Apanteles diegotorresi

Type locality. COSTA RICA, Guanacaste, ACG, Sector Del Oro, Bosque Aguirre,
620m, 11.00060, -85.43800.
Holotype. ♀ in CNC. Specimen labels: 1. Costa Rica, Guanacaste, ACG, Del
Oro, Bosque Aguirre, 14 May 2002, Manuel Pereira. 2. 02-SRNP-14931, Achlyodes
busirus, on Citrus sinensis. 3. DHJPAR0005259.
Paratypes. 9 ♀, 4 ♂ (BMNH, CNC, INBIO, INHS, NMNH). COSTA RICA,
ACG database codes: DHJPAR0004054, DHJPAR0004060, DHJPAR0004064, DHJPAR0004069, DHJPAR0004076, DHJPAR0004088, DHJPAR0005257,
DHJPAR0005258, DHJPAR0005260, DHJPAR0005262, DHJPAR0005282,
DHJPAR0012477, DHJPAR00012966.
Description. Female. Body color: body mostly dark except for some sternites
which may be pale. Antenna color: scape, pedicel, and flagellum dark. Coxae color
(pro-, meso-, metacoxa): dark, dark, dark. Femora color (pro-, meso-, metafemur):
pale, dark, dark. Tibiae color (pro-, meso-, metatibia): pale, pale, anteriorly pale/posteriorly
dark. Tegula and humeral complex color: tegula pale, humeral complex half
pale/half dark. Pterostigma color: mostly pale and/or transparent, with thin dark borders.
Fore wing veins color: mostly white or entirely transparent. Antenna length/body
length: antenna about as long as body (head to apex of metasoma); if slightly shorter,
at least extending beyond anterior 0.7 metasoma length. Body in lateral view: not
distinctly flattened dorso–ventrally. Body length (head to apex of metasoma): 3.9–4.0
mm, rarely 4.0 mm or more. Fore wing length: 3.7–3.8 mm, rarely 3.9–4.0 mm.
Ocular–ocellar line/posterior ocellus diameter: 1.7–1.9. Interocellar distance/posterior
ocellus diameter: 2.3–2.5. Antennal flagellomerus 2 length/width: 2.6–2.8. Antennal
flagellomerus 14 length/width: 1.4–1.6. Length of flagellomerus 2/length of
flagellomerus 14: 2.0–2.2. Tarsal claws: with single basal spine–like seta. Metafemur
length/width: 3.0–3.1. Metatibia inner spur length/metabasitarsus length: 0.4–0.5.
Anteromesoscutum: mostly with deep, dense punctures (separated by less than 2.0 ×
its maximum diameter). Mesoscutellar disc: with punctures near margins, central part
mostly smooth. Number of pits in scutoscutellar sulcus: 9 or 10. Maximum height of
mesoscutellum lunules/maximum height of lateral face of mesoscutellum: 0.6–0.7. Propodeum
areola: completely defined by carinae, including transverse carina extending to
spiracle. Propodeum background sculpture: mostly sculptured. Mediotergite 1 length/
width at posterior margin: 3.2–3.4. Mediotergite 1 shape: mostly parallel–sided for
0.5–0.7 of its length, then narrowing posteriorly so mediotergite anterior width >1.1 ×
posterior width. Mediotergite 1 sculpture: mostly sculptured, excavated area centrally
with transverse striation inside and/or a polished knob centrally on posterior margin
of mediotergite. Mediotergite 2 width at posterior margin/length: 2.0–2.3. Mediotergite
2 sculpture: mostly smooth. Outer margin of hypopygium: with a wide, medially
folded, transparent, semi–desclerotized area; usually with 4 or more pleats. Ovipositor
thickness: anterior width 3.0–5.0 × posterior width (beyond ovipositor constriction).
Ovipositor sheaths length/metatibial length: 1.2–1.3. Length of fore wing veins r/2RS:
2.0–2.2. Length of fore wing veins 2RS/2M: 1.4–1.6. Length of fore wing veins 2M/
(RS+M)b: 0.7–0.8. Pterostigma length/width: 3.6 or more. Point of insertion of vein
r in pterostigma: about half way point length of pterostigma. Angle of vein r with fore
wing anterior margin: more or less perpendicular to fore wing margin. Shape of junction
of veins r and 2RS in fore wing: distinctly but not strongly angled.
Male. Similar to female, but with legs having a darker coloration and mediotergite
2 being more trapezoidal.
Molecular data. Sequences in BOLD: 30, barcode compliant sequences: 18.
Biology/ecology. Solitary (Fig. 278). Host: Hesperiidae, Achlyodes busirus. Distribution. Costa Rica, ACG.
Comments. The 5 mm length cocoons are about usual for solitary species but
about twice the length of the cocoons of gregarious species. This species is unique in
its combination of broadly rectangular mediotergite 2 (its apical width 2.2 × or less
than its median length), lateral face of scutellum with polished area 0.7 × face height,
and thick ovipositor (as thick as or thicker than width of median flagellomerus, and
with anterior width 3.0–5.0 × its posterior width beyond the constriction). The ovipositor
thickness clearly separates this species from other groups with relatively broad
mediotergite 2 (all of which have a thin ovipositor).