Cheiloneurus grimus, Noyes, 2023

Noyes, John Stuart, 2023, ENCYRTIDAE OF COSTA RICA (HYMENOPTERA: CHALCIDOIDEA), 4 Subfamily Encyrtinae: tribes Arrhenophagini, Habrolepidini, Cerapterocerini, Cheiloneurini, Trechnitini, Cercobelini, Polaszekiini, Protyndarichoidini, Gahaniellini and Syrphophagini (part), mainly primary parasitoids and hyperparasitoids of Coccoidea and Psylloidea (Hemiptera), Taxonomic Monographs on Neotropical Hymenoptera (Oxford, England) 2 (11), pp. 1-921 : 302-304

Cheiloneurus grimus sp.nov.

( Figs 748-754)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.6mm): body almost completely dark brown with a weak to moderate metallic sheen; antenna ( Fig. 749) with scape mostly white with dorsal and ventral margins largely brown; pedicel and flagellum dark brown; mesoscutum mostly with silvery setae; coxae dark brown; legs mostly dark brown; fore wing ( Fig. 751) mostly infuscate with basal cell mostly hyaline, a small hyaline area at apex of venation, a larger paler area opposite and at apex; head ( Fig. 752) about 7.0X as wide as frontovertex, in facial view clearly longer than broad, subrectangular, genae slightly curved and converging, but more strongly curved inwards near mouth; frontovertex naked medially between anterior ocellus and scrobes; eye separated from scrobe by about diameter of anterior ocellus, area between eye and scrobe completely smooth and mirror shiny; scrobes deep, sharply margined, carinate below eye; interantennal prominence with about 45 inconspicuous setae and dorsally broadly rounded without a median ridge; mandible with one acute tooth and a broad truncation; antenna ( Fig. 749) with scape about 4.5X as long as broad; F1-F3 longer than broad, F4-F6 quadrate or transverse; linear sensilla on F3-F6; clava 3-segmented, slightly shorter than F4-F6 combined; sensory area enlarged, extending ventrally nearly 0.35X length of clava, apex obliquely truncate; head width slightly more than flagellum length; mesoscutum ( Fig. 754) mostly with regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture, anterolateral areas with slightly more longitudinally elongate polygonal sculpture; scutellum with a distinct, apical tuft of setae; wings fully developed, fore wing ( Fig. 751) about 2.6X as long as broad; parastigma downcurved; costal cell dorsally with a single apical seta, ventrally with a line of setae in proximal 0.6X, apex naked; area below proximal part of parastigma with a group of about 13 setae; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a naked hyaline area that continues a little way into disc ( Fig. 750); apical bristle of postmarginal vein about as long as marginal vein; mid tibial spur very slightly longer than basitarsus; propodeum ( Fig. 754) with about four inconspicuous setae adjacent to spiracle, side naked; syntergum about 0.8X as long as mid tibia with apex narrowly rounded; ovipositor ( Fig. 753) about 4.4X gonostylus or slightly more than 1.1X mid tibia; gonostylus about 0.7X as long mid tibial spur; exserted part of ovipositor about 0.1X as long as mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.57mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.53mm ( CPD) .

Head mainly dark brown, virtually black; a very small area outside torulus pale orange; frontovertex with occipital margin dark metallic blue, area between posterior ocelli and occipital margin weakly metallic green more or less bordered purple, a narrow metallic blue line between posterior ocelli, anterior to this relatively dull with weak brassy, blue and purple reflections, more strongly metallic immediately above scrobes; area between eye and scrobe strongly shining green, blue, brassy and coppery; temple with a relatively strong metallic green, blue-green and purple sheen, this continuing more weakly onto upper part of gena, lower part of gena brassy, green and coppery; scrobes and upper part of interantennal prominence metallic green and blue-green, lower part of interantennal prominence and mouth margin coppery mixed purple; no metallic line connecting toruli; frontovertex clothed with inconspicuous, pale brown setae, these continued as a line below eye; gena and interantennal prominence with relatively dense, scattered, short, translucent setae; antenna ( Fig. 749) with radicle mostly orange, apex dark brown; scape mostly white, ventral margin dark brown from base to about 0.75X along its length, dorsal margin and apex dark brown; pedicel and flagellum dark brown, almost black; maxillary palpus dark brown; thorax mostly dark brown; pronotum mixed orange-brown; mesoscutum black, mostly with distinct coppery and purple reflections and clothed with silvery setae, but a narrow anterior strip and wider anterolateral areas more or less matt, with weaker dark green and blue reflections and clothed with slightly less dense, dark brown setae; tegula dark orange-brown with a weak coppery sheen; axilla and scutellum dark orange mixed dark brown, with weak brassy and coppery reflections, axillae with dark brown setae, scutellum anteriorly with dark, golden brown setae, posterior setae and subapical tuft black; mesopleuron dark chestnut brown, anteriorly with a weak green, brassy, coppery and blue sheen, posteriorly with a coppery, purple and green sheen; legs more or less completely dark brown, mid tarsus orange, basitarsus orange-brown; fore wing ( Fig. 751) mostly infuscate, largely hyaline towards base, submarginal vein orange-brown, otherwise venation brown; propodeum dark brown, medially with a metallic purple sheen, submedially and just medial to spiracle with a metallic blue, green and brassy sheen, side largely dark, metallic blue, 4 or 5 translucent, white setae outside spiracle; gaster dark brown, mostly with a coppery-purple and brassy sheen, Gt3-Gt5 laterally mixed metallic green; gonostylus pale orange.

