Triraphis simphlex 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 simphlex

description: Triraphis simphlex Valerio, sp. nov.
Figures 3, 11, 89–94, 112.
Description. Female. Body color: yellow, with scape and pedicel black; antenna with basal 3/5 black, distal 1/5 blackish yellow, medial 1/5 yellow; hind tibiae and hind coxae honey yellow; telotarsus and tarsal claws brown – yellow; black longitudinal spot beneath ventral edge of axilla trough mesonotum (sometimes absent); propodeum whitish yellow as mesepimeron and metapleuron. Fore wing: infumate areas at pterostigma as a band and at vein l – Cua as an irregular spot; 1 – lA tips black or brown as C+SC+R basal tip and M+CU distal tip; remainder yellow; hind wing: union of veins 1M, r – m, 2M brownish yellow; remainder of wings hyaline. Body length = 5.24 – 7.17 mm; fore wing length = 4.28 – 6.14 mm.
Head: Head height/head length = 1.26 – 1.29; maximum height of compound eye/maximum width of compound eye = 1.56 – 1.46; distance between basal edges of tentorial pits and the basal area of toruli/Maximum width of face measured at dorsal edge of clypeus = 1.05 – 1.13; width of vertex/minimal distance between toruli and the medial ocellus = 2.44 – 2.56; width of oral opening/height of oral opening = 1.68 – 2.00; distance between tentorial pits = 0.18 – 0.26 mm; minimal distance between external edge of tentorial pits and compound eye = 0.05 – 0.06 mm. Antenna, flagellomeres all longer than wide, between 40 – 46; longer than body length; malar space slightly narrower than basal width of mandible; occipital carina present dorsally and narrow, divided, not fused with hypostomal carina, ending close to it; median ocellus bigger than lateral ocellus; space between lateral ocellus black; ocell-ocular distance slightly smaller than 1/3 Lateral ocellus width.
Mesosoma: Length of mesosoma in dorsal view/width of mesosoma = 2.52 – 2.77; height of mesosoma = 1.16 – 1.67 mm; propleuron with confused colliculate sculpturing throughout; notauli punctulate, from smaller laterally to bigger medially, less defined medially; medial longitudinal pit present, elongate with longitudinal punctate sculpturing present; mesonotum distal 1/4 with less defined colliculate sculpturing present medially; sternauli finally striate, union with prepectal carina absent, area below with confused colliculate sculpturing; mesopleuron immaculate except dorso-lateral area with fine colliculate and large lineate sculpturing (sometimes is greatly reduced); metapleuron granulate, ventral 1/3 rugose; propodeum, spiracles oval; first lateral areas of propodeum with light areolate-rugulose and little colliculate sculpturing, remainder with spaced areolate-rugulose and colliculate sculpturing; medial carina <1/4 propodeum length; areola triangular; ventral tubercles present with carinae over them and densely granulate.
Legs: basal lobe of hind tarsal claws elongate and acute at tip.
Wings: fore wing: lCUb/RS+Ma = 1.10 – 1.11; 3RSa/lRS = 0.62 – 0.92; pterostigma length/width = 1.97 – 2.33; r = 0.25 – 0.33 mm; hind wing: lM/r – m = 1.70 – 1.80; lA/cu – a = 1.70 – 1.84; m+cu = 0.63 – 1.00; 2RS straight; m+cu interstitial with 2RS; angle at union 2RS – 2M acute; pterostigma black with tips yellow.
Metasoma: Length of first metasomal tergum/width of first metasomal tergum = 1.16 – 1.23; length of second metasomal tergum/width of second metasomal tergum = 0.83 – 0.92; length of third metasomal tergum/width of third metasomal tergum = 0.35 – 0.39; anterior width of first tergum = 0.38 – 0.54 mm; hypopygium = 0.50 – 0.66 mm; first metasomal tergum dorso – basal triangular area of first metasomal tergum close without carinae, medial carina cristate basally; first metasomal tergum lineate sculpturing more spaced and less dense than second metasomal tergum sculpturing; third metasomal tergum lineate sculpturing closer and less conspicuous than second metasomal tergum sculpturing, reaching third metasomal tergum distal edge; fourth metasomal tergum without fine lineate sculpturing
Male. Unknown.
Female holotype. Costa Rica, Heredia, 3 km S. Puerto Viejo, OTS, La Selva, 100 m. xii/1992, Col. P. Hanson. Paratypes: 7 females; 3 same data as holotype, except 2 with different date and collector, x/1992, 1 – 15/ix/1992, Col. G. Wrigth; (3) Heredia, Estac. Biol. La Selva, 50 – 150 m. 10.26N / 84.01W, ii – iv/1993, Col. P. Hanson, Huertos, Malaise trap set by G. Wright; 1 same data except date and collector, ix/1992, Hanson & Godoy; Guanacaste, ACG, sector Santa Rosa, cuesta Caño del Tigre, 6/viii/1992, Col. D.H. Janzen. Voucher number: (Janzen) 92 – SRNP – 4272.
Holotype and paratypes have been deposited at the RMSEL.
Distribution. The altitudinal distribution of this species is Atlantic lowlands from 50 – 150 m; the type of forest present at site of collecting was tropical moist/wet forest.
Biology. One specimen reared from Emesis emesia (Riodinidae) feeding on Caesalpinia exostemma (Fabaceae).
Comments. Sometimes second metasomal tergum totally white. Similar to Triraphis fusciceps (Cresson) and T. cortazari for the pattern of coloration on the body, propodeal medial carina as big as or smaller than 1/4 of propodeum length and the body size (in some cases), but can be identified by the ocell-ocular distance <1/3 lateral ocellus width, wing pattern present, area below sternauli immaculate and the antenna with fewer than 50 flagellomeres.
Etymology. The species name is an arbitrary combination of letters without any meaning.
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 532-534, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3904.4.2, http://zenodo.org/record/234390