Esphora cyllene, 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 : 675-677

Esphora cyllene sp.nov.

(Figs 1853-1860; Hab. E 276)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.0- 1.2mm): fore wing conspicuously infuscate below marginal vein (Fig. 1857); antenna (Figs 1859, 1860) with scape about 1.7-1.9X as long as broad; funicle with F1-F3 strongly transverse, subequal, F4-F6 larger, subquadrate, subequal; ovipositor (Fig. 1856) more than 3X as long as gonostylus and hardly exserted, the exserted part not more than 0.5X as long as mid tibial spur, gonostylus not more than 1.3X as long as mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.05mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.01mm (CPD).

Head generally dark brown to black with a weak metallic green and coppery purple sheen, a little stronger on temple and below eye; mouth margin with a hint of dark blue; frontovertex, gena and interantennal prominence with inconspicuous, translucent, pale brown setae; antenna (Fig. 1859) with radicle dark brown; scape dark brown with extreme apex very pale yellow; pedicel dark brown; funicle white with F3-F4 brown, clava dark brown; maxillary palpus white; thorax generally dark brown to black, pronotum with a moderate coppery purple sheen; mesoscutum relatively bright metallic dark green and brassy, mixed slightly coppery behind pronotum and near posterior margin; tegula dark brown with a weak coppery purple sheen; axilla dark purple-brown with a weak coppery purple sheen; scutellum generally relatively dull with a metallic coppery purple and dark green sheen, side and apex strongly shining green and blue-green; mesoscutum clothed with moderately conspicuous, translucent pale brown setae, scutellum with fairly inconspicuous, dark brown setae; metanotum dark purple-brown with a weak brassy sheen; mesopleuron dark brown, mainly with a slight coppery sheen, mixed metallic dark green posteriorly; mesosternum dark brown; all coxae dark brown; fore femur dark brown, tibia dark brown with extreme base and apical 0.25X pale orange, tarsus orange-brown with apical tarsomere brown; mid femur with proximal 0.4X white, apex dark brown, tibia with base dark brown, apical 0.4X white, spur and tarsus white to very pale orange, apical tarsomere pale orange-brown; hind femur with extreme base white, otherwise dark brown, tibia dark brown with extreme distal apex dusky white, tarsus dark brown; wings hyaline, fore wing (Fig. 1854) with a small, infuscate area below marginal vein (Fig. 1857); propodeum dark brown, with a weak purple and brassy sheen, side mainly metallic, dark green but mixed brassy, blue-green and coppery, about 6 or 7 conspicuous, translucent, silvery setae outside spiracle, not extending down side of propodeum; gaster dark brown, with a distinct coppery purple sheen, dorsal part of Gt1 with a distinct blue-green and brassy sheen, side of gaster with a mixed metallic green, brassy and coppery sheen; gonostylus dark brown, extreme apex pale orange.

Head (Fig. 1855) about 3.1X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.5X as high as deep; a somewhat obscure, oval, shallow depression adjacent to eye margin extending from level with posterior ocellus towards occipital margin; ocelli forming an angle of about 70°; frontovertex with slightly irregular, moderately deep, slightly coarse, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size generally very slightly smaller than eye facet, sculpture between posterior ocellus and occipital margin similar, but slightly coarser; frontovertex with piliferous punctures shallow, only 2 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 inconspicuous setae; temple with relatively shallow, longitudinally elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture of relatively large mesh; gena with similar sculpture to temple but of smaller mesh; eye virtually reaching occipital margin, naked, separated from scrobal margin by about 1.5X diameter of ocellus, area between eye and scrobe with transversely elongate, imbricate-reticulate sculpture; scrobes shallow, more or less ∩-shaped, meeting dorsally, very weakly margined dorsally and laterally; interantennal prominence shallow, dorsally rounded, separated from frontovertex, with fine, shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture; antenna as in Fig. 1859; scape strongly broadened and flattened, about 1.7X as long as broad; funicle with segments transverse to very slightly longer than broad, becoming broader and larger distally, F1-F3 subequal and smaller than F4-F6 which are subequal; clava hardly enlarged, only about 1.1X as broad as F6, about as long as F3-F6 combined, sutures not oblique, subparallel, sensory area slightly enlarged, extending about 0.3X along ventral surface giving apex a slightly, obliquely truncate appearance; clypeal margin virtually straight medially; mandible with two teeth and a broadly truncate, upper tooth. Relative measurements: HW 67, HH 60, FV 21, POL 10.5, OOL 1, OCL 5, AOL 9, EL 41, EW 32.5, MS 27.5, SL 35, SW 21.

Thorax (Fig. 1858) in dorsal view with pronotum hardly visible behind head, its posterior margin clearly concave; pronotum with polygonally reticulate sculpture that is generally of similar mesh size to that on frontovertex but clearly shallower; mesoscutum with fairly regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture that is clearly shallower than that on frontovertex; axilla with transversely elongate, polygonally reticulate to imbricate-reticulate sculpture that is of similar depth to that on mesoscutum; scutellum dorsally very flat, generally with slightly longitudinally elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture that is of finer mesh than that on mesoscutum and conspicuously deeper, sculpture medially and towards apex of more rounded cells, apex and sides completely smooth and shiny; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.6X as broad as long; scutellum about 1.2X as broad as long, apex not thin and flange-like; fore wing with venation and distribution of setae as in Figs 1854, 1857; costal cell with a single line of setae dorsally in apical 0.3X or so; mid tibial spur longer than basitarsus; propodeum medially about 0.09X as long as scutellum and with some shallow, irregular sculpture; side of propodeum (Fig. 1858) rounded posteriorly above hind coxa and without a tooth. Relative measurements: FWL 76.5, FWW 31; HWL 54.5, HWW 14.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about 0.5X to apex; syntergum about 0.6X as long as mid tibia, with apex angular, but not acute; ovipositor slightly exserted, the exserted part about 0.3X as long as mid tibial spur or 0.1X as long as mid tibia.

Paratype. Funicle with linear sensilla only on F4-F6; hypopygium Fig, 1853; ovipositor Fig. 1856. Relative measurements: OL 69, GL 20 [MT 57; MTS 20].

Variation. Females vary in length from 1.02-1.24mm, the apical half of the mid tibia may be very pale yellow, the head varies from about 2.6-3.1X as wide as the frontovertex, the ocelli form an angle of about 70-95°; F3 may have linear sensilla, the fore wing varies from about 2.3-2.5X as long as broad and the ovipositor varies from 1.2-1.4X as long as the mid tibia or 3.1-3.5X as long as the gonostylus.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, San José, Zurqui de Moravia , 1600m, viii.1995 (P. Hanson) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Guanacaste, Cacao (ACG), 1100 m, MT/YPT, 26.i-24.ii.1996 (J.S. Noyes); 1E , Heredia, Vara Blanca , vii-viii.1990 (P. Hanson); 3E , San José, Zurqui de Moravia , 1600m, vii.1991, ii-iv.1993 and i.1996 (P. Hanson); 1E , Cartago, PN Tapanti, 9°45’N 83°47’W, 1200-1500m. 20.iii-10.iv.2000 (C. Hansson, D. Rubí ); 1E , Puntarenas, Monteverde, St Luis Valley , 1400m, 17.viii.1986 (L. Masner); 1E , Limón, Valle del Silencio, Send. Ref. a Hoffman, LS 340500 577300, 2460m, TM, #74305, 19.iv-5.vii.2003 (R. González, D. Rubí, R. Delgado, M. Alfaro ) . Holotype in MZUCR, paratypes in NHMUK and CNC .