Dalek pomona, 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 : 660-662

Dalek pomona sp.nov.

(Figs 1818-1822)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.4-1.5mm): scape (Fig. 1819) dark brown with apex orange; mesoscutum dull metallic dark green; all coxae dark brown to black; clypeal margin (Fig. 1822) medially straight; OOL about equal to OCL; antenna (Fig. 1819) with scape about 3.6X as long as broad; all funicle segments slightly longer than broad; linear sensilla only on F2-F6; mesoscutum with sculpture slightly shallower than on scutellum (Fig. 1820); side and apex of scutellum completely smooth and shiny; mid tibial spur shorter than basitarsus; fore wing (Fig 1818) about 2.5X as long as broad; propodeum with about 25 setae around spiracle; apex of syntergum angular; ovipositor longer than mid tibia, exserted part about 0.5X as long as mid tibial spur; gonostylus longer than mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.44mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.34mm (CPD).

Head mainly black; frontovertex shiny with a metallic green sheen mixed with coppery purple on ridges between reticulate cells, area between posterior ocelli and occipital margin coppery purple; temple, gena, scrobes, interantennal prominence and mouth margin shining coppery purple, temple and gena very shiny; frontovertex, gena and interantennal prominence with fairly inconspicuous brown setae; antenna (Fig. 1819) with radicle orange-brown, scape dark brown in proximal half or so, apex pale orange, pedicel dark brown, ventrally pale orange, F1-F2 pale orange, F3 orange-brown, F4-F6 and clava brown; maxillary palpus very pale orange; pronotum black generally with a brassy sheen and some weak green, coppery and purple reflections; propleuron and prosternum black; mesoscutum overall dull, metallic, dark green, anteriorly with some weak coppery purple reflections; tegula dark brown with a slight brassy and purple sheen; axilla black with coppery, brassy and green reflections; scutellum dorsally much duller than mesoscutum, with a weak, dark, metallic green sheen and some coppery reflections, with a narrow, very shiny, coppery strip in posterior 0.4X, apical 0.3X of scutellum and side strongly shining, metallic green; mesoscutum clothed with inconspicuous, translucent pale brown setae, axilla and scutellum with dark brown setae; metanotum black, with a weak brassy and purple sheen; mesopleuron dark brown with a brassy sheen; mesosternum dark brown; fore coxa black; fore femur dark brown with apices pale orange, tibia pale orange with a subbasal pale brown ring, tarsus orange-brown, apical tarsomere dusky; mid coxa dark brown; mid femur white in proximal half, apex dark brown, tibia pale orange with a wide, dark brown subbasal ring extending to about 0.5X, spur and tarsus pale orange, apical tarsomere slightly dusky; hind coxa dark brown; hind femur pale orange in proximal half, apex dark brown, tibia dark brown, extreme base pale orange, tarsus dark brown; wings (Fig. 1818) hyaline, venation orange-brown; propodeum black with a weak brassy sheen, side dorsally with a blue-green sheen, about 25 conspicuous, long, silvery setae behind and outside spiracle extending most of the way to posterior margin; gaster dark brown, with a distinct coppery purple sheen, dorsal part of Gt1 with a strong metallic blue-green sheen in proximal two-thirds, side of gaster anteriorly purple, otherwise with a mixed metallic green, brassy and coppery sheen; gonostylus dark brown, extreme apex pale orange.

Head (Fig. 1822) about 2.5X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.6X as high as deep; occipital margin sharp, strongly carinate; ocelli forming an angle of about 110°; frontovertex shiny, with irregular, moderately deep, rounded to transversely elongate polygonally reticulate to imbricate-reticulate sculpture of mesh size generally subequal to, or clearly larger than eye facet; frontovertex with piliferous punctures very shallow, 3 setae in front of anterior ocellus, a line of sparse setae along inner eye margin continued along lower eye margin; interantennal prominence with two submedian lines of short, inconspicuous setae; temple and gena much more shiny than frontovertex, anterior part of temple and upper part of gena completely smooth, posterior part of temple and lower and posterior part of gena with very shallow longitudinally elongate, strigose to striate-reticulate sculpture; eye not quite reaching occipital margin, separated by about diameter of facet, with sparse, conspicuous setae that are about as long as diameter of facet, eye separated from scrobal margin by about 0.3X diameter of ocellus, area between eye and scrobe with shallow sculpture; scrobes very shallow, narrowly ∩-shaped, meeting, fairly smooth but with shallow, transversely elongate, imbricate-reticulate sculpture, extremely weakly margined dorsally and laterally; interantennal prominence weak, dorsally moderately acute, and virtually smooth; antenna as in Fig. 1819; scape slightly broadened and flattened, about 3.6X as long as broad; all funicle segments slightly longer than broad, subequal in length, segments slightly broader distad, linear sensilla present and conspicuous, only on F2-F6; clava hardly broader than F6, slightly longer than F4-F6 combined, sutures not oblique, sensory area slightly enlarged, extending ventrally about 0.22X length of clava, apex appearing rounded; malar sulcus absent; clypeal margin virtually straight medially; mandible with two acute teeth and a truncate, upper tooth. Relative measurements: HW 94, HH 80, FV 37.5, POL 16.5, OOL 4, OCL 4, AOL 10, EL 54, EW 41, MS 29, SL 41, SW 11.5.

Thorax (Fig. 1820) in dorsal view with pronotum short, mostly hidden by head; pronotum dorsally with imbricate-reticulate to polygonally reticulate sculpture that is about as deep as that on frontovertex above scrobes; mesoscutum with coarse, regular polygonally reticulate sculpture that is slightly deeper than sculpture on pronotum; axilla with polygonally reticulate sculpture that is finer and slightly shallower than that on mesoscutum; dorsal part of scutellum with similar sculpture to mesoscutum, but slightly deeper and of much smaller mesh size, vertical apex (approximately apical 0.3X) and side completely smooth and shiny, the smooth area extending medially about 0.4X into dorsal, sculptured part; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.5X as broad as long; scutellum convex, about as broad as long, apex very thin and flange-like, overhanging propodeum medially; fore wing with venation and distribution of setae as in Figs 1818, 1821; costal cell with a single line of setae dorsally in apical half; mid tibial spur shorter than basitarsus; propodeum (Fig. 1820) medially about 0.24X as long as scutellum and strongly sculptured, with several irregular carinae and sculpture medially, side with rough reticulate sculpture; side of propodeum sharp and carinate posteriorly above hind coxa, with a short, triangular tooth about half way to spiracle. Relative measurements: FWL 103.5, FWW 41; HWL 71, HWW 17.5.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about 0.8X to apex; syntergum about 0.75X as long as mid tibia, with apex angular, but not acute; ovipositor slightly exserted, the exserted part about 0.5X as long as mid tibial spur or about 0.2X mid tibia. Relative measurements: OL 100.5, GL 28 [MT 68, MTS 16].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 1.44-1.47mm, the femora may be paler than in the holotype with apical half or so of the mid and hind femora being almost completely pale orange with only the dorsal margin slightly dusky, otherwise little variation noted.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, San José, PN Braulio Carrillo, 9.5km E tunel, 1000m, i-iii.1990 (P. Hanson) . Paratypes: Puntarenas, 1E, San José, Zurqui de Moravia , 1600m, xi.1995 (P. Hanson) . Holotype and paratype in NHMUK .

COMMENTS. Dalek pomona is very similar to nationi and apart from the slightly broader scape (see key) can be distinguished from nationi in having the mid and hind femora paler with at least the proximal half pale orange whereas in nationi the mid and hind femora are almost completely dark brown. See also comments under thanatos (p. 640).