Dalek arax, 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 : 652-654

Dalek arax sp.nov.

(Figs 1785-1792; Hab. E 266, G 267)

Caldencyrtus canindo ; Trjapitzin & Ruiz Cancino, 2001:209-211. Unavailable name.

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.2-1.4mm): scape (Fig. 1790) yellow; mesoscutum dull metallic dark blue or green; all coxae dark brown, fore coxa sometimes partially pale orange; clypeal margin with a very short, broad, truncate, median lobe; OOL slightly greater than OCL; antenna (Fig. 1790) with scape about 4.6X as long as broad; funicle with all segments slightly longer than broad; linear sensilla only on F2-F6; mesoscutum with sculpture shallower than on scutellum; side and apex of scutellum completely smooth and shiny; mid tibial spur shorter than basitarsus; fore wing (Fig. 1788) about 2.6X as long as broad; propodeum with about 15 setae around spiracle; apex of syntergum angular; ovipositor longer than mid tibia, exserted part about 0.6X as long as mid tibial spur; gonostylus longer than mid tibial spur. Male (length about 1.2mm): generally very similar to female but for slightly wider frontovertex, higher placement of antenna and structure of antenna (Fig. 1791) and genitalia (Fig. 1786).

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.38mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.31mm ( CPD) .

Head generally black with a coppery sheen; ocellar area metallic dark green and slightly brassy; frontovertex, gena and interantennal prominence with inconspicuous, brown setae; antenna (Fig. 1790) with radicle dusky yellow, apex brown; scape yellow; pedicel and flagellum mostly brown with venter of pedicel and F1-F5 mixed pale orange-brown; maxillary palpus virtually white; thorax generally dark brown to black, pronotum with a moderate coppery purple sheen; mesoscutum dull, metallic dark blue with some violet and purple reflections posteriorly, posterior margin narrowly coppery purple; tegula dark brown with a coppery purple sheen; axilla dark purple-brown with a coppery purple sheen; scutellum coppery purple in basal 0.7X, apex and side strongly shining metallic dark green, brassy and coppery; mesoscutum and scutellum clothed with fairly inconspicuous dark brown setae; metanotum dark purple-brown; mesopleuron very dark brown, with a brassy sheen mixed with some coppery purple; mesosternum dark brown; all coxae dark brown; fore femur dark brown in proximal 0.7X, apex pale orange, tibia and tarsus pale orange, tibia with a weak indication of a pale brown subbasal ring, apical tarsomere a little dusky; mid femur virtually white in proximal 0.3X, extreme apex pale orange, otherwise dark brown, tibia pale orange with a narrow, brown, subbasal ring, spur and tarsus very pale orange, apical tarsomere very slightly dusky; hind femur dark brown with extreme apices pale orange, tibia largely pale orange with a brown subbasal band to about 0.7X, tarsus pale orange-brown, apical tarsomere orange-brown; wings (Fig. 1788) hyaline; propodeum dark brown, with a weak purple and brassy sheen, side mainly with a dull metallic dark green and coppery purple sheen with about 15 conspicuous, translucent, silvery setae outside spiracle, extending part of the way down side of propodeum and towards posterior margin; gaster dark brown, with a distinct coppery purple sheen, dorsal part of Gt1 with a distinct dark blue sheen mixed with some purple, side of gaster with a mixed metallic green, brassy and coppery sheen; gonostylus dark brown.

Head (Fig. 1789) about 2.4X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.6X as high as deep; occipital margin sharp, strongly carinate; ocelli forming an angle of about 95°; frontovertex with irregular, shallow, polygonal sculpture, in ocellar area of mesh size smaller than eye facet, generally subequal or conspicuously larger in front of anterior ocellus; frontovertex with piliferous punctures shallow and indistinct, 2 slightly in front of anterior ocellus and another pair beyond these, a line of sparse setae along inner eye margin continued along lower eye margin on to gena; interantennal prominence with a few inconspicuous setae; temple and gena virtually completely smooth and shiny, posteriorly with some extremely shallow, longitudinally elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture of relatively large mesh; eye virtually reaching occipital margin, separated by much less than 0.5X diameter of facet, clothed with fairly conspicuous setae, each nearly as long as diameter of facet, separated from scrobal margin by slightly less than diameter of ocellus, area between eye and scrobe partly with shallow, transversely elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture, completely smooth towards gena; scrobes shallow, more or less ∩-shaped, meeting dorsally, very weakly margined dorsally and laterally; interantennal prominence shallow, dorsally rounded; antenna as in Fig. 1790; scape subcylindrical, about 4.6X as long as broad, dorsal margin straight; all funicle segments slightly longer than broad, becoming slightly broader distad; clava hardly enlarged, about 1.1X as wide as F6 and about as long as F4-F6 combined, outer suture very slightly oblique, sensory area slightly enlarged, but hardly extending along ventral surface giving apex a weakly truncate or rounded appearance; malar sulcus absent; clypeal margin (Fig. 1789) with a very short, broad, virtually truncate median lobe; mandible with two acute teeth and a broad, truncate, upper tooth. Relative measurements: HW 71, HH 63, FV 30, POL 13, OOL 3.5, OCL 2.5, AOL 7, EL 42.5, EW 34, MS 20, SL 32, SW 7.

