Cheiloneurus nebucha, 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 : 455-457

Cheiloneurus nebucha sp.nov.

(Figs 1157-1159)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.3mm): body mostly orange with posterior one third of mesoscutum and gaster dark brown, mouth margin dark brown, temple and gena with a diagonal brown streak, paler areas with a weak metallic sheen, darker areas with a weak to moderate metallic sheen; antenna (Fig. 1158) with scape mostly pale orange, ventral margin brown; pedicel pale orange with a dark brown streak; funicle mostly dark orange-brown, F6 dark brown; clava dark brown; mesoscutum with silvery setae in posterior one-third; fore and hind coxae white, mid coxa pale orange; legs otherwise white to pale orange, with some dark brown areas; fore wing (Fig. 1159) mostly infuscate with basal cell mostly hyaline, a small hyaline area at apex of venation, another opposite and apex with a moderately-sized, subtriangular hyaline area; head about 6.0X as wide as frontovertex, in facial view clearly broader than long, suboval, genae converging, evenly curved but more strongly curved inwards near mouth; frontovertex with two setae medially between anterior ocellus and scrobes; eye separated from scrobe by about 2X diameter of anterior ocellus, area between eye and scrobe completely smooth; scrobes shallow, not sharply margined; interantennal prominence triangular with about 10 inconspicuous setae; mandible tridentate; scape about 2.8X as long as broad; F1-F4 subquadrate, F5-F6 slightly longer than broad; linear sensilla on F5-F6; clava 3-segmented, slightly longer than F3-F6 combined; sensory area slightly enlarged, extending ventrally only about 0.2X length of clava, apex obliquely truncate; head width slightly less than flagellum length; mesoscutum anteriorly with fine, longitudinally elongate, striate sculpture, posteriorly with polygonally reticulate sculpture; scutellum with a distinct, apical tuft of setae; wings fully developed, fore wing (Fig. 1159) about 2.6X as long as broad; parastigma downcurved; costal cell dorsally naked save for an apical seta, ventrally with a line of setae that is interrupted more than once above parastigma; area below proximal part of parastigma with a line of about four or five setae; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a naked hyaline area that continues some way into disc (Fig. 1157); apical bristle of postmarginal vein about 0.8X as long as marginal vein; mid tibial spur slightly longer than basitarsus; propodeum with two or three silvery setae adjacent to spiracle, side naked; syntergum about 0.9X as long as mid tibia with apex angular; ovipositor about 3.6X gonostylus or about 1.5X as long as mid tibia; gonostylus about 1.4X as long mid tibial spur; exserted part of ovipositor about 0.9X as long as mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.25mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.16mm ( CPD) .

Head mostly pale orange; frontovertex orange-brown, ocellar area metallic green and blue-green with eye margins coppery purple, anterior part with a blue and green sheen, immediately above scrobes with a purple sheen; temple, gena and area below eye with a weak brassy, purple and green sheen; scrobal area with a very weak brassy and purple sheen, scrobes dorsally delimited by a narrow brown line; mouth margin dark brown; temple with a diagonal brown line from occipital margin towards torulus; frontovertex clothed with a few, inconspicuous, pale brown setae, a line of more conspicuous, translucent setae below eye; antenna (Fig. 1158) with radicle pale orange, apex brown; scape pale orange, extreme apex white, ventral margin narrowly brown, inner surface more extensively marked with brown and with a small, brown, subapical spot near dorsal margin; pedicel pale orange with an internal dark brown streak along its length; F1-F5 dark orange-brown, F6 and clava dark brown; maxillary palpus white; pronotum mostly pale orange, neck dark brown; mesoscutum orange in anterior two-thirds, posterior one-third dark brown with dark, metallic blue and purple reflections, posterior margin purple-brown with a slight brassy sheen, anterior part clothed in relatively sparse dark brown setae, posterior part with relatively dense silvery setae, mixed with a few dark brown setae; tegula orange, apex orange-brown; axilla and scutellum orange, clothed in golden brown to dark brown setae, scutellar tuft black; metanotum dusky orange; mesopleuron mainly orange with a weak brassy sheen, posterior half dark orange-brown with a purple and green sheen; fore coxa white; fore femur largely white, apically pale orange, dorsal margin orange-brown distally, tibia and tarsus pale orange; mid coxa mostly pale orange; mid femur white, narrowly brown towards apex, tibia pale orange with dorsal margin dark brown in proximal half, spur and tarsus pale orange; hind coxa white; hind femur pale orange, a ventral, dark brown mark at apex, tibia pale orange, a weak, dorsal, subbasal brown mark, tarsus very pale orange; fore wing (Fig. 1159) mostly infuscate, hyaline towards base and at apex; venation brown; propodeum pale orange medially, dark orange-brown laterally with a blue and purple sheen, side additionally metallic green, 2 translucent, white setae anterior to spiracle; gaster dark brown, with brassy, coppery, purple, and green reflections, more strongly coppery and purple dorsally, Gt1 with additional blue reflections, syntergum pale orange-brown; gonostylus pale orange.

