Hebynthus menai, 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 : 698-700

Hebynthus menai sp.nov.

(Figs 1926-1931; Hab. E 286)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.4-1.8mm): antenna (Fig. 1927) with scape pale orange; funicle pale orange, clava pale brown; all coxae brown; fore and hind tibia pale orange, rest of legs mostly brown; fore wing (Fig. 1928) virtually hyaline but weakly infused pale yellow-brown; head (Fig. 1929) about 5.5-7.0X as wide as frontovertex; malar sulcus present; antenna (Fig. 1927) with scape about 5.5-6.0X as long as broad; pedicel nearly as long as F1-F2 combined; funicle with segments longer than broad, F6 quadrate; funicle with linear sensilla on all segments; sensory part of clava extending nearly 0.7X along ventral surface; fore wing (Fig. 1928) about 2.4X as long as broad; ventral surface of costal cell with only one complete line of setae; mid tibial spur about as long as basitarsus; ovipositor slightly exserted with exserted part about 0.3X as long as mid tibial spur; gonostylus about as long as mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.81mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.74mm (CPD).

Head black with a moderate metallic sheen; occiput with a moderate coppery sheen, occipital margin narrowly metallic dark blue and violet; frontovertex with a moderate metallic sheen, largely dark blue and dark blue-green but with some violet, especially in piliferous punctures and above top of scrobes; temple and gena with a moderate coppery purple sheen; scrobal area mostly with a violet sheen but scrobes and interantennal prominence between toruli metallic dark blue-green; setae on frontovertex, interantennal prominence and gena dark brown; antenna (Fig. 1927) with radicle dark brown; scape pale orange; pedicel pale orange-brown, pale orange towards apex and ventrally; funicle pale orange; clava pale orange-brown; maxillary palpus dark brown; pronotum black with a moderate coppery purple sheen; propleuron and prosternum black; mesoscutum black with a moderate coppery violet sheen; tegula dark brown with a slight coppery purple sheen; axilla black with a slight brassy sheen; scutellum black, proximally with a slight purple sheen gradually becoming more coppery towards apex, apical two-fifths contrasting metallic dark green with ridges of reticulate sculpture dark purple, apex and side strong metallic dark green mixed coppery; metanotum very dark brown with a slight brassy sheen; mesopleuron dark brown with a moderate coppery sheen mixed with a little metallic dark blue medially; mesosternum dark brown; all coxae dark brown; fore femur dark brown, extreme apex pale orange, tibia and tarsus pale orange; mid femur dark brown, tibia dark brown in proximal half, apex pale orange, spur and tarsus pale orange; hind femur dark brown with apical one-quarter orange, tibia and tarsus pale orange; wings virtually hyaline, but fore wing (Fig. 1928) weakly infused pale yellow-brown; propodeum very dark brown with a slight purple and brassy sheen, side metallic dark blue-green, fairly densely and evenly clothed with conspicuous silvery setae to lowest margin; gaster dark brown, with a fairly strong coppery sheen, TI anteriorly with an extensive strongly metallic dark blue and blue-green sheen, TII in posterior two-thirds or so with a complete rainbow of metallic colours from coppery through yellow to violet, side and venter with moderate to strong areas of metallic dark green and blue-green; gonostylus dark brown.

