Prosaspicera ensifera Kieffer, 1907

Ros-Farré, P. & Pujade-Villar, J., 2006, Revision of the genus Prosaspicera Kieffer, 1907 (Hym.: Figitidae: Aspicerinae), Zootaxa 1379 (1379), pp. 1-102 : 32-34

Prosaspicera ensifera Kieffer, 1907

( Figs 6c, e, 23a & 24a)

Prosaspicera ensifera Kieffer, 1907: 157 .

Prosaspicera loretana Díaz, 1978b: 35 synonymyzed in Díaz, 1984: 229.

Prosaspicera ensifer Kieffer ; Díaz, 1994: 10 (meespilling).

Type material of Prosaspicera ensifera Kieffer : (2 ♂ & 4 ♀). LECTOTYPE female designed by N. B. Díaz (1984) deposited in CAS, nº 10529, collected in BELIZE; PARALECTOTYPES (2 ♂ & 3♀): 2 ♂ ( CAS nº 10529) in BELIZE ; 1 ♀ ( CAS nº 10529) in San Marcos ( NICARAGUA), Baker col.; 1 ♀ ( CAS nº 10529) in Granada ( NICARAGUA) , Baker col.; 1 ♀ ( USNM nº 26017) in BELIZE .

Additional material (3 ♂ & 24 ♀). MEXICO: 1 ♀ ( USNM), nº 2154 Baker col. ; 1 ♂ ( CAS), 23-XI- 1946 in Tamazunchale , S. L. P., E. S. Ross col. ; EL SALVADOR: 1 ♀ ( USNM), 14-VIII- 1959 in Santana 5500ft., P. A. Berry col. ; BRAZIL: 2 ♀ ( MLP), 6-XI- 1978 in Piracicaba , S.P. A. J. Caco col. ; 1 ♀ ( MZUSP), IV- 1906 in Campo Belo , R. J., H. Luederwaldt col. ; 1 ♀ (UFScar), 7-I- 1991 in Mata Canchim, Sao Carlos , S. P., A. Penteado Díaz col. ; 1 ♂ ( UB), 18/ 25-II- 1982 in Res. Ecol. IBGE Km 0 Brasilia 251 D.F .; ECUADOR: 1 ♀ ( CNCI), 15/ 28-VI-1976, Napo, Limonocha, 250m . S. & J. Peck col.; 1 ♀ ( UB), 15/ 28-VI-1976, Napo, Limonocha, 250m . S. & J. Peck col.; 2 ♀ ( CNCI), 16-II- 1986, Tema , Napo, Finnamore & Genier sweep .; 2 ♀ ( UB), 16-II-1986, Tema , Napo, Finnamore & Genier sweep .; 2 ♀ ( CNCI), 18-II-1986, Napo prov. Tema., Finnamore & Genier sweep .; 1 ♀ ( UB), 18-II-1986, Napo prov. Tema., Finnamore & Genier sweep .; 1 ♀ ( USNM), 20/ 23-V- 1976 in Tzapino, 32 Km NE of Tewaeno, J. Cohen col. ; COSTA RICA: 1 ♀ ( CAS), 10-XII- 1987 in Turrialba , D. J. Burdick col. ; 1 ♀ ( USNM), in Higuito, San Mateo , P. Schild col. ; 1 ♀ ( UCR), 17-VII- 1994 in Heredia., Est Biol La Selva. 100m ., 10º 26' N, 84º 01'W.; PERU: 1 ♂ & 1 ♀ ( CAS), 32- IX- 1954 in Monzon Valley, Tingo Maria , E. I. Schlinger & E. S. Ross col. ; HONDURAS: 1 ♀ ( UB), 15-X-1948, La Ceiba. C. Becker col. ; 1 ♀ ( CNCI), 2/IV/1988, Merida , 2km NW La Azulita, T. Finnamore & L.G. Baxfield sweep .; TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: 1 ♀ ( CNCI), 1/ 9-XII-1997, Maracas. Mt. ; VENE- ZUELA : 1 ♀ ( UB), 25-VIII/ 1-IX-1992 NT, Trujillo, Mosquey nr. Bocono. Cofee plant., L. Masner col.

