Sosara geras, 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 : 680-681

Sosara geras sp.nov.

(Figs 1868-1874; Hab. E 278)

Female (holotype): length, 1.11mm ( CPD) .

Head mainly black; coppery along occipital margin; frontovertex dull, dark metallic green with some weak coppery and brassy reflections; temple dull, dark, metallic green mixed coppery; gena coppery; scrobal area mostly coppery mixed with some dull, dark, metallic green; frontovertex, gena and interantennal prominence with fairly inconspicuous translucent, pale brown setae; antenna (Fig. 1874) with radicle dark brown; scape dark brown with a weak brassy, green and coppery sheen; pedicel brown, pale orange towards apex and ventrally; funicle pale orange; clava pale brown; maxillary palpus off-white; pronotum black generally with a weak brassy, green and coppery purple sheen; propleuron and prosternum black; mesoscutum moderately bright, metallic, dark green coppery purple immediately behind pronotum and narrowly margined coppery purple laterally and posteriorly; tegula dark brown with a weak coppery purple sheen; axilla black with a weak brassy sheen; scutellum medially black with a weak brassy sheen, mixed with a blue-green sheen laterally, side and apex shining dark, green; mesoscutum, clothed with fairly conspicuous, off-white, translucent setae, scutellum with conspicuous dark brown setae; metanotum dark purple-brown with a weak brassy sheen; mesopleuron dark brown, mainly with a weak brassy and purple sheen; mesosternum dark brown; all coxae dark brown; fore femur dark brown, tibia dark brown, apical one-third pale orange, tarsus dusky pale orange, apical segment brown; mid femur white in proximal one-third, apex dark brown, tibia with proximal half dark brown, apical half pale orange, spur pale orange, tarsus dusky pale orange; hind femur with proximal one-quarter white, remainder of leg dark brown; wings virtually hyaline, but fore wing (Fig. 1870) with a small infuscate area adjacent to marginal vein (Fig. 1868) and very weakly infuscate in apical half; propodeum dark brown with a weak brassy and green sheen, side with a strong, metallic green to blue-green sheen, dorsally mixed coppery and brassy, about 20 conspicuous, long, silvery setae behind and outside spiracle extending about half way to posterior margin; gaster dark brown, with a distinct coppery purple sheen, dorsal part of Gt1 with a strong metallic blue-green sheen, side of gaster anteriorly coppery, otherwise with a mixed metallic green, brassy and coppery sheen; gonostylus dusky pale-orange.

Head (Fig. 1873) about 2.6X as wide as frontovertex; ocelli forming an angle of about 90°; frontovertex shiny, with irregular, moderately deep, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size generally subequal to eye facet; piliferous punctures shallow, no 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, temple with shallow, longitudinally elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size about 2X diameter of eye facet, sculpture below lowest part of eye, on posterior part of temple and on gena similar but more longitudinally elongate and of slightly smaller mesh size; eye virtually reaching occipital margin, separated by about 0.5X diameter of facet, naked, separated from scrobal margin by about diameter of ocellus, area between eye and scrobe with some conspicuous, polygonally reticulate sculpture towards mid-line; scrobes short, separated by interantennal prominence, very weakly margined dorsally and laterally; interantennal prominence indistinct, dorsally meeting frontovertex, with very shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture; antenna as in Fig. 1874; scape strongly broadened, only about 1.3X as long as broad; F1 hardly longer than broad, remaining segments quadrate or transverse, segments broader distad; clava about 1.1X as broad as F6, and about as long as F4-F6 combined, sutures very slightly oblique, sensory area slightly enlarged, extending about 0.2X along ventral surface of clava giving it a slightly obliquely truncate appearance; malar suture very distinct immediately below eye. Relative measurements: HW 75, HH 71, FV 29, POL 14.5, OOL 4.5, OCL 6, AOL 9.5, EL 41.5, EW 31, MS 29, SL 35, SW 26.5.

Thorax (Fig. 1869) in dorsal view with pronotum short, largely hidden by head; pronotum with similar polygonally reticulate sculpture to that on temple; mesoscutum with slightly deeper, more regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture of smaller mesh; axilla with polygonally reticulate sculpture that is slightly deeper, more irregular and rougher, than that on mesoscutum; dorsal part of scutellum with similar sculpture to that on mesoscutum, but conspicuously deeper, apex and side completely smooth and shiny; visible part of mesoscutum about 2.2X as broad as long; scutellum dorsally only slightly convex, about as long as broad, apex not thin and flange-like; fore wing with venation and distribution of setae as in Figs 1868, 1870; costal cell with a single line of setae dorsally in apical two-fifths or so; mid tibial spur longer than basitarsus; propodeum medially about 0.14X as long as scutellum and more or less smooth, side with some shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture; side of propodeum (Fig. 1869) rounded posteriorly above hind coxa, without a posterior tooth. Relative measurements: FWL 92, FWW 33; HWL 61, HWW 14.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about 0.8X to apex; syntergum about 0.5X as long as mid tibia, with apex angular but not acute; ovipositor not exserted.

Paratype. Funicle with linear sensilla inconspicuous and present only on F2-F6; hypopygium Fig. 1871; ovipositor Fig. 1872. Relative measurements: OL 43, GL 10.5 [MT 65.5, MTS 25.5].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 0.96-1.22mm, F1 may be conspicuously smaller than F2, otherwise very little in material examined.

Male. Unknown.

HOSTS. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, San José, Zurqui de Moravia, 1600m, iii.1991 (P. Hanson). Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Guanacaste, Cacao (ACG), 1100 m, MT/YPT, 26.i-24.ii.1996 (J.S. Noyes); 1E, Guanacaste, Est. Cacao (ACG) , 10°55’N 85°30’W, 1100m, 19-20.ii.2005 (J.S. Noyes); 1E, Puntarenas, Est. Altamira, Send. Los Gigantes, LS 321800 572100, 1460m, #62126, iii-iv.2001 ( D. Rubí ). Holotype in NHMUK, paratypes in MZUCR and NHMUK.