Adelencyrtus plocus, 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 : 36-38

Adelencyrtus plocus sp.nov.

( Figs 22-26; Hab. E 4)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.2-1.7mm): fore coxa orange, mid and hind coxae brown; legs mostly white to pale orange, mid and hind femora and tibiae narrowly marked brown; fore wing hyaline; frontovertex slightly narrower than one-quarter head width; antenna ( Fig. 22) with clava about as long as F3-F6 combined, all funicle segments slightly longer than broad; scutellum with fine punctate-reticulate sculpture and with about 15 setae; ovipositor ( Fig. 26) about 4X as long as gonostylus with exserted part slightly shorter than mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.69mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.53mm (CPD).

Head with occipital margin coppery; frontovertex metallic dark green between occipital margin and posterior ocelli, metallic purple in front of posterior ocelli, metallic dark blue and purple in front of anterior ocellus and purple immediately above scrobes; purple and metallic dark green between eye and scrobe, a little brassy and coppery below lowest point of eye; temple metallic green and coppery; gena duller metallic green, coppery and brassy; scrobal area metallic dark green, mixed with some coppery areas, dark blue between dorsal margins of toruli; mouth margin coppery purple; frontovertex with a few, scattered, translucent pale brown setae; a few setae along inner eye margin, these continuing below eye on to gena as a conspicuous, almost silvery line; interantennal prominence with a line of translucent, pale brown setae down each side in a Λ-shape; maxillary palpus white; antenna with radicle, scape, pedicel and funicle mostly pale orange but proximal 0.7X of pedicel dorsally brown and funicle dorsally slightly dusky, especially F1-F4, clava dark brown; thorax dark brown to black with a metallic lustre; pronotum mostly dark coppery purple, mixed with some metallic dark green; mesoscutum bright, metallic, dark blue mixed with some purple reflections; tegula dark brown with a weak purple and brassy sheen; axilla metallic blue-green mixed coppery purple; scutellum with raised part of reticulations metallic purple and bottoms of cells metallic dark green with some coppery reflections, side and apex bright metallic dark green and blue-green mixed with a coppery sheen; dorsum of thorax clothed with dark brown setae; mesopleuron with a dull, brassy and purple sheen; fore coxa pale orange; fore femur and tibia pale orange, fore tarsus dusky pale orange; mid coxa dark brown, pale orange at apex; mid femur white proximally, pale orange distally with a ventral, subapical, brown spot, tibia pale orange with a narrow, subbasal brown band, spur and tarsus pale orange; hind coxa dark brown; hind femur mainly pale orange, but mixed brown medially, tibia very pale yellow at base, with a narrow, subbasal brown band and apical 0.6X pale orange, tarsus white proximally, pale orange distally; wings hyaline, venation pale orange, marginal vein brown; propodeum dark brown with a weak brassy and purple sheen, side metallic green; gaster dark purple-brown, dorsally with a coppery purple sheen mixed slightly brassy and green, Gt1 with a proximal metallic purple band then a dark metallic blue band and distally coppery purple; side and venter with a mixed green, blue, coppery and brassy sheen; gonostylus dark brown.

Head in profile about 1.6X as high as deep, in facial view about 4.3X as wide as frontovertex, which is narrowest a little behind posterior ocelli; ocelli forming an angle of about 60°; occipital margin weakly angular, medially weakly carinate, a conspicuous, long seta present on margin behind each posterior ocellus; a slender, elongate depression adjacent to eye behind posterior ocellus near occipital margin; frontovertex shiny, ocellar area with relatively deep, punctate-reticulate sculpture of mesh size mainly subequal to eye facet, behind posterior ocelli shallower and more polygonally reticulate to irregular; temple and gena with relatively shallow, longitudinally elongate imbricate-reticulate sculpture; scrobes with relatively shallow, irregular sculpture, almost smooth; interantennal prominence and mouth margin with shallow, polygonally reticulate sculpture; scrobes very shallow, indistinctly margined, narrowly ∩-shaped; interantennal prominence dorsally narrowly rounded; antenna as in Fig. 22; scape hardly broadened and flattened, about 4.3X as long as broad; all funicle segments slightly longer than broad, becoming slightly larger and broader distad, F1 conspicuously smaller, subquadrate, linear sensilla present on all segments or absent from F1; clava nearly as long as F3-F6 combined, sutures parallel, sensory area small, at apex only giving it a pointed or slightly rounded appearance; eye not quite reaching occipital margin, clothed with inconspicuous, short setae, each of which is clearly shorter than diameter of facet; malar sulcus present, but very fine; clypeal margin very slightly convex medially; mandible ( Fig. 23) with two acute teeth and a broad, weakly denticulate truncation. Relative measurements: HW 76.5, HH 63, FV 18, POL 9, OOL 0, OCL 10, AOL 10.5, EL 41, EW 42, MS 27, SL 32.5, SW 7.5.

Thorax with fine, transversely elongate, imbricate-reticulate to polygonally reticulate sculpture on pronotum that is a little shallower than sculpture in ocellar area, and generally of smaller mesh; mesoscutum with polygonally reticulate to imbricate-reticulate sculpture that is about as deep as that on pronotum but with conspicuously larger mesh size, especially anteriorly; axilla with similar sculpture to that on pronotum; scutellum dorsally with fine, more or less regular punctate-reticulate sculpture that is clearly deeper than that on mesoscutum, side and apex completely smooth and shiny; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.6X as broad as long; scutellum about 1.2X as broad as long with about 15 subequal setae; hind femur about 3.9X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 24, 25; costal cell with 9 or 10 dorsal setae at apex; propodeum with 5 or 6 moderately conspicuous setae outside spiracle. Relative measurements: FWL 82, FWW 34.5; HWL 54.5, HWW 14.5.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about 0.5X to apex; last tergite about 0.8X as long as mid tibia, apex broad, weakly angular; ovipositor ( Fig. 26) slightly exserted, the exserted part about 0.6X length of mid tibial spur or about 0.25X mid tibia. Relative measurements: OL 60, GL 16 [MT 46].

Variation. The overall length of the female varies from 1.26-1.70mm, otherwise very little variation noted.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Puntarenas, San Vito, Las Cruces , Wilson Bot. Gdns, 8°46’N 82°57’W, 1300m, 15-16.ii.2006 (J.S. Noyes) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Guanacaste, 18km N .

Liberia , Buena Vista Lodge , 10°48’N 85°24’N, 770m, 15-17.ii.2016 (J.S. Noyes); 1E, Alajuela , San Ramon , Villa Blanca , 1100m, iii-v.2011 (W. Porras); 2E, Heredia , Est. Biol. La Selva , 10°26’N 84°01’W, 75m, 28- 29.ii.2008 (J.S. Noyes); 5E, Heredia, Santo Domingo, INBio Parque, 1100m, 9°59’N 84°06’W, 17.ii.2007, 16.ii.2008, 13.ii.2010 and 12.ii.2011 (J.S. Noyes). Holotype in NHMUK, paratypes in NHMUK and MZUCR.

COMMENTS. Adelencyrtus plocus is most similar to funicularis Hayat, Alam & Agarwal (1975) from India and antennatus Compere & Annecke (1961) from Africa, all three species having hyaline fore wings, fore coxa yellow or orange, mid and hind coxae brown, legs yellow or orange and similar antennal structure with F1 much smaller than F3-F6, which are subequal. It differs from both species in having all funicle segments longer than broad, whereas in funicularis F1 and F2 are small, equal and quadrate and in antennatus F1 is small and anelliform and all other funicle segments are transverse, albeit subquadrate.