Trechnites spondes, 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 : 575-576

Trechnites spondes sp.nov.

(Figs 1500-1509; Hab. E 220, G 221)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.2-1.4mm): head with a moderate coppery purple sheen; mesoscutum with a weak brassy sheen; scutellum with a weak coppery purple to dark green sheen; hind tibia pale orange with a brown subbasal ring, tarsus pale orange; fore wing (Fig. 1505) hyaline; flagellum (Fig. 1500) with very dense short setae, generally at least 40 setae between pairs of longitudinal sensilla on clava with majority of setae not more than one-quarter of length of linear sensilla; mandible (Fig. 1507) with very short upper and lower teeth with a broadly truncate middle tooth; palp formula 3-3; mesoscutum and scutellum (Fig. 1508) with similar deep, punctate reticulate sculpture; notaular lines very short, barely visible at anterolateral corners of mesoscutum; fore wing (Fig. 1505) with linea calva closed by 2 lines of setae. Male (length about 0.8-1.0mm): pedicel (Fig. 1502) not swollen; digitus (Fig. 1504) with 3 apical teeth, aedeagus about 7X as long as broad and about 0.7X as long as mid tibia with apex obtusely rounded.

Female (holotype): length 1.31mm (CPD).

Head very dark brown to black with a moderate metallic coppery purple sheen, ocellar area with weak brassy reflections; antenna (Fig. 1500) with radicle brown; scape pale orange; pedicel pale brown, pale orange ventrally and narrowly at apex; flagellum pale brown, F5-F6 pale orange-brown; maxillary palpus pale brown; thorax dark brown to black with a weak to moderate metallic sheen; pronotum with a weak coppery purple sheen; mesoscutum generally with a weak brassy sheen; tegula and axilla with a weak coppery purple sheen; scutellum with a weak coppery purple sheen medially and at base, side and apex with a distinct, weak to moderate dark green sheen; mesopleuron generally with a brassy and purple sheen; mesosternum dark brown; fore and mid coxae dark brown, hind coxa brown with apex pale orange; each leg with femur dark orange-brown to dark brown, pale orange at extreme apex, tibia pale orange with a brown subbasal ring, tarsus pale orange, apical tarsomere slightly dusky; wings (Fig. 1505) hyaline; propodeum dark brown, with a slight brassy and purple sheen, side with a slightly brighter sheen; gaster dark brown, generally with a coppery purple sheen mixed with some brassy, green, blue and purple reflections; gonostylus brown.

Head (Fig. 1507) about 3.5X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.6X as high as deep, in profile clearly more or less evenly curved from occipital margin to top of scrobes, then virtually straight to mouth margin, with interantennal prominence hardly protuberant; occipital margin weakly rounded; ocelli forming an angle of about 70°; inner eye margins subparallel; frontovertex shiny, in ocellar area with fairly regular, moderately deep, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size slightly smaller than eye facet, in front of anterior ocellus with slightly transversely elongate, polygonally reticulate to imbricate-reticulate sculpture of similar mesh size to that in ocellar area; frontovertex with at least 10 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 quite shiny, with shallower, longitudinally elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture; eye slightly overreaching occipital margin, with conspicuous, dense, pale setae that are each about as long as diameter of facet; scrobes shallow, narrowly Λ-shaped, meeting, generally with sculpture similar to that on frontovertex, weakly margined dorsally and laterally; interantennal prominence weak, moderately acute dorsally, with shallow, regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture; antenna as in Fig. 1500; scape subcylindrical, about 5.6X as long as broad; F1-F3 subequal, smaller and subquadrate, F4- F5 larger and clearly a little longer than broad, segments slightly larger and broader distad; clava hardly broadened, about 1.2X as wide as F5, very slightly longer than F3-F5 combined, sutures very slightly oblique, apex with a slightly oblique apical truncation; malar sulcus absent; clypeal margin concave. Relative measurements: HW 70, HH 62, FV 20, POL 8, OOL 0.5, OCL 4.5, AOL 7.5, EL 49, EW 37, MS 21, SL 31, SW 5.5.

Thorax (Fig. 1508) in dorsal view with pronotum short, largely hidden by head, with posterior margin broadly and shallowly concave; pronotum dorsally with similar sculpture to that in ocellar area; mesoscutum similar sculpture to that in ocellar area but cells perhaps a little smaller; axilla and scutellum with similar sculpture to that on mesoscutum, extreme apex and side of scutellum with shallower sculpture and more shiny; visible part of mesoscutum about 2X as broad as long, notaular lines more or less absent; scutellum about 1.1X as broad as long; fore wing with venation and distribution of setae as in Figs 1503, 1505; propodeum (Fig. 1508) medially about 0.11X as long as scutellum and with distinct, fine, polygonally reticulate sculpture. Relative measurements: FWL 67, FWW 27.5; HWL 40, HWW 10.

Gaster with syntergum about as long as mid tibia, with apex broadly rounded.

Paratype. Funicle with linear sensilla present only on F4-F5; flagellum (Fig. 1500) with very dense short setae, generally at least 40 setae between pairs of longitudinal sensilla on clava with majority of setae not more than one-quarter of length of linear sensilla; mandible (Fig. 1507) with very short upper and lower teeth with a broadly truncate middle tooth; palp formula 3-3; apex of syntergum (Fig. 1509) with a pair of shallow subapical membranous invaginations; hypopygium Fig. 1501; ovipositor Fig. 1506. Relative measurements: OL 50, GL 20.5 [MT 72].

Variation. The overall length of the female varies from 1.19-1.35mm, the scutellum may be virtually entirely dark blue-green, otherwise very little variation noted in material examined.

Male: length 0.81-0.97mm.

Extremely similar to female but for structure of clava and genitalia. Antenna (Fig. 1502) generally unicolourous brown, only with apices of scape and pedicel paler orange-brown; hind tibia with proximal 0.5-0.7X dark brown; clava solid (Fig. 1502) with sensory area enlarged forming a distinct, oblique apical truncation, genitalia (Fig. 1504) with 3 apical teeth on digitus and aedeagus about 0.7X as long as mid tibia, slender with apex narrowly rounded. Relative measurements: AL 39, MT 57.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Heredia, 3km S. Puerto Viejo, OTS-La Selva , 100m, iii.1991 (P. Hanson) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1G, Alajuela, Reserva Rincon Forestal , Est. Caribe, 400m, 10°53’N 85°18’W, 19-20.ii.2003 (J.S. Noyes); 1E, Alajuela, PN Volcán Arenal, Sendero Pilón, LN 296100 457900, red de golpe, #53941, 29.x-5.xi.1999 (G. Carballo); 1E , Heredia, La Selva BS, 50m, 22.i-3.ii.1991 (J.S. Noyes); 3E, 3G, Heredia, Est. Biol. La Selva, 10°26’N 84°01’W, ii.2002 (J.S. Noyes); 1G, Heredia, Puerto Viejo, Est. Biol. La Selva , LN 264463 532850, 30-31.iii.2002 (J. Azofeifa); 1G , Puntarenas, PN Corcovado, Est. Sirena, 8°29’N 83°35’W, 0-10m, 19-20.ii.2004 (J.S. Noyes) . Holotype in MZUCR, paratypes in MZUCR and NHMUK .