Ammonoencyrtus galas, 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 : 527-529

Ammonoencyrtus galas sp.nov.

(Figs 1329-1333; Hab. E 192)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.4-2.1mm): area above mouth margin dark brown (Fig. 1332); mesoscutum and scutellum dark brown with a metallic sheen; all coxae dark brown; legs largely dark brown; hind basitarsus orange-brown; head (Fig. 1332) about 5X as wide as frontovertex; antenna (Fig. 1331) with dorsal margin of pedicel not produced in lateral view; sensory part of clava nearly 2X as long as straight part of ventral margin; frontovertex (Fig. 1332) with fewer than 15 setae, excluding those along eye margin; scutellum mostly with uniform conspicuous, polygonally reticulate sculpture that is clearly deeper than shallower imbricate-reticulate sculpture of mesoscutum, only extreme side and apex smooth and shiny; exserted part of ovipositor much shorter than mid tibial spur. Male: Unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 2.08mm; excluding ovipositor, 2.02mm (CPD). Head generally slightly dusky orange with a very weak purple and brassy sheen; area above transfacial carina with a relatively strong purple sheen mixed blue and violet, this continuing laterally between eye and scrobal margin onto upper gena; temple with a moderate purple and violet sheen; area above mouth margin (Fig. 1332) dark brown; setae on frontovertex, temple, gena and interantennal prominence dark brown; radicle orange-brown, apex dark brown; antenna (Fig. 1331) mostly dark brown with a brassy sheen, but middle of scape externally with an elongate orange stripe; thorax with pronotum orange, neck largely dark brown; propleuron and prosternum dark brown; mesoscutum dark brown with a strong purple and blue sheen and an underlying, slightly weaker metallic green sheen; tegula dark brown with a weak brassy and purple sheen; axilla dark brown with a weak brassy sheen; scutellum dark brown with a slight brassy and coppery sheen, more purplish proximally, side and apex with a strong purple sheen; mesopleuron dark brown with a mixed purple and dark blue sheen; fore coxa dark brown; fore femur dark brown, mixed orange towards apex, tibia proximally brown, distally pale orange, tarsus largely pale dusky orange, but basitarsus orange-brown and apical tarsomere dark brown; mid coxa dark brown; mid femur dark brown, extreme base pale orange, proximal half of tibia dark brown, apex pale orange, spur and tarsus dusky pale orange, apical tarsomere dark brown; hind coxa dark brown; hind femur dark brown, tibia mainly very dark brown, almost black, with apex very pale orange, tarsus largely dusky pale orange with basitarsus and two apical tarsomeres dark brown; fore wing (Fig. 1334) mostly infuscate but hyaline towards base and at apex, venation dusky pale orange, marginal vein dark brown, apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a fairly straight hyaline streak (Fig. 1329); hind wing hyaline; propodeum dark brown with a weak brassy lustre, side with a relatively strong purple and brassy lustre, setae outside spiracle dark brown and moderately conspicuous; gaster dark brown with a mixed purple, coppery and brassy sheen, with some metallic green and blue reflections on side and ventrally; gonostylus slightly dusky pale orange.

Head (Fig. 1332) about 5.0X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.5X as long as deep, frontovertex evenly convex from occiput to top of scrobes then virtually straight to mouth margin with interantennal prominence only slightly protuberant; vertex with a distinct, elongate, oval, shiny bottomed depression adjacent to eye margin between posterior ocellus and occipital margin; ocelli forming an angle of about 65°; frontovertex about 3.2X as long as broad, narrowest slightly in front of anterior ocellus, slightly shiny with very shallow, fine, polygonally-reticulate sculpture of cell diameter about 0.5X diameter of eye facet, completely smooth above transfacial carina; temple and gena with longitudinally elongate, imbricate-reticulate sculpture of similar depth to that on frontovertex; eye reaching occipital margin, naked; occipital margin sharp, carinate; narrowest point between eye and transfacial carina about 3X diameter of facet; narrowest point of connection of interantennal prominence to frontovertex carinate and much less than 0.2X diameter of anterior ocellus; area immediately above transfacial carina with about 17 setae; antenna as in Fig. 1331; scape subtrapezoidal with proximal part of dorsal margin 0.6X length of distal part and with the proximal part of the ventral margin about 1.6X as long as the distal part; distal part of dorsal margin of scape and dorsal margin of pedicel virtually flat but slightly concave and completely smooth and shiny; pedicel not produced dorsally, about 0.4X as wide as F1, setae uniform; F1 about 1.3X as long as F2 and subequal in width, remaining segments progressively narrower so that clava is about 085X as wide as F1; clava dorsally about as long as F3-F6 combined, sutures oblique, apex strongly obliquely truncate, sensory area about 1.8X as long as ventral margin; mandible with two teeth and a broad truncation. Relative measurements: HW 88, HH 74, FVL 56; FV 17.5, POL 8.5, OOL 0, OCL 7.5, AOL 10, EL 48, EW 44, MS 39, SL (dorsal margin) 60, SL (lamina) 66, SW 38.

Thorax with polygonally reticulate to imbricate-reticulate sculpture on pronotum and mesoscutum of similar depth and mesh size to sculpture on frontovertex; axilla with slightly deeper, slightly transversely elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture; scutellum with similar sculpture to axilla, but conspicuously deeper and more rounded; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.5X as broad as long; scutellum about as broad as long; mid tibia with a weak external carina in proximal half; hind femur about 4.1X as long as broad; fore wing venation and setation as in Figs 1329, 1331; area proximad of anal angle weakly hyaline; costal cell with 11 or 12 setae dorsally at apex; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a naked, hyaline streak (Fig. 1329); propodeum medially about 0.15X as long as scutellum, quite smooth but with a few shallow, longitudinal carinae posteriorly near middle, about 10 setae anterior to and outside spiracle. Relative measurements: FWL 109, FWW 49; HWL 82, HWW 27.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about half way to apex, without a distinct, posterior, median projection (mucro); last tergite about 0.7X as long as mid tibia, with apex weakly acute; ovipositor hardly exserted, the exserted part about 0.2X as long as mid tibial spur or less than 0.1X length mid tibia.

Paratype. Funicle with linear sensilla present only on F3-F6; hypopygium Fig. 1330. Relative measurements: OL 61.5, GL 19 [MT 45].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 1.42-2.08mm, the mesoscutum may be lacking an underlying metallic green sheen, the anterior part of the side of the scutellum may be strongly shining green and blue-green, the mid femur may be orange-brown; the gonostylus may be proximally orange-brown and the narrowest point of the connection of the interantennal prominence to the frontovertex may be subcarinate and about 0.3X as wide as the anterior ocellus.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Cartago, Madreselva, Los Lagos , LN 184450 550050, 2600m, 7.xi-5.xii.1994 (M.M. Chavarria) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Cartago, Hwy 2, km 95, 14.iv.1985 (L. Masner); 1E, Cartago, Hwy 2, km 96, 9°36’N 83°44’W, 3200m, 3-13.iv.1986 (H. Goulet, L. Masner); 1E, Cartago, PN Tapanti-Macizo de la Muerte, Send. a Rio Humo , LN 188100 560500, 1400-1500m, #56624. xii.1999 - i.2000 (M. Alfaro) . Holotype in MZUCR, paratypes in NHMUK .