Heterospilus hera Marsh

Marsh, Paul M., Wild, Alexander L. & Whitfield, James B., 2013, The Doryctinae (Braconidae) of Costa Rica: genera and species of the tribe Heterospilini, ZooKeys 347, pp. 1-474 : 356-357

Heterospilus hera Marsh sp. n. Figure 241

Female.

Body size: 3.0-3.5 mm. Color: body dark brown, apical metasomal tergum yellow; scape honey yellow without lateral brown stripe; flagellum brown with apical 7-10 flagellomeres white, apical one sometimes darker; wing veins including stigma brown; legs yellow. Head: vertex smooth; frons smooth; face smooth; temple in dorsal view narrow, sloping behind eye, width less than 1/2 eye width; malar space greater than 1/4 eye height; ocell-ocular distance about 2.5 times diameter of lateral ocellus; 22-29 flagellomeres. Mesosoma: mesoscutal lobes smooth; notauli scrobiculate, meeting posteriorly in triangular costate area; scutellum smooth; prescutellar furrow with 3 cross carinae; mesopleuron smooth; precoxal sulcus smooth, shorter than mesopleuron; venter smooth; propodeum with basal median areas margined, smooth, basal median carina present, areola not distinctly margined, areolar area rugose, lateral areas rugose apically, smooth basally. Wings: fore wing vein r shorter than vein 3RSa, vein 1cu-a interstitial with or slightly beyond vein 1M; hind wing vein SC+R present, vein M+CU shorter than vein 1M. Metasoma: first tergum longitudinally costate, length nearly twice apical width; second tergum longitudinally costate; anterior transverse groove present but weak, sometimes absent; posterior transverse groove absent; third tergum entirely smooth; terga 4-7 smooth; ovipositor about 3/4 length of metasoma.

Holotype female.

Top label (white, printed) - Costa Rica: Golfo Dulce, 24km W. [;] Piedras Blancas, 200m [;] xii.1991, Paul Hanson; second label (red, partially printed and hand written) - HOLOTYPE [;] Heterospilus [;] hera [;] P. Marsh. Deposited in ESUW.

Paratypes.

1 ♀, Costa Rica: Puntarenas [;] Res. Forestal Golfo Dulce, 200m [;] xi.1990, P. Hanson [;] Malaise, Primary forest (ESUW). 1 ♀, Costa Rica: Puntarenas [;] Est. Cacao, 1000-1400m [;] 2km. SW del Cerro Cacao [;] vii.1996, J. A. Ugalde [;] L.N. 323100-375800 #8220 [;] Malaise trap (ESUW). 1 ♀, COSTA RICA, Guanac. [;] Estac, Pitilla, 9km S Santa Cecilia, 700m [;] IX/1988, I. Gauld (ESUW).

Comments.

The absent posterior transverse groove on metasomal tergum 3, the white apical annulus on the flagellum and the 3 cross carinae in the prescutellar furrow are distinctive for this species.

Etymology.

Named for the Greek goddess Hera.