Triraphis guarusa Valerio

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 : 519-521

Triraphis guarusa Valerio , sp. nov.

Figures 2 , 47–52 , 104 .

Description. Female. Body color: grayish yellow, with antenna black with medial yellow area as head, latero – tergites and hypopygium; scape and pedicel (except dorsal area yellow) brownish yellow as pronotum dorsal area, mesonotum (sometimes only edges and notauli), remainder metasoma, propodeum, tarsal claws and tarsomeres; hind leg honey yellow. Fore wing: with M+CU yellow, hind wing: basal 1/4 of 1 – 1A yellow sometimes; remainder of veins light brown. Wings hyaline. Body length = 7.66 – 10.48 mm; fore wing length = 7.25 – 9.75 mm.

Head: Head height/head length = 1.23 – 1.25; maximum height of compound eye/maximum width of compound eye = 1.54 – 1.50; distance between basal edges of tentorial pits and the basal area of toruli/Maximum width of face measured at dorsal edge of clypeus = 1.13 – 1.15; width of vertex/minimal distance between toruli and the medial ocellus = 2.20 – 2.35; width of oral opening/height of oral opening = 1.44 – 2.08; distance between tentorial pits = 0.23 – 0.34 mm; minimal distance between external edge of tentorial pits and compound eye = 0.08 – 0.10 mm. Antenna, flagellomeres all longer than wide, between 68 – 81; malar space narrower than basal width of mandible; occipital carina present dorsally, divided, not fused with hypostomal carina and clearly separated; median ocellus as big as lateral ocellus; space between lateral ocellus black; ocell-ocular distance <1/3 lateral ocellus width.

Mesosoma: Length of mesosoma in dorsal view/width of mesosoma = 2.70 – 2.98; height of mesosoma = 1.63 – 2.42 mm; propleuron with dorso-lateral area basally with defined colliculate sculpturing, remainder with less defined colliculate sculpturing; notauli punctate, less defined medially; medial longitudinal pit present with water drop shape, smooth without longitudinal punctate sculpturing present; remainder mesonotum nitid; sternauli striate, as union with prepectal carina, area below nitid or sometimes with few transversal lineate sculpturing present; mesopleuron immaculate except dorso-lateral area with large lineate sculpturing; metapleuron with less defined colliculate sculpturing, ventral 2/3 with spaced rugose sculpturing; propodeum, spiracles sub – oval; first lateral areas of propodeum with light areolate-rugulose and little confused colliculate sculpturing, remainder with conspicuous space areolate-rugulose and without colliculate or granulate sculpturing; medial carina 1/4 propodeum length; areola sinuate, triangular and small; ventral tubercles present with carinae over them and densely granulate. Legs: basal lobe of hind tarsal claws elongate and acute at tip.

Wings: fore wing: lCUb/RS+Ma = 1.15 – 1.21; 3RSa/lRS = 3.10 – 4.18; pterostigma length/width = 2.20 – 2.57; r = 0.29 – 0.46 mm. hind wing: lM/r – m = 1.84 – 2.05; lA/cu – a = 1.18 – 1.46; m+cu = 1.10 – 1.71 mm; m+cu antefurcal to 2RS; 2RS bent to wing base; angle at union 2RS – 2M wide; pterostigma totally yellow or with distal half whitish yellow.

Metasoma: Length of first metasomal tergum/width of first metasomal tergum = 1.40 – 1.73; length of second metasomal tergum/width of second metasomal tergum = 0.80 – 1.17; length of third metasomal tergum/width of third metasomal tergum = 0.42 – 0.40; anterior width of first tergum = 0.88 – 0.54 mm; hypopygium = 0.71 – 1.29 mm; Anterior triangular area of first metasomal tergum open with carinae present, medial carina cristate as long as 2/3 of the length; same lineate sculpturing at tl – 2; third metasomal tergum lineate sculpturing finer, closer and less conspicuous than second metasomal tergum sculpturing, not reaching third metasomal tergum distal edge; fourth metasomal tergum with fine lineate sculpturing.

