Cheiloneurus aunes, 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 : 370-372

Cheiloneurus aunes sp.nov.

( Figs 940-944)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.4-1.5mm): body generally pale orange, with some dark brown to black areas with a weak to moderate metallic sheen on head, mesoscutum, and gaster; mouth margin orange, temple and gena with a diagonal, brown streak; antenna ( Fig. 940) with scape mostly pale orange with ventral margin brown; pedicel pale orange with a longitudinal, dark brown streak; funicle generally orange to orange-brown, F6 dark brown; clava dark brown; mesoscutum with silvery setae in posterior one-third to one-half; coxae white; legs mostly pale orange to dark brown; fore wing mostly infuscate, basal cell mostly hyaline, a small hyaline area at apex of venation, another opposite and a small triangular area at apex; head ( Fig. 942) about 5.5-6X as wide as frontovertex, in facial view very slightly longer than broad, subcircular to subrectangular, genae evenly and weakly curved, converging, more curved inwards near mouth; frontovertex with two to four setae medially between anterior ocellus and scrobes; eye separated from scrobe by about 2X diameter of anterior ocellus, area between eye and scrobe smooth and shiny; scrobes deep and sharply margined, weakly so medially, carinate below eye, interantennal prominence with about 20 inconspicuous setae, dorsally rounded, without a median ridge; mandible tridentate; antenna ( Fig. 940) with scape about 2.5-2.6X as long as broad; all funicle segments transverse, F1 may be slightly longer than broad; linear sensilla on F4-F6; clava 3-segmented, slightly longer than funicle; sensory area enlarged, extending ventrally about 0.5X length of clava, apex obliquely truncate; head width nearly as much as flagellum length; mesoscutum ( Fig. 941) in anterior two-thirds with fine longitudinally elongate sculpture, posterior part with polygonally reticulate sculpture of more rounded cells; scutellum with a distinct, apical tuft of setae; wings fully developed, fore wing ( Fig. 944) about 2.5-2.6X as long as broad; parastigma strongly downcurved; costal cell dorsally with one or two setae at apex, ventrally with an almost complete line of setae which is interrupted above parastigma; area below proximal part of parastigma with a group of about ten stronger setae and below this another group of 15 finer setae; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a naked hyaline area that hardly continues into disc ( Fig. 943); apical bristle of postmarginal vein about 0.6X as long as marginal vein; mid tibial spur about as long as basitarsus; propodeum with about 12 inconspicuous setae adjacent to spiracle, side naked; syntergum about as long as mid tibia with apex rounded; ovipositor about 3.5-4.0X gonostylus or about 1.7X as long as mid tibia; gonostylus about 1.3-1.7X as long mid tibial spur; exserted part of ovipositor about as long as mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.41mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.27mm (CPD).

Head generally pale orange with a weak brassy sheen; temple and gena with a diagonal, pale brown line from occipital margin to scrobal margin below torulus; area between eye and torulus with a weak purple sheen; temple and upper gena with a slightly stronger purple and pale blue sheen, brown area with an additional pale green sheen, lower gena with a slightly weaker lustre than temple; frontovertex clothed with inconspicuous, translucent white setae, these continued as a line below eye and scattered on gena and interantennal prominence; antenna ( Fig. 940) with radicle mostly pale orange, apex narrowly dark brown; scape mostly very pale orange, white towards apex, ventral margin dark brown from base to about 0.6X along its length, dorsal margin dark brown at extreme apex; pedicel pale orange with a dark brown streak along its length internally; F1-F5 mostly pale orange, but marked pale brown internally and ventrally, F6 dark brown, clava dark brown; maxillary palpus white; pronotum pale orange with weak brassy and coppery reflections, neck narrowly brown; propleuron and prosternum pale orange; mesoscutum in pale orange in anterior three-fifths with weak brassy and coppery reflections and clothed with black setae, posterior two-fifths brown with a dark metallic blue and green sheen with some purple reflections and clothed in silvery setae that are a little more dense laterally, mixed with a few black setae medially, posterior margin pale orange with a slight brassy sheen; tegula pale orange with apex slightly dusky; axilla pale orange with a few weak coppery reflections, clothed with black setae; scutellum pale orange with weak coppery reflections, with a few, translucent golden brown setae mixed with black setae, subapical tuft black; metanotum pale orange; mesopleuron pale orange, a little dusky along posterior margin, with weak a brassy sheen, mixed purple along posterior margin; mesosternum pale orange; fore coxa white; fore femur mostly white, very pale orange towards apex, mid tibia and tarsus very pale orange; mid coxa white; mid femur mostly white, extreme apex very pale orange, slightly dusky dorsally, tibia very pale orange in proximal half, slightly dusky proximally, apical half of tibia, spur and tarsus very pale yellow, virtually white; hind coxa white; hind femur white at base, very pale orange towards apex, extreme apex dark brown, tibia very pale yellow, virtually white with a dark brown mark at extreme base, tarsus virtually white; fore wing ( Fig. 944) mostly infuscate, largely hyaline towards base and at apex, submarginal vein pale orange otherwise venation pale brown; propodeum medially pale orange with a weak brassy sheen, laterally brown with a weak purple sheen, metallic green around spiracle, side metallic green, about 10 silvery setae in a line outside spiracle; gaster mainly pale orange with a weak brassy sheen and green and purple reflections, gonostylus virtually white.

