Triraphis fusciceps (Cresson) Cresson, 2015

Valerio, Alejandro A. & Shaw, Scott R., 2015, Thirteen new Costa Rican species belonging to the genus Triraphis Ruthe (Braconidae: Rogadinae) with their host records, Zootaxa 3904 (4), pp. 501-540 : 517-518

Triraphis fusciceps (Cresson) , comb. n.

Figures 9 , 41–46 , 102 .

Aleiodes fusciceps Cresson, 1869 .

Rhogas fusciceps Dalla Torre, 1898 , Cat. Hym 4 — Szépligeti 1904. Pelecystoma fusciceps Dalla Torre, 1898 .

Description. Female. Body color: from light orange to dark brownish yellow, with antenna, black with medial area yellow; scape and pedicel (except dorsal area yellow) brownish yellow as propodeum, mesonotum edges 9except distal edge), notauli (inner area whitish yellow as pronotum dorsal area and head), metasoma (except dorsal area yellow); legs light yellow, except fore and mid coxae and hind coxae basal 1/3 with light yellow color. Fore wing: from light yellow to light brownish yellow, sometimes with distal 1/3 darker than rest of wing, veins brownish yellow; hind wing: totally light yellow. Body length = 5.50 – 8.76 mm; fore wing length = 5.22 – 7.67 mm.

Head: Width of oral opening/height of oral opening = 1.94 – 2.16. Antenna, flagellomeres all longer than wide, between 40 – 67; malar space slightly wider than basal width of mandible; occipital carina present dorsally and divided, not fused with hypostomal carina, clearly separated; median ocellus slightly bigger than lateral ocellus; space between lateral ocellus black; ocell-ocular distance 1/2 lateral ocellus width.

Mesosoma: Length of mesosoma in dorsal view/width of mesosoma = 3.00 – 3.31; height of mesosoma = 1.18 – 1.76 mm; propleuron dorso-lateral area mostly with defined colliculate sculpturing, remainder nitid; notauli punctate, less defined medially; medial longitudinal pit present, small without long, punctate sculpturing; remainder mesonotum nitid; sternauli striate, union with prepectal carina absent, area below with less defined colliculate sculpturing as remainder of mesopleuron; mesopleuron with dorso-lateral area with rugose sculpturing; metapleuron granulate, ventral 1/2 with rugose sculpturing; propodeum, spiracles sub – oval; first lateral areas of propodeum with finely granulate sculpturing and sometimes light areolate-rugulose sculpturing present, remainder with less defined colliculate and spaced areolate-rugulose sculpturing; medial carina as big as or smaller than 1/4 Propodeum length; areola irregular or with subtriangular shape; ventral tubercles present with carinae over them and densely granulate.

Legs: basal tooth/lobe on hind tarsal claws short, broad and with a flat tip.

Wings: fore wing: 3RSa/1RS = 3.67 – 4.14; r = 0.24 – 0.32 mm. hind wing: 1M/r – m = 2.15 – 2.47; m+cu antefurcal to 2RS; 2RS slightly bent to wing base; angle at union of veins 2RS – 2M wide; pterostigma yellow or yellow with medial area brownish yellow.

Metasoma: Length of first metasomal tergum/width of first metasomal tergum = 1.70 – 1.90; length of second metasomal tergum/width of second metasomal tergum = 1.00 – 1.05; length of third metasomal tergum/width of third metasomal tergum = 0.43 – 0.49; basal width of first metasomal tergum = 0.35 – 0.53 mm; hypopygium = 0.56 – 0.78 mm. first metasomal tergum dorso – basal triangular area of first metasomal tergum close with carinae present, medial carina cristate as long as 1/4 first metasomal tergum length; first metasomal tergum lineate sculpturing as second metasomal tergum sculpturing; third metasomal tergum lineate sculpturing finer, denser, closer and less conspicuous than second metasomal tergum sculpturing, not reaching third metasomal tergum distal 1/3; fourth metasomal tergum without fine lineate sculpturing.

Males. Unknown.

Type specimens examined. ANSP, Philadelphia, female type; from the RMSEL, Laramie, 16 females previously matched with female type. Also, approximately 200 specimens were examined and collected at Costa Rica by Prof. P. Hanson, from 0 – 900 m.; except 3 specimens collected by D.H. Janzen at Guanacaste: ACG, sector Horizontes, Vado Río Esteron, 17/6/1995; ACG, sector Santa Rosa, Bosque San Emilio, 14/vii/1981; Puntarenas, ACO, P.N. Corcovado, Casa Cedral, Río Sirena, 10/iv/1983.

Biology. Specimens collected by D.H. Janzen were reared from Vipsania rosabella (Limacodidae) feeding on Thouinidium decandrum (Sapindaceae) , from an unknown limacodid, and riodinid larva.

Comments. The type of forest present at site of collecting for some specimens was tropical moist/wet forest, tropical dry forest, tropical premontane wet/rain forest and tropical premontane moist forest. This species is very common and widely distributed. Similar to Triraphis guarusa by the wide angle at union of veins 2RS – RS+Mb, the body coloration and the occipital carina effaced dorsally, but can be identified by the ocell-ocular distance that is as large as half the lateral ocellus width and by the short, broad and flat tip tooth/lobe at hind leg, and the metapleura with colliculate or granulate sculpturing.

Figures

FIGURE 7 – 12. Triraphis sicbaios, 7, head, dorsal view; 8, T. fasciipennis, ovipositor, lateral view; 9, T. fusciceps, ovipositor, lateral view; 10, T. ikelopsops ovipositor, lateral view; 11, T. simphlex, ovipositor, lateral view; 12, T. willei, ovipositor, lateral view. Scale bar in millimeters.

FIGURE 41 – 46. Triraphis fusciceps, 41, dorsal habitus; 42, lateral habitus; 43, mesosoma, dorsal view; 44, mesosoma, lateral view; 45, head, anterior view; 46, metasoma, dorsal view. Scale bar in millimeters.

FIGURE 101 – 108. Wing venation and wing pattern for: 101, Triraphis balteus; 102, T. fusciceps (Cresson); 103, T. chinusi; 104, T. guarusa; 105, T. cortazari; 106, T. ikelops; 107, T. defectus and 108, T. melasops.