Head ( Fig. 752) about 7X as wide as frontovertex in profile about 1.9X as high as deep, frontovertex weakly and evenly curved to top of scrobes then slightly angled towards mouth margin and virtually straight from top of scrobes to mouth margin, interantennal prominence slightly protuberant; occipital margin sharp, carinate; ocelli forming an angle of about 45°; frontovertex slightly shiny, with shallow, fairly regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size smaller than diameter of eye facet, sculpture clearly coarser and of larger mesh immediately above scrobes, this area of coarser sculpture clearly defined laterally and with lower margin sharply angled and projecting slightly into scrobes; upper part of interantennal prominence narrowly smooth, but mostly with moderately deep, slightly coarse, regular polygonally reticulate to imbricate-reticulate sculpture; temple with shallow, irregular, longitudinally elongate polygonally reticulate sculpture, posterior part of gena with similar sculpture, anterior part of gena with regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture that is slightly deeper than that immediately below anterior ocellus; area between eye and scrobe slightly wider than diameter of anterior ocellus, completely smooth and mirror shiny; scrobes deep, meeting dorsally, sharply margined, carinate below eye, very broadly ∩-shaped, interantennal prominence dorsally broadly rounded, without a median ridge; antenna as in Fig. 749; scape broadened and flattened, broadest above middle, about 4.5X as long as broad; F1-F3 longer than broad, F4 quadrate, F5-F6 transverse, segments wider and larger distally so that F6 is largest and widest, linear sensilla present only on F3-F6; clava slightly broadened, a little shorter than F4-F6 combined, sensory area slightly enlarged, extending about 0.35X along ventral surface, giving it an obliquely truncate appearance; eye not quite reaching occipital margin, separated by about diameter of facet, appearing naked, but clothed with inconspicuous, very short setae that are much shorter than diameter of facet; inner eye margins subparallel, narrowest point of frontovertex about midway between anterior ocellus and top of scrobes; malar sulcus absent; clypeal margin medially virtually straight; mandible with one acute tooth and a broad, slightly concave truncation; apical segment of maxillary palpus not enlarged, about as long as radicle. Relative measurements: HW 98, HH 110, FV 14, POL 5, OOL 0, OCL 16, AOL 14, EL 72, EW 53, MS 50, SL 52, SW 11.5.

Thorax ( Fig. 754) with pronotum hardly exposed behind head and about 0.6X as long as mesoscutum; pronotum slightly shiny with similar sculpture to that in ocellar area, but a little shallower; mesoscutum mostly with regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture that is similar to that in ocellar area, anterolateral areas with slightly more longitudinally elongate polygonal sculpture; axilla and scutellum with similar polygonally reticulate sculpture to that on most of mesoscutum; visible part of mesoscutum about 2.3X as broad as long; scutellum about 1.1X as broad as long, with a distinct subapical tuft, setae mostly about 0.7X as long as scutellum; hind femur about 4.6X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 750, 751; costal cell with a single seta dorsally at apex; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins connected by a distinct, naked, hyaline streak ( Fig. 750); mid tibia with a distinct, external carina in proximal half; propodeum ( Fig. 754) medially about 0.19X as long as scutellum and smooth. Relative measurements: FWL 90, FWW 34; HWL 78, HWW 19.

Gaster without “gland-like” structures on Gt1 or Gt5; hypopygium ( Fig. 748) reaching about 0.4X to apex; syntergum about 0.8Xas long as mid tibia, with apex narrowly rounded; ovipositor ( Fig. 753) hardly exserted, the exserted part about 0.13X as long as md tibial spur or much less than 0.1X as long as mid tibia. Relative measurements: OL 50.5, GL 11.5 [MT 44].

Variation. Only holotype examined.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Puntarenas, Est. Agujas, Sendero Trocho, LS 276750 526550, 310m, #65141, 17.ix-18.x.2001 (J. Azofeifa) . Holotype in NHMUK .

COMMENTS. As the key suggests. Cheiloneurus grimus is generally quite similar to medusa , amadeus , seius and herxius . This species differs from the others in having the middle part of the carinate margin delimiting the top of the scrobes forming a strong, distinctly triangular area with the sculpture immediately above it on the frontovertex, whereas in the other species the carinate margin at the top of the scrobes is more or less straight and the sculpture above is not delimited as a triangular area. Cheiloneurus grimus also appears to lack a thin metallic line connecting the lower margins of the toruli as in the other species. Further to this grimus differs from medusa and amadeus in having the head about 7X as broad as the frontovertex and the ovipositor much less than 4.5X as long as the gonostylus whereas in medusa and amadeus the head as not more than about 4X as broad as the frontovertex and the ovipositor is at least 5X as long as the gonostylus. In grimus the scape is about 4.5X as long as broad and the syntergum 0.8X as long as the mid tibia whilst in seius the scape is not more than 4.1X as long as broad and the syntergum is about as long as the mid tibia. Cheiloneurus grimus lacks linear sensilla on F1 and F2 and the ovipositor is shorter than the mid tibia whereas herxius has linear sensilla on all funicle segments and the ovipositor is longer than the mid tibia.

See also comments under poeana (p. 314) and oshtan (p. 316).