Grotea acunae Zúñiga & Hanson, 2025

Grotea acunae Zúñiga & Hanson , sp. nov.

( Figs 7–9 View FIGURES 7–9 )

Material examined. Holotype ♀: Costa Rica, Cartago Prov., La Represa, Torre del ICE, entre Porras y Villegas, 1800 m, iv.1997, R. Delgado. INBIOCRI002565799 ( MNCR).

Diagnosis. Grotea acunae can be distinguished from all other species by: head without postgenal process ( Fig. 8 View FIGURES 7–9 ); antenna with 37 flagellomeres which are light yellowish brown, except for the most basal flagellomeres darker ( Fig. 7 View FIGURES 7–9 ); pronotum with epomia present.

Description. Female. Fore wing length 8.2 mm. Head 0.5 × as long as wide; malar space 0.6 × basal mandibular width; clypeus weakly convex; gena in dorsal view slightly rounded behind eyes, shiny, postgenal process virtually absent; frons and vertex shiny; occipital carina complete, upper part not raised into a flange, lower part joining hypostomal carina near base of mandible; ocelli forming a more or less equilateral triangle with posterior ocellus separated from eye by 1.2 × its own maximum diameter; antenna with 37 flagellomeres, flagellum slightly widened towards apex. Pronotum smooth and shiny, epomia distinct; mesoscutum smooth, slightly matte with inconspicuous punctures, notauli absent; scutoscutellar groove broad, deep and smooth; scutellum slightly convex, abruptly and evenly declivous posteriorly; mesopleuron smooth, with dense white setae, epicnemial carina complete, at dorsal end abruptly turned to join anterior margin of mesopleuron, just below mid height of pronotum; metapleuron smooth, with dense white setae. Propodeum ( Fig. 9 View FIGURES 7–9 ) mostly smooth and shining, with irregular wrinkles above the petiole attachment; area basalis and area externa enclosed, the former slightly wider anteriorly than posteriorly, about as long as anteriorly wide; anterior transverse carina distinct, posterior transverse carina indistinct; area spiracularis more or less delineated though less so anteriorly; area lateralis enclosed, 1.8 × as long as wide. Metasoma with tergite I exceptionally slender, nearly as wide anteriorly as posteriorly, about 6.5 × as long as posteriorly wide. Ovipositor extending beyond apex of metasoma by about 2.6 × length of hind tibia.

Coloration. Head yellow, with a continuous black band extending from above the toruli to the ocellar triangle and then broadening behind the eyes and extending down through the occiput; antenna light yellowish brown with flagellomeres 1–3 darker. Pronotum yellow with brownish black band along posterolateral margin and part way up epomia; mesoscutum black with two longitudinal yellow lines that join posteriorly, the area between these two lines brownish black; scutoscutellar groove black; scutellum and postscutellum yellow, laterally black; propodeum with area between the lateral longitudinal carinae black, except posterior part yellow, laterally yellow; mesopleuron yellow with black along anterior margin and in front of epicnemium, longitudinal black band near dorsal margin, another longitudinal band located more ventrally is brownish black band, ventral surface yellow; metapleuron yellow with antero-ventral black mark, metasternum black. Metasomal segment I black dorsally and ventrally, yellow laterally; tergites II + mostly reddish brown, narrowly yellow on lateral and posterior margins; ovipositor sheath light yellow with dark tip. Front legs light yellow with light brownish tinge on back side of femur and tibia; mid and hind legs mostly light reddish brown with a yellow stripe on outer side of hind coxa, tarsi darker. Fore wing hyaline, pterostigma dark brown, without a subapical black spot.

Male. Unknown.

Remarks. Only one female G. acunae has been collected, on the western slope of the Central Volcanic Mountain range. It is unique among the Costa Rican species of Grotea (Gauld 2000) in lacking a postgenal process and in having an epomia. It differs in various characters from recently described species ( Herrera-Flórez 2014, 2018; Herrera-Flórez & Penteado-Dias 2019; Sandoval & Santos 2021; Lima & Kurnagai 2024). In the key to Neotropical species ( Mazón et al. 2024), G. acunae goes to couplets 18 and 19 but differs from the three species in these couplets by having 37 flagellomeres, whereas G. fernandoi Lima has 31, G. llanera Herrera-Flórez has 40, and G. manausi Herrera-Flórez has 51. It also differs from these three species in color.

Etymology. This species is named in honor of Mariana Acuña Cordero for her dedication to the conservation of Costa Rican bees and her engagement with the community.