Heterospilus macrocaudatus 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 : 375-377

Heterospilus macrocaudatus Marsh sp. n. Figure 256

Female.

Body size: 3.5 mm. Color: body dark brown, apical metasomal terga lighter; scape brown; flagellum entirely brown or brown with apical 5-7 flagellomeres white; wing veins including stigma brown; legs yellow or light brown. Head: vertex smooth; frons smooth; face smooth; temple in dorsal view narrow, sloping behind eye, width equal to 1/2 eye width; malar space greater than 1/4 eye height; ocell-ocular distance greater than 2.5 times diameter of lateral ocellus; 21-25 flagellomeres. Mesosoma: mesoscutal lobes smooth; notauli scrobiculate, meeting posteriorly with 2 converging distinct carinae; scutellum smooth; prescutellar furrow with 3 cross carinae; mesopleuron smooth; precoxal sulcus smooth, shorter than mesopleuron; venter smooth; propodeum with basal median areas margined, smooth, basal median carina present, short, areola usually weakly margined, areolar area rugose, lateral areas entirely rugose. Wings: fore wing vein r shorter than vein 3RSa, vein 1cu-a interstitial with or slightly beyond vein 1M; hind wing vein SC+R present, vein M+CU shorter than vein 1M. Metasoma: first tergum longitudinally costate, length greater than apical width; second tergum longitudinally costate-granulate; anterior transverse groove present, straight; posterior transverse groove present; third tergum costate basally, smooth apically; terga 4-7 smooth; ovipositor nearly twice as long as metasoma.

Holotype female.

Top label (white, partially printed and hand written) - Costa Rica: Guanacaste [;] Santa Rosa Natl. Park [;] 300m, ex. Malaise trap [;] Site #: BH-12-C [;] Dates: 27. ix– 18.x.1986 [;] I.D. Gauld & D. Janzen; second label (white, printed) - [BH] Bosque Humedo [;] mature evergreen dry forest [;] [C] more or less fully [;] shaded as possible; third label (red, partially printed and hand written) - HOLOTYPE [;] Heterospilus [;] macrocaudatus [;] P. Marsh. Deposited in ESUW.

Paratypes.

2 ♀♀, same data as holotype except: sites # of 6 and H-1-O; dates of 26. x– 16.xi.1986 and 20.xii.86-10.i.1987; second label of [SE] Bosque San Emilio [;] 50yr old deciduous forest [;] [C] more or less fully [;] shaded as possible and [H] open regenerating [;] woodland <10 years old [;] [O] in clearing, fully [;] isolated part of day (ESUW). 1 ♀, Costa Rica: Guanacaste, ACT [;] Bagaces, P.N. Palo Verde [;] Sect. Catalina, 0-50m, de Luz [;] 8-12.xi.1999, I. Jimenez [;] L.N. 260952-385020 #53252 (ESUW). 1 ♀, Costa Rica: Guanacaste, ACT [;] Bagaces, P.N. Palo Verde, 212m [;] Sec. Palo Verde, Cerro Guayacan [;] 13. ix– 13.x.1999, I. Jimenez, Malaise [;] L.N. 259350-389600 #53499 (ESUW). 1 ♀, Costa Rica, San Jose [;] San Ignacio [;] July 21 1980 [;] Wharton, Coll (TAMU).

Comments.

The unusually long ovipositor and the smooth mesoscutum are distinctive for this species. The flagellum varies from entirely brown to brown with apical flagellomeres white.

Etymology.

The specific name is from the Greek macros, meaning long, and the Latin cauda, meaning tail, in reference to the unusually long ovipositor.