Heterospilus nephilim 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 : 382-383

Heterospilus nephilim Marsh sp. n. Figure 261

Female.

Body size: 5.0-5.25 mm. Color: head and mesosoma dark brown, metasoma honey yellow, tergum 1 often darker medially; scape light brown without lateral brown stripe; flagellum brown; wing veins including stigma brown; legs bicolored, fore and middle legs light brown with lighter trochanters, hind leg dark brown except trochanters light brown. Head: vertex smooth; frons smooth; face smooth, rarely weakly striate below antennal bases; temple in dorsal view broad, bulging behind eye, width greater than 1/2 eye width; malar space slightly greater than 1/4 eye height; ocell-ocular distance slightly greater than 2.5 times diameter of lateral ocellus; 30-33 flagellomeres. Mesosoma: mesoscutal lobes smooth, rarely with some striae near where notauli meet; notauli scrobiculate, meeting posteriorly in triangular costate area; scutellum smooth; prescutellar furrow with 3-5 cross carinae; mesopleuron smooth; precoxal sulcus smooth, shorter than mesopleuron; venter smooth; propodeum with basal median areas not distinctly margined, rugose or partially smooth, basal median carina present, areola not distinct, areolar area rugose, lateral areas rugose apically, smooth basally. Wings: fore wing vein r shorter than vein 3RSa and nearly equal to width of stigma, vein 1cu-a beyond vein 1M; hind wing vein SC+R present, vein M+CU shorter than vein 1M. Metasoma: first tergum longitudinally costate-granulate, distinct cross cari nae medially at base between distinct longitudinal carinae, length greater than apical width; second tergum longitudinally costate-granulate; anterior transverse groove present, straight; posterior transverse groove weak or absent; third tergum entirely smooth; terga 4-7 smooth; ovipositor longer than metasoma.

Holotype female.

Top label (white, printed) - COSTA RICA, Heredia [;] Est. Biol. La Selva 50- [;] 150m, 10°26N, 84°01W [;] Apr. 1993, INBio-OET; second label (white, printed) - 01 Abril 1993 [;] M/05/052 [;] Bosque primario; third label - INBio bar code; fourth label (red, partially printed and hand written) - HOLOTYPE [;] Heterospilus [;] nephilim [;] P. Marsh. Deposited in ESUW.

Paratypes.

7 ♀♀, same data as holotype with additional dates of Mar. 1993 and second label of 15 Marzo 1993 [;] Bosque Primario [;] M/05/036 (ESUW). 1 ♀, COSTA RICA Ala. [;] 20km S Upala [;] 11 Dec. 1990 [;] F. D. Parker (UTAH). 1 ♀, COSTA RICA, Heredia [;] 3km. S. Puerto Viejo [;] OTS-La Selva, 100m [;] ii-iii.1993 P. Hanson (MICR).

Comments.

The large size, long ovipositor, dark colored hind legs and the broad and bulging temple are distinctive for this species.

Etymology.

The specific name is from the Hebrew, Nephilim , which refers to the Biblical giants of the Old Testament and is in reference to the large size of this species.