Sericobracon Shaw 1985

Genus Sericobracon Shaw, 1985 (Figs 2–6). Diagnosis. Vertex striate. Clypeus concave exposing labrum. Maxillary and labial palpi 6-4 segmented. Mandibles bidentate. Occipital carinae present and complete. Occipital carina complete, reaching hypostomal carina before the base of mandible. Mesoscutal lobes mostly coriaceous, with median mesoscutal lobe slightly projected upwards from lateral lobes. Notauli complete and scrobiuculate. Prepectal carina present. Propodeum with a basal longitudinal carina followed by a distinct areola. Fore tibia without visible spines or pegs. Hind coxa with a distinct, small basoventral tubercle. Fore wing vein 2-SR complete. Hind wing vein m-cu usually slightly curved towards wing apex. First and second metasomal tergites sculptured, remaining tergites smooth and mostly polished; suture between second and third tergite distinct, straight or slightly curved; third tergite with a transverse straight furrow. Ovipositor usually long, 0.7–1.2 × as along as metasoma. Distribution. The two already named species of Sericobracon which were originally described for the genus occur in Trinidad and the U.S. Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea. The three new species of the genus described in this study occur in Costa Rica, extending the known geographic distribution of this genus to Central America. Remarks. Species of Sericobracon can be morphologically distinguished from those belonging to the remaining New World doryctine genera by having the third and following metasomal tergites unsculptured and polished, presence of a transverse furrow on the third metasomal tergite, lacking pegs or stout spines on the foretibia, presence of a propodeal areola, lacking dorsal nodes at the ovipositor tip, and hind wing m-cu being slightly curved towards the wing apex. Sericobracon specimens seem to be only rarely encountered in museum collections for a couple of reasons. They are small wasps that occur only in tropical forest areas, and only (so far as is known) in close association with Embioptera, which themselves are cryptic insects living hidden under sheets of spun silk. They probably spend most of their time living close to webspinners and do not disperse widely, and therefore are seldom seen, netted, or trapped. However, as it was previously noted (Shaw & Edgerly 1985), these wasps are superficially similar in size and appearance to small doryctines such as Heterospilus, which are vastly more common, more diverse, and more widely dispersing species. Therefore, other specimens of Sericobracon that may already exist in museum collections are likely to be still unidentified and hidden among the vast numbers of unidentified Heterospilus and other small doryctines that are accumulating in collections.