Cheiloneurus munda, 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 : 317-319

Cheiloneurus munda sp.nov.

( Figs 785-791; Hab. E 116)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.4-1.5mm): body generally dark orange-brown to dark brown, axilla and scutellum orange, darker areas with a weak to moderate metallic sheen; antenna ( Fig. 790) with scape mostly white with dorsal and ventral margins largely brown; pedicel mostly dark brown; flagellum dark brown; mesoscutum with silvery setae in posterior half; fore and hind coxae white, mid coxa dark brown; legs mostly orange-brown to dark brown, fore and mid femora partially white; fore wing ( Fig. 788) mostly infuscate with basal cell mostly hyaline, a small hyaline area at apex of venation, apex slightly paler; head ( Fig. 785) about 4.6X as wide as frontovertex, in facial view slightly longer than broad, suboval, genae evenly curved and converging, slightly more curved inwards near mouth; frontovertex naked medially between anterior ocellus and scrobes; eye separated from scrobe by about 2X diameter of anterior ocellus, area between eye and scrobe with shallow sculpture; scrobes deep, margins rounded, interantennal prominence with about 25-30 inconspicuous setae and dorsally broadly rounded without a median ridge; mandible with one acute tooth and a broad, slightly concave truncation; antenna (Fig, 790) with scape about 3.3X as long as broad; F1 subquadrate, remaining segments clearly transverse; linear sensilla on F5-F6; clava unsegmented, slightly longer than F4-F6 combined; sensory area enlarged, extending ventrally about 0.4X length of clava, apex obliquely truncate; head width greater than flagellum length but less than flagellum and pedicel combined; mesoscutum ( Fig. 786) mostly with fairly regular polygonally reticulate sculpture, but anterior one-quarter with fine, transversely elongate sculpture; scutellum with a distinct, apical tuft of setae; wings fully developed, fore wing ( Fig. 788) about 2.4X long as broad; parastigma slightly downcurved; costal cell dorsally naked, ventrally with a line of setae in proximal 0.6X; area below proximal part of parastigma without any setae; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a naked hyaline area that continues a little way into disc ( Fig. 789); apical bristle of postmarginal vein about 0.6X as long as marginal vein; mid tibial spur very slightly longer than basitarsus; propodeum ( Fig. 786) with about eight inconspicuous setae adjacent to spiracle, side naked; syntergum about 0.8X as long as mid tibia with apex rounded; ovipositor ( Fig. 791) about 4.9X gonostylus or about 1.1X as long as mid tibia; gonostylus about 0.8X as long mid tibial spur; ovipositor not exserted. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, 1.53mm (CPD).

Head mainly brown; scrobal area orange, area above base of mandible mixed orange; area between eye and occipital margin metallic blue and green; occipital margin dull, dark, metallic blue; area between occipital margin and posterior ocelli metallic green and purple; a weak metallic blue and purple sheen between posterior ocelli; frontovertex otherwise with a mixed pale blue, purple and brassy sheen; area between eye and scrobe brassy, this delimited laterally by a metallic purple line; temple and upper gena with a distinct green, blue, brassy and purple sheen, lower gena similar, but relatively dull; mouth margin with a purple sheen and coppery and brassy reflections; a very narrow metallic blue line virtually connects lower margins of toruli; interantennal prominence dorsally with a weak purple and green sheen otherwise with a weak brassy and green sheen; frontovertex clothed with inconspicuous, pale brown setae, these continued as a line below eye; gena and interantennal prominence with relatively dense, scattered, short, pale brown setae; antenna ( Fig. 790) with radicle mostly pale orange, apex narrowly dark brown; scape mostly white, ventral margin dark brown from base to about 0.75X along its length, inner surface more extensively dark brown, dorsal margin dusky orange internally; pedicel dusky orange, dark brown dorsally; flagellum dark brown; maxillary palpus virtually white, terminal segment brown; pronotum mostly orange, neck dark brown; propleuron and prosternum orange; mesoscutum dark brown, in anterior half with a weak brassy sheen and weak green reflections and clothed in pale brown setae, posterior half with a dark blue, purple and green metallic sheen and clothed in silvery setae, posterior margin dark purple-brown with a slight brassy sheen; tegula brown with a weak purple and brassy sheen; axilla orange-brown with a weak purple and brassy and sheen; scutellum in anterior half orange with very weak brassy reflections and clothed in translucent golden brown setae, posterior half orange-brown with dark brown to black setae, subapical tuft black; metanotum dark brown; mesopleuron orange-brown, anteriorly with a weak green, brassy, coppery and blue sheen, posteriorly with a coppery, purple, green and brassy sheen; fore coxa white; fore femur white proximally, apical half dusky white, bordered dark brown, tibia mostly dark brown, tarsus dark orange-brown; mid coxa mostly dark brown, external surface mixed dusky white; mid femur dark brown at base, with a broad, submedian white band, apex dusky orange with dorsal margin dark brown, tibia with proximal half dark brown and apical half pale orange, spur and tarsus pale orange; hind coxa white; hind femur dark brown with a ventral, subapical pale orange patch, tibia and tarsus dark brown; fore wing ( Fig. 788) mostly infuscate, largely hyaline towards base, a small hyaline area at apex and an elongate hyaline streak posteriorly, venation pale brown; propodeum dark brown with a slight brassy and purple sheen, laterally with a weak blue, green and purple sheen behind spiracle, side metallic blue and green, a group of about 5 or 6 silvery setae anterolateral to spiracle and a line of 11 or 12 silvery setae behind these; gaster dark brown, mostly with a coppery-purple and brassy sheen, Gt3-Gt5 laterally with distinct coppery and green reflections; gonostylus pale yellow.

