Hebynthus himalia, 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 : 694-696

Hebynthus himalia sp.nov.

(Figs 1909-1915; Hab. E 283)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.2-1.6mm): antenna (Fig. 1913) with scape dark brown, paler apically; funicle pale brown, clava brown; coxae pale orange, legs otherwise more or less pale orange; fore wing (Fig. 1915) virtually hyaline, but weakly suffused pale yellow-brown; head (Fig. 1914) about 5X as wide as frontovertex; malar sulcus present; antenna (Fig. 1913) with scape about 6X as long as broad; pedicel about as long as F1-F2 combined; funicle with segments slightly longer than broad, F6 may be quadrate; linear sensilla only on F2-F6; sensory part of clava extending slightly more than 0.6X along ventral surface; fore wing (Fig. 1915) about 2.4X as long as broad; ventral surface of costal cell with only one complete line of setae; mid tibial spur slightly longer than basitarsus; ovipositor slightly exserted with exserted part about 0.4X as long as mid tibial spur; gonostylus about as long as mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.29mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.19mm (CPD).

Head mainly dark brown; frontovertex generally with a dull, purple and dark green sheen, above scrobes and scrobal area with a coppery sheen; temple and area between eye and scrobes with a fairly strong coppery and metallic green sheen; gena relatively dull coppery purple; frontovertex, gena and interantennal prominence with fairly inconspicuous dark brown setae; antenna (Fig. 1913) with radicle dark brown; scape dark brown, slightly paler orange-brown towards apex; pedicel dark brown, orange-brown apically and ventrally; funicle pale brown, clava brown; maxillary palpus pale orange; pronotum black with a mixed coppery and green sheen, coppery and brassy on side; propleuron and prosternum dark brown; mesoscutum with an overall, dark blue sheen with a very few green reflections, posterior margin dark brown with a slight coppery purple sheen; tegula dark brown with a slight brassy and purple sheen; axilla dark brown with a slight coppery purple sheen; scutellum dark metallic blue, vertical apex and side very shiny dark metallic blue mixed purple laterally; dorsum of thorax clothed with dark brown setae; metanotum dark brown with a weak coppery purple sheen; mesopleuron dark brown with a fairly strong purple sheen with some blue, violet, coppery and brassy reflections; mesosternum dark brown; fore coxa pale orange; fore femur, tibia and tarsus generally pale orange, femur with dorsal margin brown subapically, tibia with an incomplete, subbasal brown ring, apical tarsomere brown; mid coxa dark brown, dirty white towards apex; mid femur white proximally, pale orange distally, a little dusky dorsally in apical half, mid tibia pale orange, mixed brown in proximal one-third, spur and tarsus pale orange; hind coxa orange; hind femur orange, hind tibia orange brown with faint, incomplete brown rings at about one-third and two-thirds its length, tarsus brown; fore wing (Fig. 1915) virtually hyaline, but weakly suffused pale yellow-brown, hind wing hyaline, venation orange; propodeum dark brown with a weak brassy sheen, side dark metallic blue-green with about 8-10 conspicuous pale setae outside spiracle extending from anterior margin virtually to posterior margin; gaster dark brown, with a fairly strong purple and coppery sheen dorsally weakly mixed brassy, Gt1 dark, metallic blue, side of gaster with distinct metallic green, blue, brassy, purple and coppery reflections, venter slightly duller with mixed green, purple and blue, outer plates of ovipositor relatively dull coppery, purple and blue; gonostylus dark brown, extreme apex pale orange.

Head (Fig. 1914) about 5.2X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.9X as high as deep, anteriorly fairly evenly curved from occipital margin to mouth margin, weakly angled at top of scrobes, interantennal prominence hardly protuberant; occipital margin sharp, carinate; ocelli forming an angle of about 50°; frontovertex shiny, with fairly regular, moderately deep, fine, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size generally much smaller than eye facet; frontovertex with piliferous punctures shallow, 2 pairs of setae in front of anterior ocellus, a line of sparse setae along inner eye margin continued along lower eye margin; temple and gena more shiny than frontovertex, with conspicuous, coarse, longitudinally elongate, strigose to striate-reticulate sculpture; eye slightly overreaching occipital margin, virtually naked, but with short, inconspicuous setae that are each much shorter than diameter of facet, eye separated from scrobal margin by about diameter of ocellus, area between eye and scrobe with relatively, deep and coarse, transversely elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture; scrobes shallow, narrowly ∩-shaped, more or less meeting, with distinct, polygonally reticulate sculpture, weakly margined dorsally and laterally; interantennal prominence weak, dorsally rounded, sculpture on interantennal prominence similar to frontovertex; antenna as in Fig. 1913; scape subcylindrical, about 5.8X as long as broad; all funicle segments clearly longer than broad, segments larger and broader distad; clava clearly broadened, very slightly longer than F3-F6 combined, sutures strongly oblique, sensory area enlarged, extending ventrally about 0.65X length of clava, apex strongly obliquely truncate; malar sulcus present, but very inconspicuous; clypeal margin weakly emarginate medially; mandible with two acute teeth and a truncate upper tooth. Relative measurements: HW 70.5, HH 70, FV 13.5, POL 5.5, OOL 0.5, OCL 4, AOL 7.5, EL 50, EW 38, MS 28, SL 38, SW 6.5.

