Heterospilus levitergum 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 : 367-368

Heterospilus levitergum Marsh sp. n. Figure 249

Female.

Body size: 2.0-2.5 mm. Color: head dark brown; scape yellow without lateral brown stripe; flagellum brown with apical 3-5 flagellomeres white; mesosoma dark brown; wing veins including stigma brown; legs bicolored, coxae and trochanters nearly white, femora, tibiae and tarsi yellow or light brown; metasomal tergum 1 dark brown, tergum 2 yellow, terga 3-7 brown. Head: vertex smooth; frons smooth; face smooth; temple in dorsal view narrow, sloping behind eye, width less than 1/2 eye width; malar space greater than 1/4 eye height; ocell-ocular distance slightly greater than 2.5 times diameter of lateral ocellus; 13-17 flagellomeres. Mesosoma: mesoscutal lobes smooth, rarely weakly granulate; notauli smooth, meeting posteriorly in triangular costate area; scutellum smooth; prescutellar furrow with 1 cross carina; mesopleuron smooth; precoxal sulcus smooth, rarely weakly scrobiculate, extending to posterior margin of mesopleuron by distinct carinae; venter smooth; propodeum with basal median areas weakly granulate or smooth, basal median carina present, areola distinctly margined, areolar area rugose, lateral areas entirely rugose. Wings: fore wing vein r shorter than vein 3RSa, vein 1cu-a interstitial with vein 1M; hind wing vein SC+R present, vein M+CU shorter than vein 1M. Metasoma: first tergum longitudinally costate, length nearly twice apical width; second tergum mostly smooth with few costae medially at base; anterior transverse groove present, straight; posterior transverse groove weakly present or absent; third tergum entirely smooth; terga 4-7 smooth; ovipositor 3/4 length of metasoma.

Holotype female.

Top label (white, printed) - Costa Rica: Heredia [;] 3km. S. Puerto Viejo, [;] OTS, La Selva, 100m [;] xii.1992, P. Hanson; second label (red, partially printed and hand written) - HOLOTYPE [;] Heterospilus [;] levitergum [;] P. Marsh. Deposited in ESUW.

Paratypes.

1 ♀, Costa Rica, Carthago Pr. [;] Dulce Nombre, Vivero [;] Linda Vista, 1300m [;] 1993: viii-x, P. Hanson (ESUW). 1 ♀, Costa Rica: Cartago [;] Turrialba, CATIE [;] 14-15.iii.1990 [;] 700m, J. S. Noyes (ESUW).

Comments.

The smooth metasomal terga 2-7, the single cross carina in the prescutellar furrow and the apical white annulus on the flagellum are distinctive for this species.

Etymology.

The specific name is from the Latin levis, meaning smooth, polished, in reference to the smooth metasomal terga.