Triraphis paraholos Valerio

Valerio, Alejandro A. & Shaw, Scott R., 2015, Thirteen new Costa Rican species belonging to the genus Triraphis Ruthe (Braconidae: Rogadinae) with their host records, Zootaxa 3904 (4), pp. 501-540 : 527

Triraphis paraholos Valerio , sp. nov.

Figures 6 , 71–76 , 111 .

Description. Female. Body color: whitish yellow with antenna black; head light brownish yellow; mesosomal dorsal area bright yellow as first metasomal tergum basal 1/2; metasomal terga 2 – 4 (with lateral areas whitish yellow) mostly brownish yellow as remainder first metasomal tergum. Fore wing: C+SC+R yellow, except anterior tip brownish yellow as 1 – 1A and M+CU distal 1/2; hind wing: M+CU yellow, remainder veins brownish yellow. Wings hyaline. Body length = 4.76 mm; fore wing length = 4.71 mm.

Head: Head height/head length = 1.26; maximum height of compound eye/maximum width of compound eye = 1.41; distance between basal edges of tentorial pits and the basal area of toruli/Maximum width of face measured at dorsal edge of clypeus = 1.33; width of vertex/minimal distance between toruli and the medial ocellus = 2.69; width of oral opening/height of oral opening = 2.0; distance between tentorial pits = 0.28 mm; minimal distance between external edge of tentorial pits and compound eye = 0.08 mm. Antenna with 44 flagellomeres all longer than wide; malar space narrower than basal width of mandible; occipital carina present and very narrow dorsally, not fused with hypostomal carina, clearly separated; median ocellus bigger than lateral ocellus; space between lateral ocellus black; ocell-ocular distance 1/2 lateral ocellus width.

Mesosoma: Length of mesosoma in dorsal view/width of mesosoma = 2.38; height of mesosoma = 1.15 mm; propleuron basal 1/2 with defined colliculate sculpturing, remainder with less defined colliculate sculpturing; notauli pitted, defined medially; medial longitudinal pit present, narrow and elongate, with longitudinal punctate sculpturing present; remainder mesonotum without defined colliculate sculpturing; sternauli with finely striate sculpturing at union with prepectal carina, remainder with very fine punctate sculpturing, area below with defined colliculate sculpturing throughout; mesopleuron mostly with defined colliculate sculpturing, transversal medial area with confused colliculate sculpturing, dorso-lateral area with rugose sculpturing; metapleuron granulate, ventral area with rugose sculpturing; propodeum with defined colliculate sculpturing, spiracles sub – oval; first lateral areas of propodeum with transversal medial area with conspicuous spaced areolate-rugulose sculpturing, ventral area with very few large carinae present, remainder nitid; medial carina <1/4 Propodeum length; areola with triangular shape; ventral tubercles present with carinae over them and densely granulate.

Legs: basal lobe of hind tarsal claws elongate and acute at tip.

Wings: fore wing: 1Cub/RS+Ma = 1.18; 3RSa/1RS = 5.25; pterostigma length/width = 1.88; r = 0.21 mm. hind wing: 1M/r – m = 1.63; 1A/cu – a = 1.38; m+cu = 0.74 mm; m+cu antefurcal to 2RS; 2RS straight; angle at union of veins 2RS – 2M wide; pterostigma black with yellow tips.

Metasoma: Length of first metasomal tergum/width of first metasomal tergum = 1.0; length of second metasomal tergum/width of second metasomal tergum = 0.73; length of third metasomal tergum/width of third metasomal tergum = 0.32; basal width of first metasomal tergum = 0.38 mm; hypopygium = 0.55 mm. first metasomal tergum dorso – basal triangular area of first metasomal tergum open with carinae present, medial carina sinuate, not cristate; first metasomal tergum lineate sculpturing more spaced and less dense than second metasomal tergum sculpturing; third metasomal tergum lineate sculpturing finer, closer and less conspicuous than second metasomal tergum sculpturing, not reaching third metasomal tergum distal edge; fourth metasomal tergum with fine lineate sculpturing at lateral areas.

Male. Similar to females.

Female holotype. Costa Rica, Limón, Guápiles, 400 m. iv/1994, Col. J. Corrales. Paratypes: 1 male; Guanacaste, ACG, Estación Pitilla, 700 m, 11/i/1994, Col. J. Corrales. Holotype and paratype deposited at the RMSEL.

Distribution. The altitudinal range of this species is from 400 – 700 m. The types of forest present at site of collecting were tropical premontane wet/rain forest, tropical moist/wet forest and tropical premontane moist/wet forest. Some specimens were collected at primary forest, no other information is known for the remainder sites of collection in connection with the type of forest present in the area of sampling.

Biology. Specimens reared from Acraga sp. ( Dalceridae ) feeding on Hieronima alchorneoides (Euphorbiaceae) , and Natada daona (Limacodidae) feeding on Citrus sp. ( Rutaceae ).

Comments. Sometimes propodeum with dark brownish yellow spots as on hypopygial medial area and notauli.

Etymology. This species name is an arbitrary combination of letters.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 6. Ocell-ocular distance for: 1, Triraphis cortazari; 2, T. guarusa; 3, T. simphlex; 4, T. balteus; 5, T. defectus; 6, T. paraholos. Scale bar in millimeters.

FIGURE 71 – 76. Triraphis paraholos, 71, dorsal habitus; 72, lateral habitus; 73, mesosoma, dorsal view; 74, mesosoma, lateral view; 75, head, anterior view; 76, metasoma, dorsal view. Scale bar in millimeters.

FIGURE 109 – 114. Wing venation and wing pattern for: 109, Triraphis ornatus (Cresson); 110, T. sicbaios; 111, T. paraholos; 112, T. simphlex; 113, T. prolixus, and 114, T. willei.