Heterospilus chaoi 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 : 50-51

Heterospilus chaoi Marsh sp. n. Figure 28

Female.

Body size: 3.0-3.5 mm. Color: head yellow to light brown, occasionally vertex, frons and face light brown with eye orbits and malar space yellow; scape yellow without lateral brown stripe; flagellum brown, sometimes basal flagellomeres yellowish; mesosoma usually dark brown, often with mesoscutum, propleuron and venter lighter brown or honey yellow; metasomal terga 1-3 usually dark brown, remainder of terga lighter brown or honey yellow (one paratype has the body entirely honey yellow); wing veins brown, stigma brown with yellow apex; legs yellow. Head: vertex transversely costate; frons transversely costate; face rugose; temple in dorsal view broad, not sloping behind eye, width greater than 1/2 eye width; malar space greater than 1/4 eye height; ocell-ocular distance 2.0-2.5 times diameter of lateral ocellus; 25-26 flagellomeres. Mesosoma: mesoscutal lobes granulate; notauli scrobiculate, meeting at scutellum in triangular rugose area; scutellum smooth; prescutellar furrow with 1 cross carina; mesopleuron granulate; precoxal sulcus scrobiculate, shorter than mesopleuron; venter smooth; propodeum with basal median areas margined, granulate, basal median carina present, areola not distinctly margined, areolar area rugose, lateral areas entirely rugose. Wings: fore wing vein r shorter than vein 3RSa, vein 1cu-a beyond vein 1M; hind wing vein SC+R present, vein M+CU shorter than vein 1M. Metasoma: first tergum longitudinally costate; second tergum longitudinally costate; anterior transverse groove present, straight; posterior transverse groove weak or absent; third tergum granulate or costate basally, smooth apically; terga 4-7 smooth; ovipositor longer than metasoma.

Holotype female.

Top label (partially printed and hand written) - Costa Rica: Guanacaste [;] Santa Rosa Natl. Park [;] 300m, ex. Malaise trap [;] Site #: (blank) [;] Dates: 7-28.xii.1985 [;] 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 [;] chaoi [;] P. Marsh. Deposited in ESUW.

Paratypes.

1 ♀, same data as holotype with date of 26.xii.85-18.i.1986 (ESUW). 1 ♀, COSTA RICA-Heredia Prov. [;] La Selva Biological Station [;] 10°26'N, 84°01'W, 100m [;] Malaise trap 12, #382 [;] 15.iii.1994 [;] Project ALAS (M, 12, 382) (ESUW). 2 ♀♀, top label - Costa Rica: Guanacaste [;] Santa Rosa National Pk. [;] 300m, Malaise, Ian Gauld [;] 18. x– 8.xi.1986 and 6-27.ix.1986; second label - Bosque San Emilio [;] 50yr old deciduous [;] forest, full shade (ESUW). 1 ♀, top label - COSTA RICA, Heredia: [;] Est. Biol. La Selva, 50- [;] 150m, 10°26'N, 84°01'W [;] Apr 1998, INBio-OET; second label - 16 Abril 1998 [;] Bosque suampo [;] M/18/706 (INBC).

Comments.

The broad temple and long ovipositor are distinctive for this species.

Etymology.

Named for the late Chinese braconidologist, Hsiu-Fu Chao in remembrance of my two enjoyable visits to his laboratory in Fujien, China.