Diagnosis. Prosaspicera ensifera is similar to P. similis and P. optivus ; they have a very wide parascutal sulcus, the scutellum in lateral view sloping towards the basis of scutellar spine, the scutellar foveae very deep with a conspicuous posterior margin and the vertex incised. In P. ensifera the scutellar spine ( Fig. 23a) is more robust and longer than in P. optivus ( Fig. 25a) and P. similis ( Fig. 25b) and the vertex more strongly incised. Moreover, P. ensifera has the occipital carina strongly angled behind the dorsal 1/3 of eye, the gena strongly expanded and coriaceous, ocelli prominent and with a strong protuberance behind them, occiput coriaceous delimited with one weak transverse carinae, and lateral surface of pronotum, mesoscutum and scutellar disc coriaceous.

Redescription. Length. Females 2.5–3.2 mm.; males 2.5–3.0 mm.

Coloration. Head and mesosoma dark brown to light brown. Antenna ambarinus the last flagellomeres darker. Legs ambarinus. Metanotum dark to light brown.

Head. Frons coriaceous with conspicuous frontal carinae. Lateral frontal carinae

strong, area between them and eye coriaceous, sometimes with very weak transverse carinae. Occipital carina strongly angled behind dorsal 1/3 of eye. Gena strongly expanded, coriaceous, with few scattered setae. Vertex conspicuously incised, smooth and shining, in posterior part coriaceous with two longitudinal carinae on each side of median vertical groove, which is smooth. Ocelli prominent and with protuberance behind them. Occiput coriaceous, delimited with one weak transverse carinae.

Antenna. FEMALE. Filiform. Antennal formula: 4(2.8): 1.8(2): 5.5(2): 5.2(2): 5(2): 4.9(2): 4.5(2): 4(2): 4(2): 3.5(2): 3.5(2): 3.5(2): 7(2). MALE. Filiform. Antennal formula: 4(2.8): 1.3(2): 5.5(1.9): 6(1.9): 6(1.9): 6(1.9): 6(1.9): 5.8(1.9): 5.5(1.9): 5(1.9): 5(1.9): 4.9(1.9): 4.5(1.9): 7(1.9).

Mesosoma. Lateral surface of pronotum coriaceous, rather densely pubescent. Subpronotal plate coriaceous and with scattered setae laterally, glabrous centrally. Mesoscutum coriaceous, with very few scattered setae. Antero-admedian lines prominent, confluent, reaching 1/3 the length of mesoscutum; median ridge prominent and not divided before median mesoscutal furrow. Notauli rather wide, wider centrally, weakly to strongly coriaceous. Median mesoscutal furrow smooth or alutaceous. Area between notauli and end of median mesoscutal furrow prominent. Parascutal sulcus very wide, smooth with few scattered setae, continuing to anterior end of notauli. Mesopleura coriaceous on anterior 1/3 and smooth on posteroir 2/3. Scutellum 1.95 to 2.20 times length of scutum in males and 1.75 to 2.00 in females. Scutellar foveae subquadrate, very deep, smooth, although in biggest specimens they can be weakly sculptured, posterior margin conspicuous and wide; interfoveal line going on along scutellar disc to basis of spine. Lateral lines continuing along anterior surface of the disc and first 1/3 of the spine. Spine between coriaceous and striate on first 1/2, getting smooth towards the end. Scutellar disc coriaceous, in lateral view, steeply sloping from end of foveae to basis of spine, which is slightly curved and reaches the first 1/3 of radial cell of wing.

Wings. Forewing membrane hyaline. Radial cell 2.00 to 2.28 times longer than wide. Marginal pubescence present on latero-ventral margin, sparse. R1 absent in females and very short in males. Rs straight.

Biology. Unknown.

Distribution. Neotropica. Previously collected in Belize, Nicaragua, Brazil and Argentina; also from Mexico, El Salvador, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Honduras, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela in this study.