Thorax in dorsal view with pronotum clearly visible behind head, its posterior margin concave, with polygonally reticulate sculpture that is generally similar to that on anterior part of frontovertex; mesoscutum with slightly irregular, polygonally reticulate sculpture that is similar to that on pronotum but of smaller mesh and posteriorly a little deeper and coarser; axilla with transversely elongate, polygonally reticulate to imbricate-reticulate sculpture that is of similar depth to that on posterior part of mesoscutum; scutellum dorsally convex, in proximal 0.7X or so with similar sculpture to that on posterior part of mesoscutum, but clearly coarser, of smaller mesh and deeper, apical 0.3X completely smooth and shiny, this smooth area extending slightly more anteriorly in middle; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.5X as broad as long; scutellum about 1.1X as long as broad, apex not flange-like; fore wing with venation and distribution of setae as in Figs 1788, 1792; costal cell with a single line of setae dorsally in apical 0.5X or so; mid tibial spur shorter than basitarsus; propodeum medially about 0.17X as long as scutellum, with about 9 or 10 longitudinal irregular carinae and some irregular, shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture, otherwise virtually smooth; side clearly carinate posteriorly above hind coxa, but without a tooth behind spiracle. Relative measurements: FWL 68, FWW 26; HWL 48, HWW 11.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about 0.8X to apex; syntergum about 0.8X as long as mid tibia, with apex angular but not acute, ovipositor clearly exserted, the exserted part about 0.6X as long as mid tibial spur or nearly 0.2X as long as mid tibia.

Paratype. Funicle with linear sensilla only on F2-F6; hypopygum Fig, 1787; ovipositor Fig. 1785. Relative measurements: OL 91, GL 27 [MT 63, MTS 15.5].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 1.23-1.35mm, the mesoscutum may be dull, metallic dark green with some coppery reflections posteriorly, the fore coxa may be partially pale orange, especially towards apex and ventrally, Gt1 of the gaster may be metallic blue-green, the mesoscutum may be about 1.7X as broad as long, the propodeum may have carinae obscured by conspicuous polygonally reticulate sculpture and there may be a very short, triangular tooth visible on carina above hind coxa and the fore wing varies from 2.5-2.6X as long as broad.

Male: length 1.21-1.24mm.

Generally, very similar to female but for slightly wider frontovertex, higher placement of antenna and structure of antenna and genitalia. Frontovertex about 0.5X head width; antenna as in Fig. 1791; antennal torulus about 2X its own length from mouth margin, its lower margin slightly below lower eye margin; phallobase (Fig. 1786) with each digitus about 1.4X as long as broad,

with a single apical tooth and a short, outer seta; aedeagus with apex acute. HW 67, FV 32.5, MT 59, AL 30.

DISTRIBUTION. Mexico, Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown, but some of the type series was collected from Psidium guajava L. ( Myrtales : Myrtaceae ) infested with Triozoida limbata (Enderlein) ( Hemiptera : Triozidae ).

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Puntarenas, San Vito, El Ceibo Gdns, on Psidium guajava inf. with Triozoida limbata , 11.v.1989 (D. Hollis). Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Guanacaste, ZP Nosara, File Maravilla, LN 221350 381700, 800m, #66663, xi-xii.2001 (I. Jiménez); 2E, Guanacaste, PN Bosque Diría, 10°10’N 85°34’W, 200m, 14-15.ii.2011 (J.S. Noyes); 10E, 3G, Puntarenas, same data as holotype; 2E, Puntarenas, PN Corcovado, Cerro Mueller, LS 273200 521500, 744m, 6.xi.2001 and xii.2001 - ii.2002 (J. Azofeifa). Holotype in MZUCR, paratypes in MZUCR, USNM and NHMUK.

Non type material. MEXICO, 3E, Tam., G. Farias Res., El Cielo, Canindo, ex Psidium guajava , 14.vii.1995, 16.vii.1995 and 19.vii.1995 ( V. Trjapitzin ); 1E, Tam., G. Farias Res., El Cielo, Valle de Ovnis y Arroyd, 20.vii.1995 ( V. Trjapitzin ). Material in NHMUK.

COMMENTS. This species was described earlier as Caldencyrtus canindo by Trjapitzin & Ruiz Cancino (2001) but this name is unavailable because, in the original description, it was not accompanied by a statement indicating the name and location of the type depository (ICZN, 1999 Article 16.4.2). The authors were informed of this at the time but they failed to rectify the error. I have compared the material listed above from Mexico and collected alongside the “ type ” material of canindo recorded in the original description and it agrees well with the type material of arax . I am therefore proposing the name arax as the valid name for this species in order to prevent any future confusion. The species was originally placed in Caldencyrtus by Trjapitzin & Ruiz Cancino (2001) on my advice but I now consider it better placed in Dalek as discussed above (see p. 636).