Pseudapanteles alfiopivai Fernandez-Triana & Whitfield

Fernandez-Triana, Jose L., Janzen, Daniel H., Hallwachs, Winnie, Whitfield, James B., Smith, M. Alex & Kula, Robert, 2014, Revision of the genus Pseudapanteles (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae), with emphasis on the species in Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, northwestern Costa Rica, ZooKeys 446, pp. 1-82 : 13

Taxon classification Animalia Hymenoptera Braconidae

Pseudapanteles alfiopivai Fernandez-Triana & Whitfield sp. n. Figs 9- 13

Holotype.

♀ in CNC. COSTA RICA, ACG, Guanacaste Province, Sector El Hacha, Sendero Bejuquilla, 280m, 11.03004, -85.52699, 17.viii.1998. ACG database code: DHJPAR0012577.

Paratypes.

3 ♂ (CNC). COSTA RICA, ACG database codes: DHJPAR0013128, DHJPAR0025345, DHJPAR0031764.

Diagnosis.

It belongs to the annulicornis species-group, and can be separated from other species within that group based on the combination of flagellomeres 4-8 white-yellow (occupying more than one third of antenna length), head mostly dark brown to black posteriorly, all coxae yellow, and T2 mostly striate.

Description.

Female. Body length 2.0-2.1 mm. Fore wing length 2.2-2.3 mm. Head color: mostly dark brown to black; except for orange on most of frons and face, and yellow clypeus, labrum, mandibles, and spot on lower corner of gena near oral foramen. Flagellomere color: central flagellomeres white-yellow, rest dark brown to black. Mesosoma color: entirely orange to yellow-orange. Metasoma color (dorsally): entirely orange to yellow-orange. Coxae color: all pale. Metatibia color: pale. Metatarsus color: pale. Pterostigma color: mostly dark, but with anterior pale spot. Mediotergite 1 length/width at posterior margin 4.6-5.0 ×. Mediotergite 1 maximum width/width at posterior margin 2.7-2.8 ×. Mediotergite 2 width at posterior margin/length: 3.2-3.3 ×. Mediotergite 2 sculpture: Mostly with longitudinally striate sculpture (sometimes with small, smooth area centrally). Ovipositor sheaths length: 0.8 × as long as metatibia.

Male. As female, but with all flagellomeres brown.

Molecular data.

Sequences in BOLD: 4, barcode compliant sequences: 4.

Biology/ecology.

Malaise-trapped.

Distribution.

Costa Rica, ACG dry forest and rain forest.

Etymology.

This species is named in honour of Dr. Alfio Piva, a Costa Rican former Vice-President, in recognition of his many years of administrative support to Costa Rica’s INBio (Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad) and therefore of ACG, and of his policy efforts on behalf of conserving biodiversity in Costa Rica.