Males. Similar to females.

Female holotype. Costa Rica, Puntarena, Península de Osa, 27 km S. Pto. Jiménez, Río Pírro, 75 m. x/1990, Col. E. Quiros.

Paratypes. 34 females, 3 males; Alajuela: Buenos Aires, Upala, 4/xi/1987, Col. Gonzales – Ledezma – Soto; Heredia: (3) Chilamate, 75 m. vii – viii/1989; 1 male same data; 6 with Col. Hanson & Godoy and different date, v/ 1989, ix – x/1989, iv – viii/1990, (3) xii/1989 – iii/1990; 3 km S. Pto. Viejo, OTS, La Selva, 100 m. ii – iii/1993; Pto. Viejo, OTS, La Selva, 100 m. iv/1991; (2) OTS, La Selva, 50 – 150 m. 10.26N / 84.01W, ix/1992, Col. Hanson & Godoy; 1 same data except collector and date, ii – iv/1993, P. Hanson; Limón: (3) 7 km SW Bribrí, 50 m. ix/89; 1 same data except date, x/1989; 16 km W. Guápiles, 400 m. ii/1989; 3 same data except date, xii/1989, iii/1989, viii – ix/89; P.N. Tortugero, Estac. 4 esquinas, 0 m. ix – x/1989, Col. J. Solano; 4 km NE Bribrí, 50 m. ix – xi/1991; 1 same data except date, xii/1989 – iii/1990; Puntarenas: Golfo dulce, 24 km Piedras Blancas, 200 m. ii – v/1989; 3 same data except date, xii/1989 – iii/1990, (2) iii – vi/1990; Golfo Dulce, 3 km SW Rincón, 10 m. v – vi/1992; Golfo Dulce, 10 km W. Piedras Blancas, 100 m. ii – iii/1989; 1 male same data; R.B. Carara, Estac. Quebrada Bonita, 50 m. vii – ix/1989; (male) Quepos, Palma Africana, 10 m. 12/iii/1990.

Holotype and 20 paratypes have been deposited at the RMSEL; remaining paratypes deposited at INBio and MUCR.

Distribution. The altitudinal distribution of this species is lowlands, from 0 – 150 m. The type of forest present at site of sampling was tropical wet/rain forest and tropical premontane rain forest. Some specimens were collect at primary forest with shaded areas and under story cleared others at an altered forest with crops growing interspersed.

Biology. Some specimens reared from Norape sp. ( Megalopygidae ) feeding on Inga vera (Fabaceae) , Maclura tictoria (Moraceae) , Lonchocarpus acuminatus (Fabaceae) and Pithecellobium saman (Fabaceae) ; Perola sinaloensis (Limacodidae) feeding on Maclura tinctoria (Moraceae) ; Napaea umbra (Riodinidae) feeding on Bromelia pinguin (Bromeliaceae) ; Ocaria sp. (near ocrisia) ( Lycaenidae ) feeding on Guazuma ulmifolia (Sterculiaceae) and one unknown limacodid larva feeding on Cedrela odorata (Meliaceae) .

Comments. This species is similar to Triraphis fusciceps (Cresson) and T. cortazari by the wide angle at union of veins 2RS – 2M, ocell-ocular distance 1/4 of lateral ocellus width and wings hyaline, but can be identified by malar space that is smaller than the basal width of mandible, fore wings hyaline, occipital carina present and conspicuous dorsally, third metasomal tergum with fine lineate sculpturing and antenna with more than 65 flagellomeres.

Etymology. The species name is an arbitrary combination of letters without any meaning.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 6. Ocell-ocular distance for: 1, Triraphis cortazari; 2, T. guarusa; 3, T. simphlex; 4, T. balteus; 5, T. defectus; 6, T. paraholos. Scale bar in millimeters.

FIGURE 47 – 52. Triraphis guarusa, 47, dorsal habitus; 48, lateral habitus; 49, mesosoma, dorsal view; 50, mesosoma, lateral view; 51, head, anterior view; 52, 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.