Iconella jayjayrodriguezae Fernandez-Triana

Fernandez-Triana, Jose L., Cardinal, Sophie, Whitfield, James B., Winnie Hallwachs,, Smith, M. Alex & Janzenr, Daniel H., 2013, A review of the New World species of the parasitoid wasp Iconella (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae), ZooKeys 321, pp. 65-87 : 79-81

Iconella jayjayrodriguezae Fernandez-Triana sp. n. Figure 30-36

Type locality.

COSTA RICA, Alajuela, Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, Sector Rincon Rain Forest, Sendero Venado, 420m. Lat: 10.89678, Long: -85.27001.

Holotype.

♀, NMNH. First label: DHJPAR0039740. Second label: Voucher: D.H.Janzen & W.Hallwachs, DB: http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu, Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, COSTA RICA, 09-SRNP-41791. Collecting date of caterpillar host 21.vii.2009, collection date (eclosion date) of wasp 10.viii.2009.

Specimens examined.

Paratypes: 3 ♀, 1 ♂ (CNC) Costa Rica, Alajuela, ACG, Sector San Cristobal, Rio Blanco Abajo, 500m, Lat: 10.90037 Long: -85.37254; 1 ♀ (CNC) Mexico, Chiapas, 16°58'N, 91°47'W, 23-25.viii.1978. Collecting dates of specimens examined: January, March, April, June, July, and September (2009-2011) for Costa Rican specimens; August (1978) for Mexican specimen.

Description.

Promefur color: mostly yellow, dark brown area limited to anterior 0.2 or less. Meso- and meta- femur color: mostly dark brown but with proximal 0.1-0.2 × yellow to orange. Metatibia and metatarsus color: Metatibia with brown to black coloration on posterior 0.2-0.4 ×; metatarsus mostly dark brown, except for yellowish area on anterior half of first tarsomerus (Fig. 33). Tegula and humeral complex color: tegula and humeral complex fully yellow to yellowish-white. Pterostigma color: centrally transparent, with yellow-white margins, rarely centrally yellow-white, with thin brown margins (Fig. 31). Fore wing veins color: at least some veins with thin brown margins and interior of veins yellow to light brown. Body length (head to apex of metasoma): 2.9 mm or 3.0 mm. Fore wing length: 3.2 mm or 3.3 mm. Ocular-ocellar line/posterior ocellus diameter: 2.0 ×. Interocellar distance/posterior ocellus diameter: 1.9 × (Fig. 34). Antennal flagellomere 2 length/width: 2.3 ×, 2.4 × or 2.5 ×. Antennal flagellomere 14 length/width: 1.3 ×, rarely 1.1 × or 1.5 ×. Length of flagellomere 2/length of flagellomere 14: 2.3 ×, 2.4 ×, 2.5 × or 2.6 ×. Metafemur length/width: 3.2 ×, 3.3 × or 3.4 ×. Mesoscutellar disc: mostly smooth with few, scattered punctures near margins (Fig. 36). Number of pits in scutoscutellar sulcus: usually 12 or less, ocasionally reaching up to 14 pits. Propodeum background sculpture: anterior 0.2-0.4 × with rather dull puntures; posterior 0.6-0.8 × mostly sculptured, with mix of small puntures and carinae (mostly radiating from strong, longitudinal median carina) (Fig. 35). Mediotergite 1 width at anterior margin/width at posterior margin: 3.1 ×, 3.2 × or 3.3 ×. Mediotergite 2 width at posterior margin/length: 3.7 ×, 3.8 ×, 3.9 × or 4.1 × (Fig. 36). Ovipositor sheaths length/metatibial length: 1.1 × (Fig. 32).

Male. As female.

Molecular data.

We analyzed eight 650-658 bp barcodes for this species, one from Mexico and seven from Costa Rica.

Biology/ecology.

Host: An undescribed species of Spilomelinae ( Crambidae ) with provisional name "spiloBioLep01 BioLep414" in the ACG database (http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu/caterpillars/database.lasso). Caterpillar collected while feeding on the foliage of Lepidoploa salzmannii and Lepidoploa tortuosa ( Asteraceae ).

Distribution.

Costa Rica (ACG), and Mexico (Chiapas). In ACG it has been reared from four rainforest localities between 420-500m, 2-10 km apart, in six different months.

Comments.

Although morphologically similar to Iconella andydeansi , Iconella jayjayrodriguezae is known from two very widely separated places in Central America, and the barcoding sequences of the two species differ by 8.7% (57 bp).

Etymology.

This species is named in honor of Josephine J. Rodriguez (National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, University of California, Santa Barbara, United States) in recognition of her outstanding enthusiasm for studying the taxonomy and biology of the microgastrine wasps of ACG (e.g., Smith et al. 2008).