Heterospilus lapierrei 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 : 102-103

Heterospilus lapierrei Marsh sp. n. Figure 67

Female.

Body size: 4.0 mm. Color: body entirely dark brown or black; scape yellow without lateral longitudinal brown stripe, flagellum brown; wing vein brown, stigma bicolored brown with yellow apex; legs yellow. Head: vertex weakly striate behind antennae, smooth near eyes; frons smooth; face smooth; temple in dorsal view narrow, width less than 1/2 eye width; malar space greater than 1/4 eye height; ocell-ocular distance greater than 2.5 times diameter of lateral ocellus; 31 flagellomeres. Mesosoma: mesoscutal lobes weakly granulate and shining, nearly smooth; notauli scrobiculate, meeting at scutellum in triangular costate area; scutellum smooth; prescutellar furrow with 3 cross carinae; mesopleuron weakly granulate; precoxal sulcus scrobiculate, shorter than mesopleuron; venter weakly granulate; propodeum with basal median areas margined, granulate, basal median carina present, areola distinctly margined, areolar area rugose, lateral areas entirely rugose. Wings: fore wing vein r nearly as long as vein 3RSa, vein 1cu-a beyond vein 1M; hind wing vein SC+R present, vein M+CU shorter than vein 1M. Metasoma: first tergum longitudinally costate, length about 1.5 times apical width; second tergum longitudinally costate; anterior transverse groove present, slightly sinuate; posterior transverse groove weakly indicated as transverse indentation; third tergum costate at base, smooth at apex; terga 4-7 smooth; ovipositor longer than metasoma.

Holotype female.

Top label (white, partially printed and hand written) - COSTA RICA: Heredia [;] Est. Biol. La Selva, 50-150m, 10°26'N, 84°01'W [;] X.1999; second label (white, partially printed and hand written) - Coll. L. M. LaPierre [;] Host: Cecropia [;] obtusifolia, Zyg...? (hand writing not legible) [;] ID# 0099-1097; third label (red, partially printed and hand written) - HOLOTYPE [;] Heterospilus [;] lapierrei [;] P. Marsh. Deposited in ESUW.

Paratypes.

Known only from the holotype.

Biology.

The holotype was reared from a weevil infesting Cecropia obtusifolia Bertol. Louis LaPierre (per. comm.) states that the host was identified as Pseudolechriops coleyae Hespenheide & LaPierre.

Comments.

This species is distinguished by the black body and nearly smooth and shining mesoscutum.

Etymology.

Named for the collector, L. M. LaPierre.