Thorax (Fig. 1912) in dorsal view with pronotum short, mostly hidden by head; pronotum dorsally with imbricate-reticulate to polygonally reticulate sculpture that is slightly shallower than sculpture on frontovertex, and of larger mesh; mesoscutum with polygonally reticulate sculpture that is of similar mesh size and not deeper than that on pronotum; axilla with polygonally reticulate sculpture that is about as deep as that on frontovertex; dorsal part of scutellum with conspicuously deeper, coarser and more regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture, vertical apex and side completely smooth and shiny; visible part of mesoscutum about 2.1X as broad as long; scutellum about as broad as long; fore wing with venation and distribution of setae as in Figs 1911, 1915, ventral surface of costal cell with only one complete line of setae; propodeum (Fig. 1912) medially about 0.13X as long as scutellum and with several longitudinal carinae and irregular reticulate sculpture medially. Relative measurements: FWL 81.5, FWW 34; HWL 62, HWW 17.5.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about 0.6X to apex; syntergum about 0.8X as long as mid tibia, with apex acute; ovipositor slightly exserted, the exserted part about 0.4X as long as mid tibial spur or about 0.2X mid tibia.

Paratype. Funicle with linear sensilla present only on F2-F6; gonostylus about as long as mid tibial spur; hypopygium Fig. 1910; ovipositor Fig. 1909. Relative measurements: OL 101, GL 34 [MT 85.5].

Variation. Females vary in length from 1.19-1.55mm, the mesoscutum may be dark, metallic green with weak coppery reflections, the scutellum may be dark metallic blue-green; the hind tibia may be almost completely pale orange with only very weak, incomplete, brown rings, the hind tarsus may be orange and the funicle segments may be subquadrate with F6 quadrate.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, San José, 26 km N San Isidro , 9°30’N 83°43’W, vi-viii.1992 (P. Hanson) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Heredia, 6km ENE Vara Blanca, 10°11’N 84°07’W, 2000m, 20/M/TN, iv.2002 (INBio-OET-ALAS); 1E, Heredia, Vara Blanca, i-ii.1990 (P. Hanson); 3E, San José, Zurqui de Moravia , 1600m, iii.1995 and vi.1995 (P. Hanson); 1E, San José, 2km W. Empalme, 2300m, i.1995 (P. Hanson); 3E, San José, 26 km N San Isidro, 9°30’N 83°43’W, 2100m, vi-viii.1992, iv-v.1993 and 11.v.1993 (P. Hanson); 1E, Cartago, PN Tapanti, Torre ICE #31 , LN 561800 188500, 1800m, #61071, viii-ix.2000 ( D. Rubí ); 1E, Cartago, Cerro de las Vueltes , 9°40’N 83°50’W, 18-20.v.1973 (J. Helava); 1E, Cartago, La Cangreja, 9°48’N 83¨58’W, viii-ix.1991 (P. Hanson); 1E, Cartago, PN Tapanti-Macizo de la Muerte, Send. Arboles Caidos , LN 561400 192500, 1500m, #61077, ix-x.2000 ( D. Rubí ) . Holotype in MZUCR, paratypes in NHMUK, MZUCR and CNC .

COMMENTS. Hebynthus himalia is fairly similar to maros , both species having the fore wing about 2.4-2.5X as long as broad, the head about 4X as wide as the frontovertex, the scape about 6-7X as long as broad, the sensory area of the clava extending at least half way along ventral surface, the ovipositor nearly 3X as long as the gonostylus and the gonostylus about as long as the mid tibial spur. Hebynthus himalia differs from maros in having the legs completely yellow to pale orange, the head as broad as long and F1 clearly smaller than F2, whilst in maros the legs are extensively marked dark brown, the head is slightly broader than long and F1 and F2 are more or less equal.