hidden to slightly exserted; gonostylus free.

Male. Length about 1.1mm.

Body generally dark brown with a slight metallic sheen; posterior one-third or so of scutellum with a much stronger metallic sheen; fore wing hyaline; legs mostly white to pale yellow with brown areas on hind femur and mid and hind tibia; head about 2X as wide as frontovertex and without a transfacial carina; antenna with 6 funicle segments, all longer than broad and clothed with setae that are about as long as diameter of segments; clava entire and about as long as F5 and F6 combined; sculpture of mesoscutum and scutellum similar to that of female; fore wing venation similar to that of female but postmarginal vein slightly longer than stigmal vein.

DISTRIBUTION. Neotropical region only ( Argentina and Costa Rica).

HOSTS. The type species has been recorded as a parasitoid of Lecanodiaspis dendrobii (Douglas) ( Hemiptera : Lecanodiaspididae ) ( Fidalgo, 1981)

COMMENTS. Anisophleps can be separated from all other known genera of encyrtids by the unique combination of the infuscate area of the fore wing being delimited by a darker, curved, subapical band and the very unusual whorled sculpture on both the mesoscutum and scutellum. Superficially, the genus is most similar to Cheilopsis Prinsloo, 1983 but differs in lacking a distinct tuft of setae on the scutellum, having a much shorter marginal vein; subcylindrical, gradually widening funicle segments and relatively large and wide clava. In Cheilopsis the scutellum has a distinct, subapical tuft of setae and the funicle segments are slightly flattened, subequal in width and about as wide as clava. See also comments under Diversinervus (p. 492), Lakshaphagus (p. 195) and Ludesia (p. 179).

IDENTIFICATION. Only three species known, including the two described as new below; see Fidalgo (1981) for description of alternata .