Head about 6X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.3X as high as deep, anteriorly quite straight below top of scrobes, interantennal prominence not protuberant; occipital margin sharp, not carinate; ocelli forming an angle of about 50°; frontovertex quite shiny, with shallow, fairly regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size slightly smaller than diameter of eye facet; area immediately above scrobes virtually smooth; interantennal prominence with shallow sculpture, almost smooth, scrobes completely smooth, temple and posterior gena virtually smooth but with very shallow, irregular, longitudinally elongate sculpture, anterior gena with slightly deeper, irregular, reticulate sculpture; area between eye and scrobe completely smooth, about 2X as wide as diameter of anterior ocellus; scrobes shallow, not meeting dorsally, not sharply margined, very broadly ∩-shaped, interantennal prominence triangular and meeting frontovertex medially above; antenna as in Fig. 1158; scape broadened and flattened, about 2.8X as long as broad; funicle with F1-F4 subquadrate, relatively small and subequal, F5-F6 very slightly longer than broad, relatively large and subequal, segments broadest distad; funicle with linear sensilla present only on F5-F6; clava not broadened, slightly longer than F3-F6 combined, sutures oblique, sensory area enlarged, but extending ventrally only about 0.2X along clava, giving it an indistinct, obliquely truncate appearance; eye reaching occipital margin, appearing naked, but clothed with extremely short setae that are very much shorter than diameter of facet; inner eye margins clearly converging below anterior ocellus; malar sulcus absent; clypeal margin very slightly concave medially; mandible with 2 acute teeth and a rounded upper tooth; apical segment of maxillary palpus hardly enlarged, hardly longer than radicle. Relative measurements: HW 66, HH 60, FV 11, POL 5.5, OOL 0, OCL 3.5, AOL 8, EL 43, EW 34, MS 30, SL 34, SW 12.

Thorax with irregular, polygonally reticulate sculpture on pronotum that is similar to that on frontovertex in ocellar area; mesoscutum in anterior two-thirds with fine, longitudinally elongate, striate sculpture, posterior one-third with polygonally reticulate sculpture that is slightly shallower than that on pronotum; axilla and scutellum with similar sculpture to pronotum perhaps a little coarser, axilla posteriorly weakly sculptured, sculpture on scutellum laterally more longitudinally elongate; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.9X as broad as long; scutellum about 1.1X as broad as long with a distinct subapical tuft, setae mostly about half as long as scutellum; hind femur about 3.8X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 1157, 1159; costal cell naked dorsally at apex; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a distinct, naked, hyaline streak; mid tibia with a subbasal, external carina for about one-third its length; propodeum naked but for 2 setae anterior to spiracle, side completely smooth; propodeum medially about 0.11X as long as scutellum and more or less smooth. Relative measurements: FWL 82, FWW 31.5; HWL 65, HWW 15.5.

Gaster without “gland-like” structures on Gt1 or Gt5; hypopygium reaching about half-way to apex; syntergum about 0.9X as long as mid tibia, with apex weakly angular; ovipositor slightly exserted, the exserted part nearly as long as mid tibial spur or about one-quarter as long as mid tibia). Relative measurements: OL 41, GL 11.5 [MT 26.5].

Variation. Only holotype examined.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Heredia, La Selva BS, 10°26’N 84°01’W, 50-150m, fog Pentaclethra macroloba, FPM /04, 6.v.1993 (INBio-OET) . Holotype in NHMUK .