Cheiloneurus fidenas, 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 : 243-245

Cheiloneurus fidenas sp.nov.

( Figs 604-607; Hab. E 92)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.6-1.9mm): body generally dark brown to black with a weak to moderate metallic sheen; antenna ( Fig. 605) with scape pale orange margined brown, proximally brown; pedicel mostly pale orange, proximally dark brown dorsally; funicle pale orange, proximally slightly dusky; clava dark brown; mesoscutum with uniform pale brown setae that appear silvery in some lights; coxae white; hind tibia mostly dark brown, legs otherwise white to pale orange with brown areas; fore wing ( Fig. 604) almost completely hyaline but weakly infuscate immediately below marginal and stigmal veins and an infuscate median streak in apical half; head about 4.1X as wide as frontovertex, in facial view about as broad as long, subcircular, genae converging, moderately and evenly curved; frontovertex naked medially below anterior ocellus; area between eye and scrobe about 1.5X as wide as diameter of anterior ocellus, with shallow sculpture, scrobal margin rounded; interantennal prominence dorsally rounded with only a few long setae; mandible with two long, sharp lower teeth and a slightly shorter, sharp, upper tooth; antenna ( Fig. 605) with scape about 4.2X as long as broad; funicle with segments quadrate or slightly longer than broad, becoming larger distad; head width about equal to length of flagellum; linear sensilla on F3-F6; clava 3-segmented, slightly shorter than F2-F6 combined, sensory area large and forming an oblique truncation, extending about 0.4X along ventral margin; mesoscutum ( Fig. 607) with polygonally reticulate sculpture; scutellum with a distinct, but short apical tuft of setae; wings fully developed; fore wing ( Fig. 604) about 2.5X as long as broad; parastigma very weakly curved downwards; costal cell dorsally with 5 to 7 setae at apex and a single, complete line of setae ventrally; area below proximal part of parastigma with a group of about 18 setae; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins ( Fig. 603) not connected by a naked hyaline area; apical bristle of postmarginal vein about 0.5X as long as marginal vein; mid tibial spur about as long as basitarsus; propodeum ( Fig. 607) with about 20 setae around each spiracle, side naked; syntergum 0.9X as long as mid tibia; ovipositor about 3.3X gonostylus or 1.3X mid tibia; gonostylus about 1.2X as long as mid tibial spur; exserted part of ovipositor about 0.3X as long as mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.71mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.66mm (CPD).

Head black with a weak blue and purple sheen on frontovertex, more strongly purple anteriorly; scrobal area largely purple with scrobes and interantennal prominence largely metallic green with a purple band connecting toruli; mouth margin purplish; area below eye strongly metallic brassy, green and coppery; temple brassy and coppery; gena purple and brassy; frontovertex with inconspicuous dark brown setae; antenna ( Fig. 605) with radicle dark brown, pale orange ventrally; antenna with scape mostly pale orange, proximally brown, dorsal and ventral margins brown; pedicel mostly pale orange, basal two-thirds dark brown dorsally; funicle pale orange, F1-F3 very slightly dusky; clava dark brown; thorax mostly dark brown to black; pronotum mainly dull, dark green mixed purple, posterior margin coppery; mesoscutum with a metallic green to blue-green sheen with coppery and brassy reflections, posterior margin coppery purple, setae uniform and translucent pale brown and appear silvery in some lights; tegula dark brown; axilla dull, dark purple-brown with coppery reflections; scutellum noticeably less shiny than mesoscutum, but with a distinct dark blue sheen, medially strongly coppery, clothed with dark brown setae, extreme sides and apex shining green mixed coppery, especially at apex; metanotum with slight purple sheen; mesopleuron in posterior half with a coppery-purple and brassy sheen, anterior half mixed blue, green, coppery and brassy, these narrowly separated by a coppery, dark blue and violet sheen; fore coxa white; fore femur white to pale yellow, with an elongate brown spot dorsally in distal half; fore tibia pale orange with an incomplete subbasal brown band; mid coxa white; mid femur white to pale yellow with an elongate brown spot externally in distal half, tibia pale orange with a narrow, elongate, brown, subbasal spot; hind coxa white; hind femur white in proximal half or so, otherwise dark brown, tibia mostly pale orange with a broad, diffuse brown, subbasal ring in proximal half or so; fore tarsus pale orange-brown, mid and hind tarsi pale orange, pretarsi slightly dusky; fore wing ( Fig. 604) almost completely hyaline but weakly infuscate immediately below marginal and stigmal veins, and a weakly infuscate median streak distad of pale brown venation; propodeum dark purple-brown; sides metallic green with a few conspicuous silvery setae in spiracular area; gaster dark purple-brown, dorsum slightly coppery, mixed purple and brassy, sides towards apex and outer plates of ovipositor mixed metallic blue, green, coppery and brassy; gonostylus dark brown, extreme apex orange-brown.

