Heterospilus paloverde Marsh

Marsh, Paul M., Wild, Alexander L. & Whitfield, James B., 2013, The Doryctinae (Braconidae) of Costa Rica: genera and species of the tribe Heterospilini, ZooKeys 347, pp. 1-474 : 139-140

Heterospilus paloverde Marsh sp. n. Figure 93

Female.

Body size: 2.5 mm. Color: head dark brown; scape yellow, flagellum brown with apical 4 flagellomeres white; mesosoma dark brown with propleuron and pronotal collar yellow; metasomal tergum 1 brown, terga 2-4 honey yellow medially, brown laterally, terga 5-7 honey yellow; legs yellow; wing vein including stigma brown. Head: vertex weakly striate medially; frons weakly striate; face smooth; temple in dorsal view narrow, sloping behind eye, width 1/2 eye width; malar space greater than 1/4 eye height; ocell-ocular distance slightly greater than 2.5 times diameter of lateral ocellus; 24 flagellomeres. Mesosoma: mesoscutal lobes smooth; notauli scrobiculate, meeting at scutellum in triangular costate area, short depression between carinae; scutellum smooth; prescutellar furrow with 1 cross carina; mesopleuron smooth; precoxal sulcus weakly scrobiculate, shorter than mesopleuron; venter smooth; propodeum with basal median areas margined, granulate, basal median carina absent, areola not distinctly margined, areolar area rugose, lateral areas entirely rugose. Wings: fore wing vein r shorter than vein 3RSa, vein 1cu-a interstitial with vein 1M; hind wing vein SC+R absent, vein M+CU shorter than 1M. Metasoma: first tergum longitudinally costate, length equal to apical width; second tergum longitudinally costate; anterior transverse groove present, straight; posterior transverse groove present; third tergum costate basally, smooth apically; terga 4-7 smooth; ovipositor equal to 3/4 length of metasoma.

Holotype female.

Top label (white, printed) - Costa Rica: Guanacaste, ACT [;] Bagaces, P.N. Palo Verde [;] Sector Palo Verde [;] 500 NW de la Est., 40m [;] 4. vi– 6.vii.1999, I. Jimenez [;] L.N. 260952-385020 #52849 [;] Malaise trap; second label (red, partially printed and hand written) - HOLOTYPE [;] Heterospilus [;] paloverde [;] P. Marsh. Deposited in ESUW.

Paratypes.

Known only from the holotype.

Comments.

The dark mesosoma with the yellow propleuron and pronotal collar is distinctive for this species.

Etymology.

Named for Palo Verde National Park where the holotype was collected.