Tinkerbella nana Huber & Noyes, 2013

Huber, John T. & Noyes, John S., 2013, A new genus and species of fairyfly, Tinkerbella nana (Hymenoptera, Mymaridae), with comments on its sister genus Kikiki, and discussion on small size limits in arthropods, Journal of Hymenoptera Research 32, pp. 17-44 : 21-23

Tinkerbella nana Huber & Noyes sp. n. Figs 1 3 22

Holotype

♀ (INBio) on slide labelled, 1. "COSTA RICA: Heredia, La Selva, 75m, 10°26'N, 84°01'W, 27-28.ii.2003, J.S. Noyes, sweeping, cleared in clove oil, mounted in Canada balsam". 2. "Tinkerbella nana Huber and Noyes ♀dorsal Holotype".

Paratypes. 7♀ and 2♂. COSTA RICA: Alajuela. Reserva Rincón Forestal, Estación Caribe, 400m, 10°53'N, 85°18'W, 400m, 19-22.ii.2003, J.S. Noyes (1♀, 1♂, CNC); Arenal National Park, sendero Pilón 10°27'N, 84°43'W, 600m, 26.ii.2003, J.S. Noyes (1♀, CNC). Heredia. Same data as holotype (5♀, 1♂, CNC, BMNH, InBio).

Derivation of species name.

After the dog Nana in Peter Pan and coincidentally from nanos, the Greek word for dwarf. Treated as a (feminized) noun in apposition.

Description.

Female. Body length 225-250 μm (n=6). Colour. Very pale, the scape, pedicel, pronotum laterally, gaster laterally, and legs except apical tarsomere sometimes lighter, almost white; head, mandibles, mesoscutum, anterior scutellum and propodeum with a pale yellow or pale brown tinge, occasionally head and mesosoma, especially mesoscutum, more uniformly and extensively brown; trabeculae and a minute spot next to fore wing base dark brown; eyes and ocelli distinctly reddish ( Fig. 3 ). Fore wing with brown tinge behind most of venation except its apex ( Fig. 6 ). Hind wing fairly uniformly light brown from just before hamuli to slightly lighter apex. Head. 65-99 wide, with transverse reticulate sculpture on face ( Fig. 9 ), vertex ( Fig. 12 ), and occiput ( Fig. 12 ). Antenna. Flagellum ( Figs 5 , 13 ) with 1 mps on fl4, 1 mps on fl5, and 4 mps on clava. Fl1-clava length/width (n=2-width or 4-length): scape, 25-30/13-14, pedicel 19-27/17-18, fl1 8-10/7-8, fl2 12-21/6-7, fl3 11-16/7- 8, fl4 8-24/9, fl5 23-31/10-11, clava 59-65/15-17. Mesosoma. Mesoscutum ( Figs 7 , 16, 17 ) with slightly longitudinal, reticulate sculpture and raised meshes. Scutellum smooth anteriorly, frenum slightly wrinkled. Dorsellum smooth to slightly wrinkled. Wings. Fore wing with a few scattered microtrichae behind venation from proximal macrochaeta on, and 3 or 4 just beyond venation ( Fig. 6 ). Fore wing length 195-240 (n=5, card mounts at 200 ×), width 30-50, longest marginal setae 100-155; hind wing length 145-200, width 5-10, longest marginal setae 105-130. Metasoma. Petiole 34 wide, 7 long (n=1). Gaster with segments somewhat wrinkled and sometimes transversely creased posteriorly ( Figs 7 , 18 ); gt2-gt6 each with a few fairly long, suberect setae dorsally and laterally.

Male. Body length 210-230 μm (n=2). Colour light brown ( Fig. 4 ). Fl3 and fl5 the shortest segments, less than half length of the segment following and without mps ( Fig. 15 ).

Hosts and habitat.

Unknown. The specimens from Alajuela were collected by sweeping in fairly young secondary forest (20 years old maximum) mixed with a small amount (ca. 1 ha) of primary forest.

Distribution.

Costa Rica.

Figures

Figures 1, 2. Habitus, lateral. 1 Tinkerbella nana female 2 Kikiki huna, female. Scale line = 100 μm.

Figures 3, 4. Tinkerbella nana female. 3 holotype, uncleared on slide 4 paratype, critical point dried on card. Scale line = 100 μm.

Figures 16 - 22. Tinkerbella nana female paratype, micrographs. 16 mesosoma, dorsal 17 mesosoma + back of head, dorsolateral 18 metasoma, lateral 19 apex of gaster, dorsolateral 20 wings (left wing ventral surface, right wing dorsal surface) 21 wing, basal half 22 left mesotarsus. See appendix for abbreviations. Scale line = 20 μm, except Fig. 20 = 100 μm.

Figures 5 - 7. Tinkerbella nana female paratype, cleared on slide. 5 head + right antenna, anterior 6 wings 7 mesosoma + metasoma dorsal, and ovipositor ventral (inset). Scale line = 100 μm.

Figures 8 - 15. Tinkerbella nana paratype female (except 14, 15), micrographs. 8 habitus, lateral 9 head, anterior 10 mouthparts, anterior 11 head + pronotum, lateral 12 head, dorsal 13 head + antennae, lateral 14 male antenna, dorsal 15 male antenna, pedicel-fl 8, dorsal. Scale line = 20 μm, except Fig. 8 = 100 μm.