Trichacis pecki Arias-Penna & Masner, new species

Trichacis pecki Arias-Penna & Masner, new species

Figures 14 F–14H; 15A, 15B

Female. Body length: 1.30 mm (holotype); 1.50 mm (paratypes, n=3); mean length ± SD = 1.45 ± 0.10 mm.

Black; A1–A7 yellow; A8–A10 brown; mandible brown with apex black; fore and mid legs yellow; hind leg with trochanter and basal 1/3 of femur yellow, otherwise dark brown; hind coxa yellow; fore wing infuscate.

Head, in dorsal view, 2.4 times as wide as long; EH <IOS; interocellar area finely coriaceous; OOL> LOL; antennal clava 3-segmented; A1 not reaching vertex dorsal margin; A2, A5–A7, A10 longer than wide; A3–A4 as long as wide; A8–A9 wider than long; base of mandible smooth; frons above torulus with three transverse striae; interantennal process smooth, curving down and surpassing ventral border of torulus; clypeus exposed; clypeal margin convex medially; gena smooth; lateral region of vertex between posterior ocellus and hyperoccipital carina weakly coriaceous, with cluster of 4-6 well-marked longitudinal curved striae, which seem to emerge from hyperoccipital carina; lateral region of vertex between hyperoccipital carina and occipital carina coriaceous; temple projection absent; hyperoccipital carina incomplete but curving up and merging with stria running along the eye inner margin; distance between posterior ocellus and hyperoccipital carina longer than posterior ocellus diameter.

Mesosoma arched; antero-admedian line present; notaulus anteriorly incomplete; lateral notaular area with coriaceous sculpture along its anterior margin; inter-notaular area coriaceous in its basal 1/3 and smooth in its posterior 2/3; posteromedial region of inter-notaular area acute; parapsidal line present; central pronotal area with anterior region smooth and rest coriaceous; specialized area of mesoscutellum heart-shaped; median projection of specialized area of mesoscutellum subtriangular; mesopleural carina incomplete (length of mesopleural carina/ length of mesopleuron = 0.26); fore wing slightly surpassing apex of metasoma.

Metasoma moderately elongate; combined length of T3–T6 <T2; T1 shorter than wide; T2 longer than wide; T3–T6 wider than long; anteromedial area of T2 smooth and flattened; T3 densely covered by shallow punctuation, T4–T6 densely covered by deep punctuation; T6 subtriangular.

Male. Unknown.

Etymology. Named after S. & J. Peck, the collectors of numerous specimens of Trichacis.

Diagnosis. Trichacis pecki, T. fernandezi and T delsinnei have an incomplete hyperoccipital carina, curving up when reaching eye margin. The sculpture of vertex and the acute shape of the posteromedial region of internotaular area allow to distinguish T. pecki from these species.

Material examined. Holotype: 1 Ƥ, ECUADOR, Esm., Bilsa Biol. Sta., 0º34´N 79º71´W, 500 m, May 10–June 4 1996, MT, P. Hibbs (CNCI); paratypes: 3 Ƥ, Pinch. 16 km E, Santo Domingo, Tinalandia, 680 m, May 4–July 25 1985, MT–FIT, S. & J. Peck (2 at CNCI and 1 at ICN).

Holotype is deposited in CNCI.