Leptodrepana sohailae Dadelahi & Shaw

Dadelahi, Samin D., Shaw, Scott R., Aguirre, Helmuth & Almeida, Luis Felipe V. de, 2018, A taxonomic study of Costa Rican Leptodrepana with the description of twenty-four new species (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Cheloninae), ZooKeys 750, pp. 59-130 : 99-100

Leptodrepana sohailae Dadelahi & Shaw sp. n. Figs 97-101

Diagnosis.

Body small, less than 2.5 mm in length. The carapace apex terminates in a single point, which is visible in both dorsal and posterior views. The carapace apex is shiny-impunctate. The mesopleuron is medially shiny and weakly punctate and the precoxal sulcus is defined by a scrobiculate groove. The body is dark brown in color.

Holotype female.

BL 1.7 mm; FWL 1.4 mm; CL 0.8 mm; CW 0.2 mm; CL/CW 4.

Description.

Color. Head brown, mandibles mostly yellowish brown but blackish brown basally and apically; palpi yellowish white; antennae dark brown, darkest apically with scape, pedicel and first two basal flagellomeres yellowish brown; mesosoma brown; legs yellow with dark area dorso-apically on femur and tibia with faint yellowish white band basally; venation yellowish brown; carapace brown.

Head. HW 0.58 mm; HL 0.43 mm; HW/HL 1.35; face, vertex and ocellar triangle rugulose-punctate, genae weakly so; frons depressed, weakly punctate and median carina weak; clypeus punctate and apical margin rounded; occipital carina complete.

Mesosoma. Pronotum weakly foveolate-punctate antero-laterally to smooth at propleural margin; propleuron weakly areolate-rugose; mesoscutum medially with irregular parallel pitted grooves between notauli difficult to distinguish and appears areolate-rugose; notauli narrow and visible anteriorly; median and lateral mesonotal lobes rugose-foveolate; scutellar sulcus with 5-6 well-defined depressions, all longer than wide; scutellar disc weakly punctate; mesopleuron anteriorly rugose, medially suture shiny and weakly punctate, scrobiculate groove at precoxal sulcus; propodeum coarsely areolate-rugose with distinct transverse carina raised into small and roughly equal medial and lateral flanges.

Metasoma. Carapace areolate-rugose to shiny and impunctate at apex; in dorsal view, apex terminates in single point; in lateral view, apex terminates in sloping point approximately at midline; ventral cavity almost reaching apex.

Variation of paratype females. Color: color patterns,tibial basal band and basal portions of antennae, well differentiated; tibia of hind leg dark brown dorsally; HW 0.58-0.65 mm; HL 0.43-0.48 mm; HW/HL 1.35-1.4; BL 1.7-2.2 mm; FWL 1.4-2.1 mm; CL 0.8-1.0 mm; CW 0.2-0.36 mm; CL/CW2.8-4.

Paratype males. No males.

Material examined.

Holotype female: ALAJUELA, San Pedro de la Tigra Cacao, 200 m, iii–iv.1990 (R. Cespedes) [UWIM]. Paratype female: 1♀, GUANACASTE, Est. Pitilla 9 km S Santa Cecilia, 700 m, v.1989 (I. Gauld).

Remarks.

Leptodrepana sohailae may be distinguished from other Costa Rican species by the following combination of characters. The body is small, being less than 2.5 mm in length. The carapace apex terminates in a single point, which is visible in both dorsal and posterior views. The carapace apex is shiny-impunctate. The mesopleuron is medially shiny and weakly punctate and the precoxal sulcus is defined by a scrobiculate groove. The body is dark brown in color.

Etymology.

This species name is a patronym named in honor of a sister of SDD, Sohaila Catherine Dadelahi.