Cheiloneurus genua, 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 : 329-331

Cheiloneurus genua sp.nov.

( Figs 818-823; Hab. E 119)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 3.1-3.6mm): body mostly dark brown with a weak to moderate metallic sheen, some orange areas on head, pronotum, scutellum and mesopleuron; antenna ( Fig. 819) with scape white margined dark brown; pedicel and flagellum dark brown, distal segments of funicle orange or mixed pale orange; darker areas of mesoscutum with silvery setae; fore and hind coxae white, mid coxae dark brown; legs largely dark brown with pale orange areas; fore wing ( Fig. 820) mostly infuscate with basal cell hyaline except proximally, a small hyaline area at apex of venation and opposite on posterior wing margin, apex slightly paler; head ( Fig. 822) about 6X as wide as frontovertex, in facial view about 1.2X as long as broad, oval, genae converging, evenly weakly curved inwards towards mouth margin; frontovertex naked medially; eye separated from scrobe by about 1.7X diameter of ocellus, area between eye and scrobe completely smooth, scrobal margin carinate; interantennal prominence dorsally rounded with about 40 fairly conspicuous setae; mandible with two long, acute teeth and a slightly shorter, rounded, upper tooth; antenna ( Fig. 819) with scape about 5X as long as broad; all funicle segments clearly longer than broad; head width about 0.9X length of flagellum; linear sensilla on F4-F6; clava 3-segmented, about as long as F3-F6 combined; sensory area large and forming an oblique truncation, extending nearly 0.8X along ventral margin; mesoscutum ( Fig. 823) mostly with coarse, fine, polygonally reticulate sculpture, anteriorly and on sides sculpture fine longitudinally striate to striate-reticulate sculpture; scutellum with a distinct apical tuft of setae; wings fully developed; fore wing ( Fig. 820) about 2.7-2.8X as long as broad; parastigma very distinctly curved downwards; costal cell dorsally naked at apex and ventrally with a line of setae that is complete or interrupted above parastigma; area below proximal part of parastigma with a group of about 9-30 pale setae; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a naked hyaline area that extends a little way into disc ( Fig. 818); apical bristle of postmarginal vein about 0.5X as long as marginal vein; mid tibial spur slightly shorter than basitarsus; propodeum ( Fig. 823) with about 4 setae around each spiracle, side naked; syntergum about 0.7X as long as mid tibia; ovipositor ( Fig. 821) about 1.8X gonostylus or 2.9X as long as mid tibia; gonostylus about 5X as long as mid tibial spur; exserted part of ovipositor about 4.5X as long as mid tibial spur or longer than gaster. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 3.58mm; excluding ovipositor, 2.26mm (CPD).

Head mostly brown, mixed orange around top of scrobes and around toruli; occiput orange-brown, dark brown medially; frontovertex mostly shiny with a weak purple, blue and brassy sheen, ocellar area with a dark blue and purple sheen, area towards occipital margin with a stronger purple, coppery and brassy sheen; interantennal prominence with a metallic green and purple sheen, green stronger dorsally; middle part of clypeus dark metallic green, dark coppery on protuberant part; temple metallic blue-green and green; gena similar to temple but mixed distinctly brassy; area between eye and scrobe shining purple; antenna ( Fig. 819) with radicle pale orange-brown, distally dark brown; scape white, with proximal two thirds of ventral margin dark brown, upper margin internally dark brown, proximally paler brown; pedicel and flagellum dark brown, virtually black, F4 and F5 partially mixed pale orange; apical two segments of maxillary palpus dark brown, contrasting with off-white proximal segments; thorax mostly orange; posterior margin of pronotum translucent, neck dark brown; mesoscutum dark brown with a very slight brassy and purple lustre, antero-lateral parts less metallic and mixed orange, darker parts clothed with fairly evenly distributed silvery setae, these slightly more dense laterally along anterior edge of darker area, antero-lateral parts with slightly less dense, golden brown setae; tegula dark brown; axilla with golden brown setae; scutellum anteriorly with pale brown setae, posterior setae golden brown, subapical tuft conspicuous and black, a few anterior setae of subapical tuft off-white; metanotum dark orange-brown with a very slight purple sheen; mesopleuron orange weakly margined brown, anteriorly with a slight brassy, green and purple sheen, posteriorly with a very weak purple and brassy sheen; fore and hind coxae white, mid coxa dark brown; fore femur dark brown, largely pale brown internally and externally with a white, median stripe, tibia dark brown, tarsus dark brown; mid femur white, distal half with dorsal margin dark brown merging into an oblique subapical dark brown ring, distal apex white, mid tibia narrowly dark brown basally with a narrow, white subbasal ring, remainder dark brown, gradually becoming pale orange distally, spur mostly pale orange but dorsal margin brown; hind femur and tibia dark brown, femur with a weak, external, subapical orange area, hind tarsus orange-brown; fore wing ( Fig. 820) mostly infuscate, hyaline towards base; submarginal vein yellow-brown, rest of venation dark brown; propodeum dark purple-brown, side shining metallic blue and green; side of propodeum with 5 or 6 inconspicuous silvery setae in a line outside spiracle; gaster dark purple-brown, mixed coppery, purple and brassy, sides quite strongly metallic blue and green; visible part of gonostylus pale orange.