Head ( Fig. 942) in facial view about 6X as wide as frontovertex with gena rounded and converging, in profile about 1.6X as high as deep, frontovertex slightly angled level with posterior ocelli, then weakly and evenly curved to top of scrobes, strongly angled at top of scrobes towards mouth margin with scrobal margins convex and interantennal prominence slightly protuberant; occipital margin sharp, weakly carinate; ocelli forming an angle of about 40°; frontovertex fairly smooth with shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size less than diameter of eye facet, more anterior areas with slightly larger mesh, subequal to diameter of facet; area immediately above scrobes with relatively deep, coarse, transversely elongate, polygonally reticulate to imbricate-reticulate sculpture, area outside this between eye and scrobe completely smooth and shiny; temple and upper gena very shiny with shallow, longitudinally elongate imbricate-reticulate to strigose sculpture, lower gena with sculpture of similar depth to that immediately above scrobes, but a little finer; scrobes smooth; interantennal prominence virtually smooth but with shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture; narrowest part between eye and scrobal margin about as 2X wide as diameter of anterior ocellus, scrobes deep, meeting dorsally, sharply margined, weakly so dorsally, but carinate below eye, very broadly ∩-shaped, interantennal prominence dorsally broadly rounded, without a median ridge; antenna as in Fig. 940; scape broadened and flattened, broadest about middle, about 2.6X as long as broad; all funicle segments transverse, segments clearly larger and wider distally, linear sensilla present only on F4-F6; clava clearly broadened, about 1.5X as wide as F6, a little longer than the funicle, sensory area slightly enlarged, extending about 0.5X along ventral surface, giving it a strongly obliquely truncate appearance; eye reaching occipital margin, with inconspicuous setae, each clearly shorter than diameter of facet; inner eye margins clearly diverging, wider in front of anterior ocellus; malar sulcus absent; clypeal margin medially quite strongly concave; mandible with 3 acute teeth, upper tooth slightly shorter; apical segment of maxillary palpus not enlarged, hardly longer than radicle. Relative measurements: HW 73, HH 75, FV 12, POL 4, OOL 0, OCL 5.5, AOL 9.5, EL 51.5, EW 36, MS 37, SL 41, SW 16.

Thorax ( Fig. 941) with pronotum hardly exposed behind head and about 0.6X as long as mesoscutum; pronotum with shallow, imbricate-reticulate to polygonally reticulate sculpture that is clearly deeper than that in ocellar area; mesoscutum in anterior two-thirds with fairly regular, fine, longitudinally elongate, striate-reticulate sculpture that is hardly deeper than that on pronotum, less elongate medially, remainder with more shallow polygonally reticulate sculpture; axilla and scutellum with polygonally reticulate sculpture that is slightly coarser than that on anterior part of mesoscutum and perhaps a little deeper; visible part of mesoscutum about 2X as broad as long; scutellum about as 1.1X as broad as long, with a sparse, but distinct subapical tuft, setae mostly about 0.3X as long as scutellum; hind femur about 4.7X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 943, 944; costal cell with 1 or 2 setae dorsally at apex; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a distinct, naked, hyaline streak ( Fig. 943); mid tibia with a weak external carina proximally; propodeum ( Fig. 941) medially about 0.13X as long as scutellum and smooth. Relative measurements: FWL 96, FWW 37; HWL 80, HWW 19.5.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about 0.4X to apex; syntergum about as long as mid tibia, with apex weakly angular, more or less rounded; ovipositor exserted, the exserted part about as long as mid tibial spur or 0.3X as long as mid tibia; gaster without “gland-like” structures on Gt1 or Gt5. Relative measurements: OL 52, GL 13 [MT 31].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from about 1.4-1.5mm, the mesoscutum may have silvery setae in the posterior one-third to one-half, the head varies from about 5.5-6X as wide as the frontovertex, the frontovertex may have two to four setae medially between anterior ocellus and scrobes, all funicle segments may be transverse or F1 may be slightly longer than broad, the fore wing varies from about 2.5-2.6X as long as broad, the ovipositor varies from about 3.5-4.0X as long as the gonostylus and the gonostylus varies from about 1.3-1.7X as long mid tibial spur.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Guanacaste, Sta Rosa NP, Sn. Emilio 6-C, 22.vi-13.vii.1985 (Janzen, Gauld) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Heredia, Santo Domingo, INBio Parque , LN 217300 526200, 1100m, #71481, 6.x.2002 (J. Azofeifa) . Holotype and paratype in NHMUK .

COMMENTS. Cheiloneurus pulvinariae Dozier (1925) , a hyperparasitoid recorded from soft scale ( Hemiptera : Coccidae ) in Puerto Rico may run to aunes with a little difficulty. The type material is poorly mounted on slides with the result that many important characters cannot be observed. However, judging by Dozier’s description and examination of slide mounted paratypes it seems likely that the mouth margin and temple are pale orange and without any dark markings. In the paratypes the scape is very slightly less than 3X as long as broad, but the clava is slightly shorter than the funicle but longer than F2-F6 combined. The clava is more slender than in aunes , being only about 2X as wide as the pedicel whereas in aunes the clava is very nearly 3X as wide as the pedicel. Further to this, in the fore wing of pulvinariae there are only about 9 setae arranged in two lines of uniform setae below the parastigma in which is weakly downcurved and not strongly widened and the apex of the fore wing has a distinct, triangular, hyaline area, whereas in aunes there are about 25 stronger and weaker setae arranged in two groups below the parastigma, the parastigma is very abruptly downcurved and widened proximally and the apex of the forewing is uniformly weakly infuscate without a hyaline area.

See also comments under lexovus (p. 431).