Ooderella speculifrons Gibson, 2017, n. sp.
Creators: name: Gibson, Gary A. P.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Eupelmidae
Ooderella
Ooderella speculifrons

description: Ooderella speculifrons n. sp.
Figs 110–117
Type material. Holotype ♀ (MZUCR). “ COSTA RICA, Heredia | 3 km. S. Puerto Viejo | OTS-La Selva, 100m | IX.1992, P. Hanson / HOLOTYPE | Ooderella | speculifrons | Gibson”. Holotype card-mounted; entire; uncontorted.
Paratypes (2♀). Costa Rica. B. Carrillo N.P., 10°10'N 84°07'W, 11.IV. 85, 500m, H. Goulet & L. Masner (2♀ CNC).
Etymology. A combination of the Latin words speculum (mirror) and frons (forehead), in reference to the smooth and shiny frons of females, one of the differentiating features of the species.
Description. FEMALE (habitus: Fig. 112). Length = 2.7–[3.0] mm. Head (Figs 110, 111) dark with mostly reddish-violaceous luster on upper face and green to greenish-blue luster on lower face under most angles of light, except interantennal prominence and sometimes scrobal depression under some angles of light more coppery; in lateral view (Fig. 112) comparatively highly convex with frontovertex quite abruptly angled relative to lower face so broadest below middle, about 1.3× as high as long; in frontal view (Fig. 110) 1.25× as wide as high; in dorsal view (Fig. 111) about 1.6× as wide as long with interocular distance almost 0.4× head width without any indication of ocellocular mark, and with OOL: POL: LOL: MPOD = 10: 17: 11: 8. Frontovertex with vertex coriaceousalutaceous to near level of posterior ocelli but smooth and shiny posterior and lateral of ocelli and on frons except for scattered setiferous pits with brownish hairlike setae (Figs 110, 111). Scrobal depression (Fig. 110) dorsally smooth merged with and distinguished from frons only by abrupt change of sculpture, broadly Π-shaped with lateral margin sinuately curved above torulus so as to distinguish short parascrobal region along lower inner orbit; consisting of transverse-lunate region of reticulate sculpture extending laterally over parascrobal region and dorsally to within about 2× ocellar diameter from anterior ocellus, and transverse-lunate smooth and shiny region above scrobes and interantennal prominence, the latter also smooth and shiny. Interantennal prominence bare over smooth part, but prominence between toruli, lower face, and parascrobal region with brownish lanceolate setae. Mandible (Fig. 113: insert) with acute ventroapical tooth and broad though slightly incised dorsoapical margin so as to be variably distinctly tridentate. Labial and maxillary palps brown. Antenna (Fig. 113) dark but under some angles of light with variably extensive and distinct green luster on scape, pedicel, and fl4–fl6, but without distinctly contrasting white-reflective setae; length of flagellum + pedicel about 2× head width; scape slightly compressed and curved but of similar width throughout with subparallel dorsal and ventral margins; length[width] of scape: pedicel: funiculars: clava = 64[14]: 18[9]: 11[7], 30[8], 32[9], 35[10], 27[12], 23[12], 18[12], 16[13]: 37[14].
Mesosoma (Figs 114–116) brown to dark brown except mesoscutal flange yellowish-translucent, and under some angles of light with slight green luster, particularly dorsally (Figs 114, 115). Legs (Fig. 112) similar in color to mesosoma except meso- and metatarsi somewhat paler apically. Pronotum in dorsal view (Figs 111, 114) with collar transverse-quadrangular, about 2× as wide as long with anterolateral corners right-angled relative to anterior margin and anterior margin abruptly angled relative to neck, the dorsal surface flat on either side of deep mediolongitudinal groove and with only a couple of dark hairlike setae along outer and inner margins of each side. Mesoscutum (Fig. 114) flat anteriorly and with lateral lobes carinately angled only within about posterior third or less; meshlike reticulate; with inconspicuous posteriorly directed setae of similar color as cuticle except dense lanceolate white setae forming reflective patches antero- and posteromedially, the anterior region consisting of posteromedially directed setae on either side of midline forming separate setal patches (visible only for holotype), and the posterior region ovate and extending to posterior margin, with setae within anterior half directed anteriorly and posterior-most setae directed posteriorly, but in between with some medially directed setae. Scutellar-axillar complex (Fig. 115) about 1.3× as long as basal width with hairlike setae of similar color as cuticle along lateral margins of axillae and scutellum; axillae reticulate, elongate-slender; scutellum reticulate to partly longitudinally reticulate-strigose, teardrop-shaped, about 2.6× as long as greatest width, with distinctly differentiated, meshlike coriaceous frenal area. Tegula (Figs 114, 116) with dark setae narrowly along inner margin. Fore wing (Fig. 115) extending slightly over base of propodeum to level of spiracle, about 2.4× greatest width, flat, hyaline; neither costal cell nor submarginal vein extending quite to angulate apical margin of wing; costal cell setose ventrally; submarginal vein with apical-most seta comparatively short, not extending conspicuously beyond wing margin; membrane behind submarginal vein bare, without marginal setae. Mesopleurosternum (Fig. 116) with region of dense white lanceolate setae forming setal tuft anteriorly on acropleuron and dorsally on mesopectus, and mesopectus ventral to setal tuft with similar though less dense region of white lanceolate setae not extending to anterior margin of mesopectus, and with setae along acropleural sulcus of same length and not differentiated from other setae; acropleuron smooth and shiny except finely coriaceous above setal tuft and along dorsal and posterior margins. Metacoxa (Fig. 116) densely setose with white lanceolate setae dorsally, and laterally over about ventral half of outer surface, but narrowly bare dorsolongitudinally on outer surface. Propodeum (Fig. 115) with both anterior and posterior margins incurved at midline such that strongly recurved margins united into median carina along length; meshlike coriaceous, and with a couple of white lanceolate setae anterior to spiracle and region of dense white lanceolate setae posterolaterally.
Gaster (Figs 112, 117) brown except Gt1 white laterally, and at least Gt1 dorsally and syntergum with green to bluish luster, and extreme tip of lighter brownish ovipositor sheaths yellow; shiny, finely meshlike coriaceous with long setae of similar color as cuticle in single row across tergites except for more extensively setose syntergum; syntergum (Fig. 117) longer than wide and longer than penultimate tergite, with dorsal surface in similar plane such that syntergal flange poorly differentiated as posteriorly rounded bare region behind seta; ovipositor sheaths projecting slightly beyond syntergal flange by distance less than 0.2× length of metatibia.
Distribution (Map 1G). Costa Rica.
Remarks. Females of O. speculifrons are distinguished from those of all other New World species having the frons smooth and shiny by their basolaterally white gaster (Figs 112, 117). They are somewhat similar to O. microptera in having the scrobal depression smoothly merged with the frons and differentiated only by an abrupt change in sculpture rather than also an abrupt change in curvature, but among other features the two differ in structure and sculpture of the scrobal depression and interantennal prominence.
description: Published as part of Gibson, Gary A. P., 2017, Revision of world Ooderella Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Eupelmidae), with description of the first males for the genus, pp. 1-74 in Zootaxa 4289 (1) on pages 45-48, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.828791