Heterospilus gauldi 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 : 76-78

Heterospilus gauldi Marsh sp. n. Figure 48

Female.

Body size: 3.0-4.0 mm. Color: Head with vertex and frons brown, face often and eye orbits always yellow; scape and flagellum brown; mesosoma brown or dark brown, propleuron, mesopleuron and notauli often lighter brown; metasomal tergum 1 brown, tergum 2 honey yellow, often brown medially and laterally, tergum 3 yellow medially, brown laterally, terga 4-7 honey yellow; legs yellow; wing veins brown, stigma bicolored brown with apex, base and anterior margin often yellow. Head: vertex weakly transversely striate or rarely smooth; frons weakly transversely striate; face striate; temple in dorsal view broad, not sloping behind eye, width 1/2 eye width; malar space greater than 1/4 eye height; ocell-ocular distance 2.0-2.5 times diameter of lateral ocellus; 22-28 flagellomeres. Mesosoma: mesoscutal lobes smooth; notauli scrobiculate, meeting at scutellum in wide rectangular rugose area; scutellum smooth; prescutellar furrow with 3 cross carinae; mesopleuron smooth; precoxal sulcus smooth, shorter than mesopleuron; venter smooth; propodeum with basal median areas margined, partially smooth and rugose, basal median carina absent, areola not margined, areolar area rugose or areolate-rugose, lateral areas entirely rugose. Wings: fore wing vein r nearly equal to vein 3RSa, vein 1cu-a distinctly beyond vein 1M; hind wing vein SC+R present, vein M+CU shorter than vein 1M. Metasoma: first tergum laterally longitudinally costate, medially with raised rugose area bordered by distinct converging carinae; second tergum longitudinally costate; anterior transverse groove present, straight; posterior transverse groove weakly present or absent; third tergum costate basally, smooth apically; terga 4-7 smooth; ovipositor about 1/2 length of metasoma.

Holotype female.

Top label (white, partially printed and hand written) - Costa Rica: Guanacaste [;] Santa Rosa Natl. Park [;] 300m, ex. Malaise trap [;] Site #: SE-8-C [;] Dates: 24. v– 14.vi.1986 [;] I.D. Gauld & D. Janzen; second label (white, printed) - [SE] Bosque San Emilio [;] 50yr old deciduous forest [;] [C] more or less fully [;] shaded as possible; third label (red, partially printed and hand written) - HOLOTYPE [;] Heterospilus [;] gauldi [;] P. Marsh. Deposited in ESUW.

Paratypes.

4 ♀♀, same data as holotype, with dates of 31. i– 21.ii.1987, 4-24.v.1986, 2-23.iii.1986 (ESUW). 5 ♀♀, same data as holotype, with dates of 13. iv– 4.v.1986, 23. iii– 13.iv.1986, 2-23.iii.1986, and second label - [BH] Bosque Humedo [;] mature evergreen dry forest [;] [C] more or less fully [;] shaded as possible (ESUW). 9 ♀♀, same data as holotype, with dates of 4-24.v.1986, 13. iv– 4.v.1986, 24. v– 14.vi.1986, and second label - [H] open regenerating [;] woodland <10 years old [;] [O] in clearing, fully [;] shaded part of day (ESUW). 6 ♀♀, same data as holotype, with dates of 12. iv– 4.v.1986, 6-27.xi.1986, 24. v– 14.v.1986, 13. ix– 4.x.1986, and second label - [SE] Bosque San Emilio [;] 50yr old deciduous Forest [;] [O] in clearing, fully [;] isolated part of day (ESUW). 1 ♀, same data as holotype, with date of 23. iii– 13.iv.1986, and second label - [BH] Bosque Humedo [;] mature evergreen dry forest [;] [O] in clearing, fully [;] isolated part of day (ESUW). 5 ♀♀, same data as holotype, with dates of 13. iv– 4.v.1986, and second label - [H] open regenerating [;] woodland <10 years old [;] [C] more or less fully [;] isolated as possible (ESUW). 2 ♀♀, top label - Costa Rica: Guanacaste [;] Santa Rosa National Pk. [;] 300m, Malaise, Ian Gauld [;] 24. v– 14.vi.1986; second label - Bosque San Emilio [;] 50yr old deciduous [;] forest. Sun (ESUW). 1 ♀, Costa Rica: Guanacaste, GCA [;] Sector Santa Rosa, tropical [;] dry forest, open field nr. [;] road to Playa Naranjo, [;] malaise trap, 8-18 June 1995 [;] Dadelahi, Price, Zitani (ESUW). 1 ♀, Costa Rica: Puntarenas [;] ACO, Golfito, RF Golfo Dulce [;] Est. Agujas, 250-300m [;] 2-22.x.1999, J. Azofeifa [;] L.S. 276750-526550 #53490 [;] Amarilla (ESUW). 1 ♀, Costa Rica: Puntarenas [;] Pen. Osa, 5km. N. Pto. [;] Jimenez, 10m, iii–iv.1991, P. Hanson, Malaise (ESUW). 25 ♀♀, S.RosaPark, Guan. [;] C. Rica, various dates from May 76 to May 78 [;] D.H. Janzen [;] Dry Hill and Riparian (AEIC).

Comments.

This species is distinguished by the short and broad metasomal tergum 1, smooth mesoscutal lobes and the rectangular area where the notauli meet before the scutellum.

Etymology.

Named for my friend and colleague, the late Ian Gauld, in recognition of his many years of support for the study of the biodiversity of the Hymenoptera of Costa Rica.