Heterospilus ricacosta 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 : 403-404

Heterospilus ricacosta Marsh sp. n. Figure 277

Female.

Body size: 2.5 mm. Color: body dark brown, metasomal tergum 2 honey yellow medially, tergum 1 at apex sometimes yellow, tergum 3 at base sometimes yellow; scape yellow without lateral brown stripe; flagellum brown with apical 3-5 flagellomeres white, apical one sometimes darker; wing veins including stigma brown; legs yellow. Head: vertex smooth; 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; 18-20 flagellomeres. Mesosoma: mesoscutal lobes smooth; notauli weakly scrobiculate, meeting posteriorly in triangular costate area; scutellum smooth; prescutellar furrow with 1 strong median cross carina and often weaker carinae on each side; mesopleuron smooth; precoxal sulcus scrobiculate, shorter than mesopleuron but often with carinae extending to posterior margin of mesopleuron; venter smooth; propodeum with basal median areas margined, rugose, basal median carina absent, areola not margined, areolar area rugose, lateral areas entirely rugose. Wings: fore wing vein r shorter than vein 3RSa, vein 1cu-a slightly beyond or interstitial vein 1M; hind wing vein SC+R absent, vein M+CU shorter than vein 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 smooth; terga 4-7 smooth; ovipositor half as long as metasoma.

Holotype female.

Top label (white, printed) - Costa Rica, Puntarenas [;] Pen. Osa, 5km. N, [;] Puerto Jimenez, 10m [;] I-II-1993 P. Hanson; second label (red, partially printed and hand written) - HOLOTYPE [;] Heterospilus [;] ricacosta [;] P. Marsh. Deposited in ESUW.

Paratypes.

2 ♀♀, same data as holotype with additional dates of VIII-IX-1993 (ESUW). 1 ♀, Costa Rica: Puntarenas [;] Pen. Osa, Puerto Jimenez [;] 10m, July 1991, full sun, [;] grassy & weedy site [;] P. Hanson, ex. Malaise (ESUW). 1 ♀, Costa Rica: Heredia [;] Est. Biol. La Selva [;] 50-150m, 10.26 N [;] 84.01 W, Aug. 1992 (ESUW). 2 ♀♀, Costa Rica: Alajuela [;] 5km. W San Ramon [;] 1200m, April 1997 [;] O. Castro & P. Hanson (ESUW). 1 ♀, COSTA RICA, Guanac [;] Estac. Maritza, W [;] Volcán Orosi, 600m [;] 1988-1989 (MICR). 1 ♀, COSTA RICA, Heredia [;] Rio Frio, Banano [;] 100m, X 1989 [;] col. Edgar Quirós (MICR).

Comments.

The short temple, smooth mesoscutum and honey yellow metasomal tergum 2 are distinctive for this species.

Etymology.

The specific name is an anagram of Costa Rica.