Cheiloneurus pometia, Noyes, 2023

Noyes, John Stuart, 2023, ENCYRTIDAE OF COSTA RICA (HYMENOPTERA: CHALCIDOIDEA), 4 Subfamily Encyrtinae: tribes Arrhenophagini, Habrolepidini, Cerapterocerini, Cheiloneurini, Trechnitini, Cercobelini, Polaszekiini, Protyndarichoidini, Gahaniellini and Syrphophagini (part), mainly primary parasitoids and hyperparasitoids of Coccoidea and Psylloidea (Hemiptera), Taxonomic Monographs on Neotropical Hymenoptera (Oxford, England) 2 (11), pp. 1-921 : 327-329

Cheiloneurus pometia sp.nov.

( Figs 812-817)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.6mm): body mostly dark brown with a weak to moderate metallic sheen, scutellum orange; antenna ( Fig. 812) with scape mostly white margined dark brown; pedicel and flagellum dark brown; mesoscutum with evenly distributed translucent setae that may appear silvery; fore coxa orange-brown, mid coxa dark brown, hind coxa white; legs mainly orange-brown with fore and hind tibiae mostly dark brown; fore wing ( Fig. 814) mostly infuscate with basal cell mostly hyaline, a small hyaline area at apex of venation and opposite on posterior wing margin, a small hyaline area at apex; head ( Fig. 815) about 14X as wide as frontovertex, in facial view about 1.2X as long as broad, subrectangular, genae weakly converging, more strongly curved near mouth margin; frontovertex naked medially; eye separated from scrobe by about 0.6X diameter of anterior ocellus, area between eye and scrobe completely smooth, scrobal margin carinate; interantennal prominence dorsally rounded with about 40 fairly conspicuous setae; mandible tridentate, upper tooth short and broad; antenna ( Fig. 812) with scape about 4.2X as long as broad; funicle with F1-F5 longer than broad, F6 transverse; head width about 0.7X length of funicle; linear sensilla on F3-F6; clava 3-segmented, hardly longer than F5- F6 combined; sensory area large and forming an oblique truncation, extending about 0.3X along ventral margin; mesoscutum ( Fig. 817) mostly with very fine polygonally reticulate sculpture but slightly coarser and more elongate anteriorly and laterally; scutellum with a distinct apical tuft of setae; wings fully developed; fore wing ( Fig. 814) about 2.6X as long as broad; parastigma clearly curved downwards; costal cell dorsally naked at apex, with a complete line of setae ventrally but naked above parastigma; area below proximal part of parastigma with a group of about 30 pale setae; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a naked hyaline area that extends a little way into disc ( Fig. 813); apical bristle of postmarginal vein very slightly longer than marginal vein; mid tibial spur about 1.1X as long as basitarsus; propodeum with about 4 setae around each spiracle, side naked; syntergum slightly shorter than mid tibia; ovipositor ( Fig. 816) about 3.5X gonostylus or 1.2X as long as mid tibia; gonostylus about as long as mid tibial spur; exserted part of ovipositor about 0.6X as long as mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.63mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.47mm ( CPD) .

Head mostly dark brown, area outside torulus pale orange; occiput pale orange behind gena but mostly dark brown with a blue or blue-green sheen; narrow area between eye and occipital margin with strong golden, green and coppery reflections; frontovertex with a coppery purple sheen, with green reflections, metallic green between posterior ocelli, purple and blue between ocelli and occipital margin, narrowly metallic blue along occipital margin; above scrobes more strongly metallic green with some coppery reflections; between eye and scrobe metallic purple and green; interantennal prominence mostly metallic green, but with a broad purple band between toruli dorsally; a narrow coppery and blue band between toruli ventrally; mouth margin metallic green and coppery; strongly coppery between mouth margin and torulus; temple and most of gena metallic green mixed purple, blue and brassy, small posterior area of gena pale orange; frontovertex clothed with inconspicuous, brown setae; antenna ( Fig. 812) with radicle pale orange, apex brown; scape externally white with extreme base and apex dark brown, inner surface white with ventral margin dark brown in proximal two-thirds, dorsal margin with an elongate brown spot half-way and apex dark brown; pedicel and flagellum dark brown; maxillary palpus brown; thorax mostly dark brown; pronotum orange with posterior margin transparent and clear, and neck dark brown; mesoscutum with dark blue sheen with purple reflections, clothed with more or less evenly distributed translucent setae that appear silvery in most lights, posterior margin narrowly mixed purple; tegula dark brown, orange proximally; axilla and scutellum orange, clothed in golden brown setae, subapical tuft on scutellum black; metanotum dark purple-brown with a slight sheen; mesopleuron orange-brown with weak brassy, purple, blue and green reflections; fore coxa orange-brown, fore leg otherwise mostly dark brown with some orange-brown areas; mid coxa dark brown; mid femur white with dorsal margin dark brown and an oblique, subapical, dark brown band, tibia orange-brown, paler distally, with a subbasal white band and a narrow, incomplete subbasal brown band, spur dark orange-brown, tarsus pale orange to orange; hind coxa white; hind femur pale orange-brown, tibia and tarsus dark brown; fore wing ( Fig. 814) mostly infuscate, hyaline towards base and with a small apical hyaline spot; submarginal vein mostly pale brown, rest of venation dark brown; propodeum purple-brown, side shining purple and blue; side of propodeum with some translucent setae outside spiracle; gaster brown, dorsally with a distinct purple sheen with some coppery, green and brassy reflections, sides similar but with a more distinct green sheen, outer plates of ovipositor with a slight blue sheen; gonostylus very pale orange, almost white.

