Triraphis chinusi Valerio, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Valerio, Alejandro A.
name: Shaw, Scott R.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Braconidae
Triraphis
Triraphis chinusi

description: Triraphis chinusi Valerio, sp. nov.
Figures 19–24, 103.
Description. Female. Body color: yellow as inner face of pedicel and scape, with antennal basal 1/2 black, remainder yellow; scape brownish yellow as pedicel, mesonotum, hind leg and metasomal terga (except second metasomal tergum medal area whitish yellow). Fore wing: M+CU distal tip brownish yellow as 1 – 1A, remainder yellow as C+SC+R; infumate areas at pterostigma (as a band) and at vein 1 – CUa as an irregular spot; hind wing: union of veins 1M, r – m, 2M brownish yellow, wing hyaline as remainder of fore wing. Body length = 9.38 – 9.71 mm; fore wing length = 6.67 – 7.22 mm.
Head: Head height/head length = 1.36 – 1.49; maximum height of compound eye/maximum width of compound eye = 1.50; distance between basal edges of tentorial pits and the basal area of toruli/Maximum width of face measured at dorsal edge of clypeus = 0.97 – 0.98; width of vertex/minimal distance between toruli and the medial ocellus = 3.30 – 3.44; width of oral opening/height of oral opening = 2.33 – 2.38; distance between tentorial pits = 0.33 – 0.31 mm; minimal distance between external edge of tentorial pits and compound eye = 0.16 – 0.18 mm. Antenna, flagellomeres all longer than wide, between 46 – 49; malar space wider than basal width of mandible; occipital carina present and narrow dorsally, not fused with hypostomal carina; median ocellus as big as Lateral ocellus; space between lateral ocellus black; ocell-ocular distance 1/2 lateral ocellus width.
Mesosoma: Length of mesosoma in dorsal view/width of mesosoma = 3.06 – 3.19; height of mesosoma = 1.85 – 2.00 mm; propleuron nitid; notauli punctate, pits from laterally smaller to bigger medially, defined medially; medial longitudinal pit present with longitudinal punctate sculpturing; sternauli finely striate, union with prepectal carina nitid as area below it; mesopleuron immaculate except dorso-lateral area with few rugose sculpturing present; metapleuron without colliculate or granulate sculpturing, with smooth – spaced rugose sculpturing throughout; propodeum without granulate sculpturing, spiracles sub – oval; first lateral areas of propodeum nitid or with few confused colliculate sculpturing, carinae conspicuously cristate, remainder with few conspicuously spaced areolate-rugulose sculpturing; medial carina <1/4 Propodeum length; areola triangular, sometimes with basal edge absent and open ventrally; ventral tubercles present without carinae over them and densely granulate.
Legs: basal lobe of hind tarsal claws elongate and acute at tip.
Wings: fore wing: 1Cub/RS+Ma = 1.15 – 1.18; 3RSa/1RS = 5.28 – 5.50; pterostigma length/width = 1.69 – 1.93; r = 0.32 – 0.35 mm. hind wing: 1M/r – m = 2.00 – 2.20; 1A/cu – a = 1.44 – 1.53; m+cu = 0.94 – 1.09 mm; m+cu antefurcal to 2RS; 2RS slightly bent to wing base; angle at union of veins 2RS – 2M wide; pterostigma yellow with black tips.
Metasoma: Length of first metasomal tergum/width of first metasomal tergum = 0.60 – 0.66; length of second metasomal tergum/width of second metasomal tergum = 1.04 – 1.09; length of third metasomal tergum/width of third metasomal tergum = 0.45 – 0.51; basal width of first metasomal tergum = 0.62 – 0.68 mm; hypopygium = 0.82 – 1.01 mm. first metasomal tergum dorso – basal triangular area of first metasomal tergum close without carinae present, medial carina cristate; first metasomal tergum lineate sculpturing more spaced than second metasomal tergum sculpturing; second metasomal tergum with medial carina present and defined; third metasomal tergum lineate sculpturing finer, closer and less conspicuous than second metasomal tergum sculpturing, not reaching third metasomal tergum distal edge; fourth metasomal tergum without fine lineate sculpturing.
Male. Same pattern of coloration and sculpturing as females; antennal flagellomeres between 45 – 51, body length between 8.71 – 10.07 mm, fore wing length: 6.22 – 7.44 mm.
Female holotype. Costa Rica, Punatarenas, Península de Osa, Sirena, 8.28N / 83.35W, 50 m. 13/iii/1981, Col. J. Longino. Paratypes: 4 females, 8 males; Females collected at Puntarenas, P.N. Corcovado, iii/1984, Col. P.J. De Vries, 3 same data except date, ix/1984, 17/viii/1984 /, 4/x/1984; Males same data except collection date (5) viii/ 1984, x/1984, (2) ix/1984.
Holotype and paratypes have been deposited at the RMSEL.
Distribution. The altitudinal distribution of this species is lowlands; type of forest present at site of collecting: tropical moist/wet forest. Specimens collected at primary forest.
Biology. Specimens collected by De Vries (1981 – 1984) parasitizing Eurybia lycisca (Riodinidae) feeding on Calathea lutea (Marantaceae).
Comments. Similar to T. fusciceps by the wide angle at union of veins 2RS – 2M, propodeal medial carina smaller than or as big as 1/4 of propodeal height and vein m+cu antefurcal to vein 2RS can be identified by the presence of infumate wing pattern at fore wings, ratio of first metasomal tergum (length/width) smaller than 0.8x.
Etymology. This species is named in honor of Mauricio A. “El chino” Coto Ugalde, friend of the first author.
description: Published as part of Valerio, Alejandro A. & Shaw, Scott R., 2015, Thirteen new Costa Rican species belonging to the genus Triraphis Ruthe (Braconidae: Rogadinae) with their host records, pp. 501-540 in Zootaxa 3904 (4) on pages 509-511, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3904.4.2, http://zenodo.org/record/234390