Head ( Fig. 785) in facial view about 4.6X as wide as frontovertex with gena rounded and converging, in profile about 1.7X as high as deep, frontovertex slightly angled level with posterior ocelli, then weakly and evenly curved to top of scrobes, slightly angled towards mouth margin and virtually straight from top of scrobes to mouth margin, interantennal prominence slightly protuberant; occipital margin sharp, carinate; ocelli forming an angle of about 55°; frontovertex virtually smooth behind posterior ocelli but with very shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture, without a groove adjacent to eye margin behind posterior ocellus; frontovertex otherwise relatively shiny with very shallow, irregular polygonally reticulate sculpture of much smaller mesh size than diameter of eye facet; area above scrobes that extends laterally almost level with outer margin of scrobes with relatively coarse transversely elongate imbricate-reticulate to strigose sculpture; area immediately below lowest eye margin completely smooth and shiny; temple and upper gena smooth and shiny, posterior part of temple with very shallow, longitudinally elongate sculpture, lower gena with shallow, longitudinally elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture; scrobes laterally with shallow sculpture, upper part of interantennal prominence smooth, otherwise mostly with moderate, regular polygonally reticulate to imbricate-reticulate sculpture; narrowest part between eye and scrobal margin about 2X as wide as diameter of anterior ocellus, scrobes moderately deep, meeting dorsally, margins rounded, very broadly ∩-shaped, interantennal prominence dorsally broadly rounded, without a median ridge; antenna as in Fig. 790; scape broadened and flattened, broadest above middle, about 3.3X as long as broad, dorsal and ventral margins slightly curled inwards forming a shallow, but distinct groove; flagellum clavate, F1 subquadrate, remaining segments clearly transverse, wider and larger distally so that F6 is widest; clava unsegmented, hardly broader than F6, slightly longer than F4-F6 combined, sensory area slightly enlarged, extending about 0.4X along ventral surface, giving it an obliquely truncate appearance; eye nearly reaching occipital margin, separated by not more than 0.5X diameter of facet, naked; inner eye margins clearly diverging in front of anterior ocellus, narrowest point of frontovertex slightly in front of anterior ocellus; malar sulcus absent; clypeal margin medially weakly emarginate; mandible with one tooth and a broad, slightly concave truncation; apical segment of maxillary palpus not enlarged, although nearly 2X as long as radicle. Relative measurements: HW 97, HH 102, FV 21, POL 11.5, OOL 0, OCL 10, AOL 14.5, EL 61, EW 45, MS 49, SL 51, SW 15.5.

Thorax ( Fig. 786) with pronotum hardly exposed behind head and about 0.6X as long as mesoscutum; pronotum slightly shiny with similar sculpture to that in ocellar area, but a little deeper; mesoscutum with similar sculpture to pronotum, but with conspicuous piliferous punctures that are generally separated by less than their own diameters, anterior one-quarter with transversely elongate sculpture; axilla and scutellum with much coarser, deeper, polygonally reticulate sculpture; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.9X as broad as long; scutellum about 1.2X as broad as long, with a distinct subapical tuft, setae mostly about 0.6X as long as scutellum; hind femur about 4.1X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 788, 789; costal cell naked dorsally at apex; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a distinct, naked, hyaline streak ( Fig. 789); mid tibia without an external carina; propodeum ( Fig. 786) medially about 0.22X as long as scutellum and smooth. Relative measurements: FWL 85.5, FWW 35; HWL 74, HWW 20.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about 0.5X to apex; syntergum about 0.95X as long as mid tibia, with apex rounded; ovipositor not exserted.

Paratype. Funicle with linear sensilla present only on F5-F6; gaster without “gland-like” structures on Gt1 or Gt5; hypopygium Fig, 787; ovipositor Fig. 791. Relative measurements: OL 41.5, GL 8.5 [MT 37].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 1.38-1.53mm, the scrobal area may be largely brown with orange areas outside toruli, otherwise little variation noted in material examined.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Puntarenas, PN Corcovado, Los Patos , 200m, 8°33’N 83°30’W, 1-9.iii.2000 (J.S. Noyes, J.A. Azofeifa) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Puntarenas, RF Golfo Dulce , 3km SW Rincon, 10m, x-xii.1990 (P. Hanson); 1E , same data as holotype but ii.2000 . Holotype in MZUCR, paratypes in NHMUK .

COMMENTS. Cheiloneurus munda may be unique in the genus because it has an entire clava and transversely elongate sculpture on the anterior part of the mesoscutum. It is the only species known that is similar to nigrescens or that occurs within Costa Rica that exhibits this combination of character states. It can also be distinguished from other similar species ( amadeus , medusa , seius , grimus , oshtan , poeana, longisetaceus , etc.) by the scrobes not being sharply margined and the relatively wide, virtually naked costal cell, the other similar species have the scrobes at least partly sharply margined and the costal cell relatively narrow with numerous conspicuous setae.