Head ( Fig. 822) about 6X as wide as frontovertex, in profile anteriorly virtually straight from top of scrobes to top of clypeus, about 2X as high as deep; occipital margin sharp, weakly carinate; occiput without a median groove above foramen; ocelli forming an angle of about 35°; frontovertex shiny, with shallow, fairly regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size slightly less than diameter of eye facet, a little coarser, of larger mesh and more transversely elongate above scrobes; scrobal area and mouth margin and gena with more irregular, shallower sculpture, interantennal prominence dorsally smooth and shiny; temple virtually entirely smooth, but posteriorly with shallow, longitudinally elongate sculpture; area between eye and scrobe smooth and shiny; scrobes deep, meeting dorsally, very broadly ∩-shaped, dorsal and lateral margins clearly defined, sharp, lateral margins clearly carinate, carina extending a little below top of torulus; antenna as in Fig. 819; scape hardly broadened and flattened, about 5X as long as broad; funicle with all segments clearly longer than broad, segments shortest and broadest distad; clava slightly broadened, about as long as F3-F6 combined, sutures very oblique, sensory area enlarged, extending ventrally about 0.75X along clava, giving it a distinct, strongly, obliquely truncate appearance; eye very nearly reaching occipital margin, separated by much less than diameter of facet, clothed with very short, inconspicuous setae, each much shorter than diameter of facet; inner eye margins slightly diverging anteriorly; malar sulcus present, but very inconspicuous; clypeus distinctly produced medially, rounded; mandible with two long, acute teeth and a slightly shorter, rounded, upper tooth; apical segment of maxillary palpus not conspicuously enlarged, about 1.5X as long as radicle. Relative measurements: HW 92, HH 113, FV 15.5, OD 7.5, POL 5.5, OOL 0, OCL 12.5, AOL 13.5, EL 71.5, EW 50, MS 45, SL 52, SW 10.

Thorax ( Fig. 823) with shallow, irregular, transversely elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture on pronotum, a little deeper than that on frontovertex and generally of mesh size much less than diameter facet; sculpture on most of mesoscutum similar to that on pronotum, but a little more regular and slightly deeper, shallower towards posterior margin; axillae with similar sculpture to anterior part of mesoscutum, but slightly deeper, that on scutellum similar but a little deeper and more longitudinally elongate, extreme apex and sides completely smooth and shiny; visible part of mesoscutum about 2.1X as broad as long; scutellum about as broad as long, with a very distinct subapical tuft, setae mostly about half as long as scutellum; hind femur about 5.3X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 818, 820; costal cell more or less naked dorsally at apex, at most with only a single seta; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a distinct, naked, hyaline streak ( Fig. 818); propodeum ( Fig. 823) with not more than five setae in a line outside spiracle, side completely smooth and shiny and demarked by a strong anterior carina outside spiracle, medially about 0.2X as long as scutellum, smooth and shiny. Relative measurements: FWL 93, FWW 34; HWL 81, HWW 20.5.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about half-way to apex; syntergum about 0.7X as long as mid tibia, with apex weakly angular; ovipositor strongly exserted, the exserted part longer than rest of gaster or about 1.6X as long as mid tibia.

Paratype. Antenna with linear sensilla present only on F4-F6; gaster without “gland-like” structures on Gt1 or Gt5; ovipositor Fig. 821. Relative measurements: OL 157.5, GL 87.5 [MT 54].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 3.10-3.58mm, F5 and F6 may be almost completely pale orange; the coppery area on the clypeus may extend laterally to below the torulus, the mesopleuron may be dark orange-brown, the head may be about 5X as wide as the frontovertex, the fore wing varies from 2.7-2.8X as long as broad, there may be a group of about 9-30 pale setae below the parastigma and the line of setae on the ventral surface of the costal cell may be complete or broadly interrupted above the parastigma.

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 Virola, FVK /01, i.1993 (INBio-OET) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Heredia, same data as holotype; 1E , Puntarenas, PN Piedras Blancas, Est. El Bonito, 8°43’N 83°13’W, 100m, 13-14.ii.2012 (J.S. Noyes) . Holotype in MZUCR, paratypes in NHMUK .