Prionias nodutus, 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 : 169-171

Prionias nodutus sp.nov.

( Figs 428-434; Hab. E 69)

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.69mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.55mm. (CPD)

Head mainly black, occipital margin with a metallic dark blue sheen, area between occipital margin and posterior ocelli weakly purplish, frontovertex otherwise with a very weak, dark blue sheen, scrobal area with a distinct coppery purple sheen, temple and posterior gena with a weak brassy sheen, lower part of interantennal prominence weakly metallic dark green; piliferous punctures on frontovertex coppery purple; frontovertex, gena and interantennal prominence with short, moderately conspicuous, dark brown setae; radicle orange-brown margined dark brown, scape pale orange, pedicel ventrally pale orange and at apex, otherwise slightly dusky pale orange; funicle slightly dusky pale orange; clava brown; maxillary palpus off-white; pronotum black with a coppery purple sheen; prosternum dark brown; mesoscutum black with a slight, but distinct, metallic dark blue sheen, in some lights purple, especially posteriorly; tegula dark brown with a slight brassy sheen; scutellum metallic dark green, with some purple reflections, especially in anterior one-third; axilla dark purple-brown; dorsum of thorax clothed with dark brown setae; metanotum dark purple-brown with weak brassy sheen; mesopleuron dark purple-brown with a weak brassy sheen; mesosternum dark brown; fore coxa pale yellow, mid and hind coxae pale orange; legs generally pale yellow to pale orange, mid tibia with a small, dark brown subbasal spot, pretarsi brown; wings hyaline, fore wing venation pale brown; propodeum mainly dark purple-brown with a weak brassy sheen, area below spiracle with distinct metallic green sheen; setae surrounding spiracle white, translucent and silvery; gaster generally dark brown with a coppery purple sheen, Gt1 with a deep blue-green metallic sheen, side of Gt1 with a metallic dark green sheen, otherwise side and venter mainly with a mixed blue, brassy, purple and coppery sheen; gonostylus dark brown with extreme apex pale orange.

Head ( Fig. 433) about 4.4X as wide as frontovertex; ocelli forming an angle of about 50°; frontovertex with narrowest point about level with anterior ocellus, sculpture of mesh size much less than diameter eye facet; frontovertex with piliferous punctures shallow, 6 setae in front of anterior ocellus, a line of sparse setae along inner eye margin continued along lower eye margin; temple and gena about as shiny as frontovertex, with slightly shallower, longitudinally elongate, strigose to striate-reticulate sculpture, that on temple and posterior part of gena of conspicuously larger mesh; eye separated from scrobal margin by slightly less than diameter of ocellus, area between eye and scrobe with similar sculpture to that on frontovertex; scrobes meeting dorsally, with shallow sculpture; interantennal prominence, well separated from frontovertex, dorsally rounded, sculpture on interantennal prominence polygonally reticulate, about as deep that on frontovertex; antenna as in Fig. 432; scape about 5.3X as long as broad; funicle with linear sensilla present on F2-F6; clava hardly broadened, about 1.2X as wide as F6, nearly as long as F3-F6 combined, clava with sensory area extending not quite one-third along its ventral surface; clypeal margin weakly concave, slightly protuberant medially. Relative measurements: HW 70, HH 66, FV 16, POL 7, OOL 0, OCL 5.5, AOL 8, EL 49, EW 40, MS 22, SL 31.5, SW 6.

Thorax ( Fig. 430) with imbricate-reticulate to polygonally reticulate sculpture on pronotum and mesoscutum that is similar in depth to that on frontovertex below anterior ocellus; axilla with polygonally reticulate sculpture that is a little deeper and coarser than that on mesoscutum; posterior margin of pronotum moderately concave; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.4X as broad as long; scutellum about 0.9X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and distribution of setae as in Figs 428, 429; propodeum ( Fig. 430) about 0.14X as long as scutellum, with an indistinct, single, longitudinal, median carina. Relative measurements: FWL 72, FWW 27.5; HWL 53, HWW 12.5.

Gaster a little longer than thorax, with hypopygium ( Fig. 434) reaching about 0.8X towards apex; syntergum about 0.9X as long as mid tibia, with tongue-like extension a little more than a quarter as long as remainder of syntergum; ovipositor ( Fig. 431) exserted, the exserted part about 0.2X as long as gaster or nearly as long as mid tibial spur. Relative measurements: OL 75; GS 22.5 [MT 38].

Variation. Females vary in overall length from 1.69-2.27mm, the paratype is distinctly larger than the holotype and has paler legs that lack the small, dark brown, subbasal spot on the mid tibia, the fore wing has a slight yellow hue, the head is about 5X as wide as the frontovertex, the flagellar segments are a little more slender, F1 has linear sensilla and the propodeum has several irregular carinae medially.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Guanacaste, Cacao (ACG), 1100 m, MT/YPT, 26.i-24. ii.1996 (J.S. Noyes) . Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Guanacaste, Pitilla ( ACG), 700m, MT/YPT, 24.i-27. ii.1996 (J.S. Noyes) . Holotype and paratype in NHMUK .