Heterospilus mars 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 : 378-379

Heterospilus mars Marsh sp. n. Figure 258

Female.

Body size: 3.0 mm. Color: body dark brown, apical metasomal terga lighter brown; scape brown without lateral brown stripe; flagellum brown; wing veins brown, stigma yellow; legs yellow. Head: vertex smooth; frons smooth; face smooth; temple in dorsal view broad and slightly bulging behind eye, width equal to 1/2 eye width; malar space slightly greater than 1/4 eye height; ocelli small, ocell-ocular distance nearly 5 times diameter of lateral ocellus; 21-24 flagellomeres. Mesoso ma: mesoscutal lobes smooth; notauli scrobiculate, meeting posteriorly in triangular costate area; scutellum smooth; prescutellar furrow with 3-5 cross carinae; mesopleuron smooth; precoxal sulcus smooth, shorter than mesopleuron; venter smooth; propodeum with basal median areas margined, weakly granulate, basal median carina present, areola distinctly margined, areolar area rugose, lateral areas rugose apically, smooth basally. Wings: fore wing vein r shorter than vein 3RSa (in holotype vein r is very short and nearly absent), vein 1cu-a beyond vein 1M; hind wing vein SC+R present, vein M+CU shorter than vein 1M. Metasoma: first tergum longitudinally costate, length equal to apical width; second tergum longitudinally costate, costae converging toward midline; anterior transverse groove present but weak, straight; posterior transverse groove weak or absent; third tergum weakly costate basally, smooth apically; terga 4-7 smooth; ovipositor as long as metasomal terga 1 and 2 combined.

Holotype female.

Top label (white, printed) - Costa Rica: Guanacaste [;] Est. Pitilla 9km S de Santa [;] Cecilia, 700m, C. Moraga [;] ii.1995, Amarilla #6998 [;] L.N. 329950-380450; second label (red, partially printed and hand written) - HOLOTYPE [;] Heterospilus [;] mars [;] P. Marsh. Deposited in ESUW.

Paratypes.

1 ♀, same data as holotype (ESUW). 1 ♀, Costa Rica: San Jose [;] Braulio Carillo N. P. [;] 8.2km E tunnel [;] 14-V-1988 P. Hanson (TAMU).

Comments.

The yellow stigma, the extremely small ocelli and large ocell-ocular distance, and the brown flagellum are distinctive for this species.

Etymology.

Named for the Roman god Mars.