Homalopoda donatos, 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 : 72-74

Homalopoda donatos sp.nov.

( Figs 133-138; Hab. E 22)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.2-1.6mm): scape dark brown, flagellum dark brown; fore femur and tibia dark brown, extreme apices pale orange; mid femur proximally white, apex dark brown, tibia dark brown, apex very pale yellow; fore wing ( Fig. 134) apex generally hyaline; paired hyaline spots at apex of venation separated by less than length of marginal vein; no hyaline spot present in middle of wing below marginal vein; head about 3.1-3.62X as wide as frontovertex; occipital margin with a bristle-like seta behind posterior ocellus; mandible with 4 teeth, two uppermost teeth very short; a conspicuous line of dense, silvery setae adjacent to eye above scrobe; scape about 3.8-4.4X as long as broad; funicle segments subcylindrical ( Fig. 133), slightly longer than broad, F2 subquadrate, linear sensilla present on all segments; flagellum slightly shorter than head width; apex of scutellum with two pairs of scale-like setae (Fig, 137); costal cell of fore wing ventrally with 2 or 3 lines of setae proximally, a single line of setae in distal half; postmarginal vein much shorter than stigmal vein (Fig, 135); linea calva interrupted by 1 or 2 setae; hind tibia without a subbasal constriction. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.49mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.35mm (CPD).

Head with occiput mixed metallic dark green and blue-green; frontovertex mixed metallic dark green and blue-green with some violet areas anteriorly, area around anterior ocellus violet; scrobal area entirely metallic green and dark blue-green; mouth margin violet; temple metallic green with some weak coppery reflections; gena metallic dark green and blue-green with some weak coppery reflections; frontovertex with a few, fairly conspicuous, scattered, brown setae; a conspicuous line of dense, translucent silvery setae between eye and scrobe extending beneath eye to position of malar sulcus; gena and interantennal prominence with a few scattered, moderately conspicuous, translucent, silvery setae; palpi pale orange-brown, apex of maxillary palpus pale brown; radicle pale orange, with a dark brown apical ring; scape, pedicel and flagellum dark brown; thorax with a metallic lustre; pronotum mainly with a dark blue and blue-green sheen, some violet laterally, posterior margin coppery violet; mesoscutum mostly with a metallic blue-green sheen, distinctly coppery medially; tegula dark brown with a weak coppery and brassy sheen; axilla dark brown with a relatively dull brassy, dark green and coppery sheen; scutellum with a dark, metallic blue-green sheen with ridges of reticulate sculpture dark purple, extreme side shining dark blue-green with some violet; mesopleuron anteriorly with a moderate coppery sheen, medially metallic dark blue-green with some coppery and brassy reflections, posteriorly coppery purple with some violet; all coxae dark brown; fore femur brown, extreme apices pale orange-brown, tibia mostly pale brown with extreme apex pale orange, tarsus slightly dusky pale orange; mid femur with proximal 0.3X white, remainder dark brown, tibia with proximal 0.6X brown, apex very pale yellow, spur and tarsus very pale yellow to pale orange; hind femur and tibia dark brown, extreme apex of tibia white dorsally, tarsus white with apical tarsomere pale orange; fore wing with a pattern of hyaline and infuscate areas as in Fig. 134; propodeum dark brown with a weak brassy and purple sheen, side with a distinct metallic dark blue-green sheen; gaster dark purple-brown, dorsally with a coppery purple sheen, Gt1 with a metallic violet, dark blue and blue-green sheen, side and venter with coppery, blue, brassy and green reflections; gonostylus dark brown.

