Apanteles eldarayae Fernandez-Triana

Fernandez-Triana, Jose L., Whitfield, James B., Rodriguez, Josephine J., Smith, M. Alex, Janzen, Daniel H., Hallwachs, Winnie D., Hajibabaei, Mehrdad, Burns, John M., Solis, M. Alma, Brown, John, Cardinal, Sophie, Goulet, Henri & Hebert, Paul D. N., 2014, Review of Apantelessensu stricto (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae) from Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, northwestern Costa Rica, with keys to all described species from Mesoamerica, ZooKeys 383, pp. 1-565 : 125-127

Apanteles eldarayae Fernandez-Triana sp. n. Figs 55, 248

Apanteles Rodriguez01 ( Smith et al. 2006). Interim name provided by the authors.

Type locality.

COSTA RICA, Alajuela, ACG, Sector San Cristobal, Potrero Argentina, 520m, 10.89021, -85.38803.

Holotype.

♀ in CNC. Specimen labels: 1. COSTA RICA, Alajuela, ACG, San Cristobal: Potrero Argentina, 03/13/1999, Gloria Sihezar. 2. 99-SRNP-12461 (dried), Pyrrhopyge zenodorus, Vismia baccifera.

Paratypes.

53 ♀, 38 ♂ (BMNH, CNC, INBIO, INHS, NMNH). COSTA RICA, ACG database codes: See Appendix 2 for detailed label data.

Description.

Female. Body color: body mostly dark except for some sternites which may be pale. Antenna color: scape, pedicel, and flagellum dark. Coxae color (pro-, meso-, metacoxa): dark, dark, dark. Femora color (pro-, meso-, metafemur): pale, pale, pale, rarely pale, pale, mostly pale but posterior 0.2 or less dark. Tibiae color (pro-, meso-, metatibia): pale, pale, pale. Tegula and humeral complex color: both pale. Pterostigma color: mostly pale and/or transparent, with thin dark borders. Fore wing veins color: partially pigmented (a few veins may be dark but most are pale). Antenna length/body length: antenna about as long as body (head to apex of metasoma); if slightly shorter, at least extending beyond anterior 0.7 metasoma length. Body in lateral view: not distinctly flattened dorso–ventrally. Body length (head to apex of metasoma): 3.3-3.4 mm or 3.5-3.6 mm. Fore wing length: 3.3-3.4 mm or 3.5-3.6 mm. Ocular–ocellar line/posterior ocellus diameter: 2.3-2.5. Interocellar distance/posterior ocellus diameter: 2.0-2.2. Antennal flagellomerus 2 length/width: 2.3-2.5. Antennal flagellomerus 14 length/width: 2.3-2.5. Length of flagellomerus 2/length of flagellomerus 14: 1.4-1.6. Tarsal claws: simple or with single basal spine–like seta. Metafemur length/width: 3.2-3.3. Metatibia inner spur length/metabasitarsus length: 0.4-0.5. Anteromesoscutum: mostly with deep, dense punctures (separated by less than 2.0 × its maximum diameter). Mesoscutellar disc: mostly punctured. Number of pits in scutoscutellar sulcus: 7 or 8. Maximum height of mesoscutellum lunules/maximum height of lateral face of mesoscutellum: 0.4-0.5. Propodeum areola: completely defined by carinae, including transverse carina extending to spiracle. Propodeum background sculpture: mostly sculptured. Mediotergite 1 length/width at posterior margin: 4.1 or more. Mediotergite 1 shape: slightly widening from anterior margin to 0.7-0.8 mediotergite length (where maximum width is reached), then narrowing towards posterior margin. Mediotergite 1 sculpture: with some sculpture near lateral margins and/or posterior 0.2-0.4 of mediotergite. Mediotergite 2 width at posterior margin/length: 3.2-3.5. Mediotergite 2 sculpture: with some sculpture, mostly near posterior margin. Outer margin of hypopygium: with a medially folded, transparent, semi–desclerotized area; with 0-3 pleats visible. Ovipositor thickness: anterior width 3.0-5.0 × posterior width (beyond ovipositor constriction). Ovipositor sheaths length/metatibial length: 1.0-1.1, rarely 1.2-1.3. Length of fore wing veins r/2RS: 2.3 or more. Length of fore wing veins 2RS/2M: 1.7-1.8. Length of fore wing veins 2M/(RS+M)b: 0.5-0.6. Pterostigma length/width: 3.6 or more. Point of insertion of vein r in pterostigma: clearly beyond half way point length of pterostigma. Angle of vein r with fore wing anterior margin: clearly inwards, inclined towards fore wing base. Shape of junction of veins r and 2RS in fore wing: strongly angulated, sometimes with a knob.

Male. Similar to female.

Molecular data.

Sequences in BOLD: 27, barcode compliant sequences: 15.

Biology /ecology.

Gregarious (Fig. 248). Host: Hesperiidae , Pyrrhopyge zenodorus .

Distribution.

Costa Rica, ACG.

Etymology.

We dedicate this species to Elda Araya in recognition of her diligent efforts for the ACG Programa de Parataxónomos and Estación Biológica San Gerardo of ACG.