Homalopoda opsis Noyes 2023, sp.nov.
Creators: name: Noyes, John Stuart
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Encyrtidae
Homalopoda
Homalopoda opsis

description: Homalopoda opsis sp.nov.   
(Figs 126-132; Hab. E 21)  
 DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 1.8-2.4mm): scape dark brown; flagellum dark brown; fore femur dark brown, orange apically, fore tibia orange with a subbasal brown ring, mid femur proximally white, apex dark brown, tibia dark brown, apex pale yellow; fore wing (Fig. 126) with apical area generally hyaline; paired hyaline spots at apex of venation separated by no more than length of marginal vein; no well-defined hyaline spot present in middle of wing below marginal vein; head about 7.7X as wide as frontovertex; occipital margin with a scale-like seta behind posterior ocellus; mandible with 1 tooth and a broad truncation; a line of silvery setae adjacent to eye above scrobe; scape about 5.6X as long as broad; funicle segments (Fig. 127) subcylindrical, all at least slightly longer than broad, linear sensilla present on all segments; flagellum slightly shorter than head width; apex of scutellum (Fig. 132) with two pairs of scale-like setae; costal cell of fore wing ventrally with 2 lines of setae proximally, a single line of setae in distal half; postmarginal vein much shorter than stigmal vein (Fig. 128); linea calva interrupted by 2 or 3 setae; hind tibia may have a weak subbasal constriction. Male: unknown.   
 Female ( holotype ): length, including ovipositor, 1.80mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.61mm (CPD).   
Head with frontovertex mixed metallic green and blue-green with some violet areas; area in front of anterior ocellus violet and purple; scrobal area entirely metallic green and dark blue-green; mouth margin orange-brown; temple metallic blue-green with some violet reflections; gena metallic blue-green; frontovertex with a few, fairly conspicuous, scattered, brown setae; a conspicuous line of dense, translucent silvery setae between eye and scrobe extending to position of malar sulcus; gena and interantennal prominence with a few scattered, moderately conspicuous, translucent, silvery setae; maxillary palpus white with terminal segment pale orange-brown; radicle pale orange, with a dark brown apical ring; scape, pedicel and flagellum dark brown; thorax dark brown to black with a metallic lustre; pronotum mainly with a dark blue and violet sheen, posterior margin coppery purple; mesoscutum mostly shining, but relatively dull, dark, metallic blue-green with violet reflections, narrowly margined coppery purple laterally and posteriorly; tegula dark brown with a weak coppery purple and brassy sheen; axilla dark brown with a relatively dull brassy, green and coppery sheen; scutellum relatively dull, dark, metallic blue, proximally dark green, side shining dark blue and green, apex violet; mesopleuron anteriorly with a moderate violet, brassy and dark blue sheen, medially dark green and brassy, posteriorly coppery purple; all coxae dark brown; fore femur brown, extreme apices pale orange, tibia mostly pale orange, but with a broad, incomplete, brown subbasal ring, tarsus slightly dusky pale orange; mid femur with proximal 0.4X white, tibia with proximal 0.5X brown and 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. 126; propodeum dark brown with a weak brassy and purple sheen, side with a weak metallic 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 (Fig. 130) about 7.7X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.6X as high as deep, tangent to frontovertex forming an angle of about 60° with that of face; occipital margin sharp, weakly carinate, clearly emarginate medially, with a conspicuous, slender, scale-like seta present behind each posterior ocellus, seta about as long as width of frontovertex across posterior ocelli; a short, oval depression adjacent to eye near occipital margin; ocelli forming an angle of about 55°; frontovertex narrowing strongly anteriorly, shiny; ocellar area with relatively deep, polygonally reticulate sculpture of mesh size slightly less than diameter of eye facet (Fig. 130), 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. 127; scape hardly broadened and flattened, about 5.6X as long as broad; all funicle segments at least 1.3X as long as broad (Fig. 127), F1 longest, slightly more than 2X as long as broad, segments broadest distad, linear sensilla present on all funicle segments; clava about as long as F1-F3 combined, 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; clypeal margin medially virtually straight. Relative measurements: HW 88, HH 70, FV 11.5, POL 10, OOL 0.5, OCL 9.5, AOL 10, EL 40, EW 49, MS 37, SL 44.5, SW 8.  
Thorax (Fig. 132) with visible part of mesoscutum about 1.5X as broad as long; scutellum about 1.3X 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 3.7X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 126, 128; costal cell distally with about 15 setae extending dorsally about 0.5X along from apex; propodeum medially about 0.08X as long as scutellum. Relative measurements: FWL 92, FWW 37; HWL 71. HWW 18.  
Gaster with hypopygium reaching about 0.7X towards apex; syntergum about 1.15X as long as mid tibia, with apex angular; ovipositor exserted, the exserted part about 0.7X length of mid tibial spur or about 0.3X mid tibia.  
Paratype. Mandible with one long tooth and a broad truncation, but truncation more less with three very short teeth; hypopygium as in Fig 131; ovipositor as in Fig. 129. Relative measurements: OL 65.5, GL 18.5 [MT 42].  
Variation. Females vary in overall length from 1.80-2.39mm.  
Male. Unknown.  
DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.  
HOSTS. Unknown.  
MATERIAL EXAMINED.  
 Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Guanacaste, ZP Nosara, Fila Maravilla, LN 221350 381700, 800m, #66663, 24.xi-21.xii.2001 (I. Jiménez). Paratypes: COSTA RICA, 1E, Guanacaste, Santa Rosa NP, SE 6C, vii.1986 (D. Janzen, I.D. Gauld); 1E, Guanacaste, RF Monte Alto, Send. La Ceiba, LN 221100 392950, 600m, #65435, 22.x-26.xi.2001 (I. Jiménez); 1E, Guanacaste, PN Bosque Diría, 10°10’N 85°34’W, 200m, 14-15.ii.2011 (J.S. Noyes). Holotype in MZUCR, paratypes in NHMUK.
description: Published as part of 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), pp. 1-921 in Taxonomic Monographs on Neotropical Hymenoptera (Oxford, England) (Oxford, England) 2 (11) on pages 70-72, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.8074943