Head (Fig. 1929) about 6.5X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 2.1X as high as deep, fairly evenly curved from occipital margin to level with top of scrobes then slightly less strongly curved to mouth margin, interantennal prominence slightly protuberant; occipital margin sharp, carinate; ocelli forming an angle of about 46°; frontovertex moderately shiny, with fairly regular, fine, moderately deep, polygonally reticulate sculpture of clearly smaller mesh size than eye facet; frontovertex with 7 setae in front of anterior ocellus, a line of sparse setae along inner eye margin continued along lower eye margin; temple and gena about as shiny as frontovertex, with longitudinally elongate, strigose to striate-reticulate sculpture; eye reaching occipital margin, separated from scrobe by about 2X diameter of ocellus, with sparse, inconspicuous, pale setae that are each clearly shorter than diameter of facet; scrobes shallow, more or less ∩-shaped but irregular and slightly constricted about midway between torulus and dorsal margin, narrowly meeting, with sculpture similar to that on frontovertex but generally fairly irregular, dorsally very irregular, weakly margined dorsally and laterally; interantennal prominence distinct, rounded dorsally, with fairly regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture; antenna as in Fig. 1927; scape slender, about 6X as long as broad; funicle with F1-F5 longer than broad, F6 quadrate, segments becoming progressively broader distad; clava about 3.1X as long as broad, about 1.4X as wide as F6, about as long as F3-F6 combined, sutures strongly oblique, sensory area enlarged, extending ventrally about 0.7X length of clava, apex strongly obliquely truncate; malar sulcus present, distinct, quite strongly curved; clypeal margin weakly concave without a median lobe; mandible with two acute teeth and a truncate upper tooth. Relative measurements: HW 156, HH 145, FV 24, POL 15, OOL 0, OCL 10, AOL 22, EL 109, EW 85, MS 47, SL 66, SW 11.

Thorax (Fig. 1930) in dorsal view with pronotum fairly short, mostly hidden by head, with posterior margin medially slightly invaginate;pronotum dorsally with moderately deep, transversely elongate, imbricate-reticulate to polygonally reticulate sculpture that is slightly shallower than sculpture on frontovertex, and of larger mesh; mesoscutum with mainly polygonally reticulate sculpture that is similar to that on frontovertex, but slightly shallower and less well-defined; axilla with polygonally reticulate sculpture that is similar to that that on frontovertex but of slightly larger mesh and less well-defined; scutellum with fairly regular polygonally reticulate sculpture that reaches apex and is clearly deeper and mostly of larger mesh than that on frontovertex, cells slightly larger and more elongate on side and towards apex; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.5X as broad as long; scutellum about as long as broad; fore wing with venation and distribution of setae as in Figs 1926, 1928, ventral surface of costal cell with only one complete line of setae; mid tibial spur about as long as basitarsus; propodeum (Fig. 1930) medially about 0.23X as long as scutellum, fairly smooth, but posterior part with some distinct polygonally reticulate sculpture. Relative measurements: FWL 115, FWW 47.5; HWL 87.5, HWW 24.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about 0.7X to apex; syntergum about 0.75X as long as mid tibia, with apex acute; ovipositor slightly exserted, the exserted part about 0.3X as long as mid tibial spur or about 0.14X mid tibia

Paratype. Gonostylus about as long as mid tibial spur; hypopygium Fig. 1931. Relative measurements: OL 112, GL 39 [MT 109].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 1.41-1.81mm, the frontovertex and scrobal area may be mostly metallic dark purple with metallic, dark blue reflections, the head varies from 5.6-6.5X as wide as the frontovertex with smaller specimens generally having a relatively wider frontovertex and the scape varies from about 5.6-6.0X as long as wide.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Puntarenas, Res. Priv. Karen Mogensen, 9°52’N 85°03’W, 305m, 19-20.ii.2016 (J.S. Noyes) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Guanacaste, PN Bosque Diría, 10°10’N 85°34’W, 200m, 14-15.ii.2011 (J.S. Noyes); 2E , Puntarenas, Res. Priv. Karen Mogensen, 9°52’N 85°03’W, 305m, 17-18.ii.2011 (J.S. Noyes); 1E, Puntarenas, Res. Priv. Karen Mogensen, 9°52’N 85°03’W, 305m, 23- 24.ii.2013 (J.S. Noyes); 1E, Puntarenas, same data as holotype . Holotype in MZUCR, paratypes in NHMUK .

COMMENTS. The species is named in honour of Luis Angel Mena Aguilar , biologist and one of the principal founders of ASEPALECO, a local environmental organisation and owners of Reserva Privada Karen Mogensen and type locality of the new species .