Triraphis prolixus 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 : 528-529

Triraphis prolixus Valerio , sp. nov.

Figures 77–82 , 113 .

Description. Female. Body color: yellow, with antenna black and medial area yellow; scape brownish yellow as pedicel, tarsal claws, telotarsus; first metasomal tergum medial area dark yellow as hind leg (except coxae, trochanters), mid femur. Fore wing: C+SC+R brownish yellow as M+CU distal tip and 1 – 1A basal tip, remainder yellow; hind wing: union of veins 1M, r – m, 2M brownish yellow, reminder veins yellow. Wings hyaline. Body length = 7.14 mm; fore wing length = 5.78 mm.

Head: Head height/head length = 1.30; maximum height of compound eye/maximum width of compound eye = 1.50; distance between basal edges of tentorial pits and the basal area of toruli/Maximum width of face measured at dorsal edge of clypeus = 1.08; width of vertex/minimal distance between toruli and the medial ocellus = 2.9; width of oral opening/height of oral opening = 2.05; distance between tentorial pits = 0.26 mm; minimal distance between external edge of tentorial pits and compound eye = 0.06 mm. Antenna with 46 flagellomeres all longer than wide, except first flagellomere with ratio of measurements length/width between 1.15 – 1.00x; malar space as wide as Basal width of mandible; occipital carina present dorsally; very narrow dorsally, not fused with hypostomal carina; median ocellus as big as Lateral ocellus; space between lateral ocellus black; ocell-ocular distance almost as big as 1/2 lateral ocellus width.

Mesosoma: Length of mesosoma in dorsal view/width of mesosoma = 2.82; height of mesosoma = 1.29 mm; propleuron dorso-lateral area basally with defined colliculate sculpturing present, remainder nitid; notauli punctate, less defined medially; medial longitudinal pit present, with longitudinal punctate sculpturing slightly bigger than medium longitudinal pit; sternauli striate, union with prepectal carina with more spaced striate sculpturing present, area below with less defined colliculate sculpturing and some scattered pits present; mesopleuron immaculate except dorso-lateral area with spaced rugose sculpturing, medial area of mesepimeron with less defined colliculate sculpturing present; metapleuron granulate, almost without rugose sculpturing, only present at ventral edge; propodeum with less defined colliculate sculpturing, spiracles sub – oval; first lateral areas of propodeum with light and closer areolate-rugulose sculpturing than remainder propodeum with spaced and conspicuous areolaterugulose sculpturing; medial carina 1/5 Propodeum length; areola triangular; ventral tubercles present, without carinae over them and Legs: basal lobe of hind tarsal claws elongate and acute at tip.

Wings: fore wing: 1Cub/RS+Ma = 1.11; 3RSa/1RS = 3.81; pterostigma length/width = 1.82; r = 0.32 mm. hind wing: 1M/r – m = 1.71; 1A/cu – a = 1.50; m+cu = 0.91 mm; m+cu interstitial with 2RS; 2RS slightly bent to wing base; angle at union of veins 2RS – 2M wide; pterostigma yellow.

Metasoma: Length of first metasomal tergum/width of first metasomal tergum = 1.33; length of second metasomal tergum/width of second metasomal tergum = 0.88; length of third metasomal tergum/width of third metasomal tergum = 0.41; basal width of first metasomal tergum = 0.53 mm; hypopygium = 0.49 mm. first metasomal tergum dorso – basal triangular area of first metasomal tergum close with carinae present, medial carina cristate as long as 1/3 first metasomal tergum length; first metasomal tergum lineate sculpturing as 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.

Male. Unknown.

Female holotype. Costa Rica, Península de Osa, Sirena , 8.28N / 83.35W, 50 m. 7/iv/1981, Col. J. Longino. Voucher number: 800. Holotype deposited at the RMSEL.

Distribution. The altitudinal distribution of this species is Pacific lowlands. The type of forest present at site of collecting was tropical moist/wet forest.

Biology. The host was a lycaenid larva feeding on Simaba cedron (Simarubaceae) .

Comments. This species can be identified from any other Triraphis species by the presence of very long setae on the clypeus (bigger than length of facial opening), mesonotum yellow and fourth metasomal tergum without lineate sculpturing present.

Etymology. This species is named for the very long setae on clypeus; “ prolixus ” in Greek means exalted, evident.

Figures

FIGURE 77 – 82. Triraphis prolixus, 77, dorsal habitus; 78, lateral habitus; 79, mesosoma, dorsal view; 80, mesosoma, lateral view; 81, head, anterior view; 82, 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.