Head ( Fig. 815) nearly 14X as wide as narrowest point of frontovertex, in profile with interantennal prominence very distinct below top of scrobes, head about 1.8X as high as deep; occipital margin sharp and carinate; occiput without a median groove above foramen; ocelli forming an angle of about 30°; frontovertex quite shiny, with moderately deep, fairly regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size clearly less than diameter of eye facet; lower interantennal prominence with similar sculpture to frontovertex, upper interantennal prominence and scrobes completely smooth; area immediately above scrobes with much deeper, coarser and transversely elongate sculpture; temple and posterior gena with distinctly shallower, more irregular and longitudinally elongate sculpture than on upper part of frontovertex, anterior gena and mouth margin with coarse, irregular, reticulate sculpture; area between eye and scrobe completely smooth; scrobes deep, meeting dorsally, sharply margined above, but roundly margined outside torulus, very weakly ∩-shaped with dorsal part of interantennal prominence hardly convex; antenna as in Fig. 812; scape broadened and flattened above middle, about 4.2X as long as broad; funicle with F1-F5 longer than broad, F6 transverse, segments shortest and broadest distad; linear sensilla present only on F3-F6; clava hardly broadened, only a little longer than F5-F6 combined, sutures oblique, sensory area enlarged, extending ventrally along about one-third of clava, giving it an obliquely truncate appearance; eye not reaching occipital margin, separated by about diameter of facet, appearing naked, but clothed with sparse, very short, inconspicuous setae, each much shorter than diameter of facet; inner eye margins clearly converging for a little way below anterior ocellus; malar sulcus absent; clypeal margin virtually straight; mandible with 3 teeth; apical segment of maxillary palpus not enlarged, about as long as radicle. Relative measurements: HW 67.5, HH 82, FV 5, OD 4.5, POL 3, OOL 0, OCL 13, AOL 13.5, EL 55, EW 38, MS 37, SL 48, SW 11.5.

Thorax ( Fig. 817) with irregular, polygonally reticulate sculpture on pronotum and most of mesoscutum that is very similar to that on frontovertex; axilla and scutellum with slightly coarser sculpture than disc of mesoscutum; visible part of mesoscutum about 2.1X as broad as long; scutellum about 1.2X as broad as long with a distinct subapical tuft, setae mostly about 0.75X as long as scutellum; hind femur about 5.7X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 813, 814; costal cell naked dorsally at apex; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a distinct, naked, hyaline streak ( Fig. 813); propodeum ( Fig. 817) with 4 or 5 long setae in a line outside spiracle, side almost completely smooth, medially about 0.25X as long as scutellum and smooth. Relative measurements: FWL 64, FWW 25; HWL 56.9, HWW 14.1.

Gaster without “gland-like” structures on Gt1 or Gt5; hypopygium reaching about two-fifths to apex; syntergum about 0.75X as long as mid tibia, with apex narrowly rounded; ovipositor ( Fig. 816) exserted, the exserted part about 0.6X as long as mid tibial spur or about a quarter as long as mid tibia. Relative measurements: OL 57, GL 16.5 [MT 48].

Variation. Only holotype examined.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Heredia, OTS La Selva, 100m, canopy fog Virola, FVK /09, 5.vii.1993 ( INBio / OET) . Holotype in NHMUK .

COMMENTS. Cheiloneurus pometia is similar to herxius , seius , poeana and oshtan in that all five species have the head dark brown with a small orange area outside each torulus. Apart from having a much narrower frontovertex (less than 0.1X head width, other species at least 0.15X head width), it differs in having the ovipositor about 3.5X as long as a gonostylus (at least about 4X as long in other species). In addition, in facial view, the dorsal margin of the scrobes is more or less straight and transverse whereas in other similar species the scrobes are distinctly downcurved laterally.