Head about 4.1X as wide as frontovertex, not subtriangular in profile, occipital margin carinate, occiput without a median groove above foramen; ocelli forming an angle of about 55°; frontovertex slightly shiny, with conspicuous reticulate sculpture of mesh size generally very slightly smaller than diameter of eye facet; scrobal area and mouth margin with shallower sculpture; gena and temple with more elongate sculpture of larger mesh; scrobes shallow, meeting dorsally, dorsal and lateral margins weakly rounded; antenna as in Fig. 605; scape hardly broadened and flattened, about 4.2X as long as broad; F1 and F4-F6 each a little longer than broad, F2-F3 quadrate, segments broadest distad; clava hardly broadened, slightly longer than F3- F6 combined; only outer suture noticeably oblique, sensory area enlarged, extending about one-third along clava ventrally and giving it an obliquely truncate appearance; eye reaching occipital margin, clothed with inconspicuous setae, each about as long as diameter of facet; inner eye margins not converging anteriorly; malar sulcus absent; mandible with three acute teeth, upper tooth shortest. Relative measurements: HW 70, HH 69, FV 17, OD 5.5, POL 10.5, OOL 0.5, OCL 6, AOL 11, EL 45, EW 36, MS 29, SL 38, SW 9.

Thorax ( Fig. 607) with shallow, irregular, polygonally reticulate sculpture on pronotum, generally of mesh size subequal to diameter of facet; sculpture on mesoscutum generally of similar depth to that on pronotum, but more regular and of smaller mesh; sculpture on axilla similar to that on mesoscutum, but slightly deeper; scutellum with conspicuously deeper, polygonally reticulate sculpture; apex and sides completely smooth and shiny; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.8X as broad as long; scutellum very slightly broader than long, with a short subapical tuft, setae about one-third to two-fifths as long as scutellum; hind femur about 4.4X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 604, 606; costal cell with only 3 setae dorsally at apex; no naked streak present between apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins; propodeum ( Fig. 607) with moderately dense setae in spiracular area, side naked, medially less than 0.1X as long as scutellum and with some shallow polygonally reticulate sculpture. Relative measurements: FWL 89, FWW 36; HWL 70, HWW 18.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about half-way to apex; syntergum nearly as long as mid tibia, with apex acute; ovipositor slightly exserted, the exserted part about one-third as long as mid tibial spur.

Paratype. Funicle with linear sensilla present only on F3-F6; gaster without “gland-like” structures on Gt1 or Gt5. Relative measurements: OL 55, GL 16.5 [MT 41].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 1.55-1.87mm, otherwise little in material examined except that F1-F4 may be orange-brown.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, San José, Zurqui de Moravia , 1600m, iv.1992 (P. Hanson) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 6E, San José, same data as holotype but various dates iv.1992 - i.1996 ; 1E, Heredia, 6km ENE Vara Blanca , 10°11’N 84°01’W, 2000m, 20/M/TN, ii.2002 (INBio-OET-ALAS). Holotype in MZUCR, paratypes in NHMUK and MZUCR .

COMMENTS. See comments under herndonia (p. 240), exeres (p. 243) and miklo (p. 247).