Head in facial view about 3.2X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.3X as high as deep, tangent to frontovertex forming an angle of about 65° with that of face; clypeal margin medially virtually straight; occipital margin sharp, not carinate, clearly emarginate medially, with a conspicuous, slender, bristle-like seta present behind each posterior ocellus, seta about half as long as width of frontovertex across posterior ocelli; subocular line of setae in shallow groove; a short, oval depression adjacent to eye near occipital margin; frontovertex shiny, strongly narrowing anteriorly; ocelli forming an angle of about 85°; ocellar area with relatively deep, irregular, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size slightly less than diameter of eye facet, area between anterior ocellus and top of scrobes with shallow sculpture, virtually smooth; temple and gena with relatively shallow, longitudinally elongate, fine polygonally reticulate sculpture; top of scrobes with shallow, regular, polygonally reticulate sculpture, below this with conspicuously shallower sculpture; interantennal prominence and mouth margin with shallow, relatively fine, polygonally reticulate sculpture; antenna as in Fig. 133; scape hardly broadened and flattened, about 4.4X as long as broad; all funicle segments at least about 1.3X as long as broad, F1 longest, about 1.7X as long as broad, longer than F2 which is shortest segment, segments broadest distad, linear sensilla present on all funicle segments; clava slightly longer than funicle, sutures parallel, sensory area small, at apex only giving it a rounded appearance; eye slightly overreaching occipital margin, clothed with short, very inconspicuous setae, each clearly shorter than diameter of facet. Relative measurements: HW 91.5, HH 62, FV 29, POL 17, OOL 2, OCL 10.5, AOL 11, EL 38.5, EW 45, MS 39, SL 44, SW 10.

Thorax ( Fig. 137) with visible part of mesoscutum about 1.6X as broad as long; scutellum about 1.5X as broad as long, apex with two pairs of flattened, scale-like setae, inner pair much broader and larger, each about 1.3X as long as scutellum, outer pair more slender, slightly curved and about 0.9X as long as scutellum; hind femur about 3.3X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 134, 135; costal cell distally with about 10 setae extending dorsally about 0.4X along from apex; propodeum medially about 0.08X as long as scutellum. Relative measurements: FWL 101, FWW 40; HWL 68.5, HWW 19.5.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about 0.6X towards apex; syntergum about 0.9X as long as mid tibia, with apex narrowly rounded; ovipositor exserted, the exserted part about 0.9X length of mid tibial spur or about 0.33X mid tibia.

Paratype. Mandible with 4 teeth, two uppermost teeth very short; linea calva interrupted by a single seta; hypopygium as in Fig, 136; ovipositor as in Fig. 138, second valvifer with 3 subapical setae. Relative measurements: OL 56, GL 14.5 [MT 33].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 1.23-1.60mm, the mesoscutum may lack the coppery sheen medially, but may have scattered coppery reflections, the scutellum may be distinctly coppery posteriorly, the head varies from about 3.1-3.6X as wide as the frontovertex, the scape varies from 3.8-4.4X as long as broad and the clava may be very slightly shorter than the funicle, but always clearly longer than F2-F4 combined.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED. Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Puntarenas, Est. Altamira, Send. a Casa Coca, LS 332800

574250, 1900m, #63986, 12.vii-12.viii.2001 ( D. Rubí ). Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Guanacaste, SW side Volcán Cacao, Est. Cacao , 1100m, 1988-1989; 1E, Guanacaste, Guanacaste NP, below Cacao , 400-600m, 3.iii.1990 (J.S. Noyes); 2E, Alajuela, Peñas Blancas , 9.v.1987 and 9.vi.1987 (E.C. Cruz); 1E, Guanacaste, Est. Maritza ( ACG) , 700m, MT/YPT, 20.i-24.ii.1996 (J.S. Noyes); 1E, Guanacaste, Sector Santa Maria, 25km NE Liberia , 790m, 15.i-15.ii.1997 (D. Briceño); 1E, Puntarenas, Est.Altamira, Send. a Casa Coca, LS 332800 574250 , 1900m, #64576, 12.viii-12.ix.2001 ( D. Rubí ). Holotype in MZUCR , paratypes in MZUCR and NHMUK .

COMMENTS. See comments under aesira (p. 60).