Iceromyia, Noyes, 1980

Noyes, John Stuart, 2023, ENCYRTIDAE OF COSTA RICA (HYMENOPTERA: CHALCIDOIDEA), 4 Subfamily Encyrtinae: tribes Arrhenophagini, Habrolepidini, Cerapterocerini, Cheiloneurini, Trechnitini, Cercobelini, Polaszekiini, Protyndarichoidini, Gahaniellini and Syrphophagini (part), mainly primary parasitoids and hyperparasitoids of Coccoidea and Psylloidea (Hemiptera), Taxonomic Monographs on Neotropical Hymenoptera (Oxford, England) 2 (11), pp. 1-921 : 495-496

Genus ICEROMYIA Noyes

Iceromyia Noyes, 1980:204-205 . Type species: Iceromyia flavifrons Noyes , by original designation and monotypy.

Female. Overall length about 1.6-2.7mm.

Body not dorsoventrally flattened; head and scutellum orange, rest of body dark brown with a metallic sheen; mouth margin dark brown; legs largely pale orange; antenna inserted near mouth, separated by less than length of torulus; malar sulcus absent; fore wing proximally hyaline with a small infuscate area below proximal part of parastigma, the remainder infuscate from level of marginal vein but becoming gradually paler distally; apex of postmarginal vein and stigmal vein connected by a hyaline streak.

Frontovertex less than 0.17X head width, with a few shallow, inconspicuous piliferous punctures; occipital margin sharp, weakly carinate; a distinct, elongate, oval, shiny bottomed depression adjacent to eye margin between posterior ocellus and occipital margin; eye reaching occipital margin, naked; scrobal area delimited dorsally by a weak ridge which is sharper laterally below eye margin; ocellar area with very shallow polygonally reticulate sculpture, frontovertex elsewhere with shallow sculpture, but not shiny; each scrobal depression delimited dorsally by frontofacial ridge; interantennal prominence dorsally rounded; mandible tridentate with two lower acute teeth and a slightly rounded upper tooth; palp formula 4-3; scape (Fig. 1237) broadened and flattened, dorsal margin slightly convex, lamina not extended past insertion of pedicel; pedicel slightly wider than F1, subconical, dorsal margin rounded; flagellum subcylindrical, subcylindrical, funicle 6-segmented, segments clearly transverse, gradually increasing in width, F6 largest; linear sensilla absent from proximal funicle segments; clava 3-segmented, longer than pedicel and funicle combined, sutures oblique and entire, sensory area very enlarged giving apex a strong obliquely truncate appearance.

Mesoscutum without notaular lines; scutellum with longitudinally elongate sculpture that is conspicuously deeper than that of mesoscutum, apex with a very sparse tuft of setae; mid tibia without a subbasal external carina; fore wing (Fig. 1238) about 2.5X as long as broad, marginal vein about 4X as long as broad, slightly longer than stigmal vein, about 2X as long as postmarginal vein; submarginal vein with parastigma hardly widened and hardly downcurved; basal cell largely naked and with a smaller naked area below parastigma which is closed ventrally; linea calva entire; filum spinosum present, represented by about 5 modified setae; mesopleuron slightly expanded posteriorly, its posterior margin not quite reaching posterior margin of propodeum, falling short by a little more than diameter of spiracle; propodeum with about 12 silvery setae outside spiracle.

Gaster with hypopygium reaching about 0.6X along gaster, W-shaped (Fig. 1236) and about 1.5X as broad as long with a short posterior, median projection (mucro); last tergite about as long as mid tibia; ovipositor about 2X as long as mid tibia and quite strongly exserted; gonostylus free; paratergites absent.

Male. Length about 1.5-1.6mm.

Body generally dark brown with metallic areas; antenna mostly pale orange; legs with all coxae brown, otherwise pale orange with fore and hind femora marked brownish; wings completely hyaline; head about 2.5X as wide as frontovertex; antennal torulus separated from mouth margin by more than its own length; malar sulcus present; ocelli forming an angle of about 85°; frontovertex with moderately deep, punctate reticulate sculpture; antenna relatively high on head with torulus about level with lower eye margin; scape slightly broadened and flattened; funicle segments subequal and each at least about 2X as long as broad and clothed with whorls of long setae, the longest of which is slightly longer than diameter of segments; scutellum with elongate, polygonally reticulate sculpture that is arranged in whorls and conspicuously deeper than sculpture on mesoscutum; phallobase with digiti slender, each about 5X as long as broad, with a single apical hook, aedeagus slender, about half as long as mid tibia with apex rounded.

DISTRIBUTION. Southern Caribbean and Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Parasitoids of Crypticerya Cockerell ( Hemiptera : Monophlebidae ).

COMMENTS. Iceromyia is probably very close to Homosemion Annecke , both genera having the facial depression distinctly margined dorsally and laterally, similar antennal structure and contrast between sculpture of mesoscutum and scutellum, a weakly downcurved parastigma and similar wing venation with a naked, hyaline streak connecting postmarginal and stigmal veins. They also share the same host. Females of Iceromyia differ from those of Homosemion by lacking the distinct transfacial carina, above which is a shallow, smooth and shiny transverse depression containing a transverse band of silvery setae; the scape is not subtrapezoidal in shape as in Homosemion ; the funicle segments are subcylindrical and not broadened and flattened, the hyaline area below the parastigma is completely enclosed ventrally and not open, and the apex of the fore wing is infuscate, without a subtriangular hyaline area, the subapical setae on the scutellum form a sparse tuft which is not present in Homosemion and the ovipositor is much more strongly exserted, the exserted part more than half as long as the mid tibia in Iceromyia whereas it is much less than half as long in Homosemion .

IDENTIFICATION. See Noyes, 1980.