Iconella andydeansi 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 : 72-73

Iconella andydeansi Fernandez-Triana sp. n. Figures 4-9

Type locality.

COSTA RICA, Alajuela, Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, Sector Rincon Rain Forest, Camino Rio Francia, 410m. Lat: 10.90425, Long: -85.28651.

Holotype.

♀, CNC. First label: DHJPAR0043035. Second label: Voucher: D.H.Janzen & W.Hallwachs, DB: http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu, Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, COSTA RICA, 11-SRNP-41294. Collecting date of caterpillar host: 20.iii.2011, collection date (eclosion date) of wasp: 05.iv.2011.

Specimens examined.

Paratypes: 1 ♀, 1 ♂ (CNC) Costa Rica, same locality than holotype. Specimens voucher codes: DHJPAR0042995 and DHJPAR0043008.

Description.

Promefur color: dark brown on anterior half, yellow on posterior half. Meso- and meta- femur color: fully dark brown to black (Fig. 4). 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. 6). Tegula and humeral complex color: tegula and humeral complex fully yellow to yellowish-white (Fig. 9). Pterostigma color: centrally yellow-white, with thin brown margins (Fig. 5). 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): 2.7 mm or 2.8 mm. Fore wing length: 3.0 mm. Ocular-ocellar line/posterior ocellus diameter: 2.2 ×. Interocellar distance/posterior ocellus diameter: 2.1 × (Fig. 7). Antennal flagellomere 2 length/width: 2.5 × or 2.7 ×. Antennal flagellomere 14 length/width: 1.3 ×. Length of flagellomere 2/length of flagellomere 14: 2.4 ×. Metafemur length/width: 3.1 ×. Mesoscutellar disc: mostly with punctures scattered all over disc surface (Fig. 9). 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. 8). Mediotergite 1 width at anterior margin/width at posterior margin: 3.4 ×. Mediotergite 2 width at posterior margin/length: 4.4 × (Fig. 9). Ovipositor sheaths length/metatibial length: 1.1 × (Fig. 6).

Male. As female, although sculpture is slightly smoother.

Molecular data.

We analyzed three full 658 bp barcodes for this species.

Biology/ecology.

Host: An undescribed species of Phycitinae ( Pyralidae ) with provisional name "phyjanzen021 Janzen855" in the ACG database (http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu/caterpillars/database.lasso). Caterpillar collected while feeding on the foliage of Lepidoploa salzmannii ( Asteraceae ).

Distribution.

Only known from the holotype locality, in Sector Rincon Rain Forest of ACG at 410 m.

Comments.

The species has been reared only in one place from three caterpillars collected at the same time on the same species of food plant, out of 12,000+ rearings of ACG Pyralidae of more than 200 species. A single additional specimen, identified by DNA barcoding, has been reared in 2012 from the same species of host caterpillar in the same place and on the same food plant, but was not available for study. Iconella andydeansi is sympatric with Iconella jayjayrodriguezae in ACG, the latter being a species with a slightly larger ACG rain forest distribution but equally narrow food plant record, and also known from Chiapas, Mexico. Those are the only two species of New World Iconella that are known to be sympatric, and that was revealed through extensive collecting in ACG and the use of DNA barcodes. It is likely that further collecting in other areas of the Neotropics, as well as the barcoding of more fresh specimens, will reveal additional species.

Etymology.

This species is named in honor of Andy R. Deans (Pennsylvania State University, United States) in recognition of his major contribution to the taxonomy of the many species in the microgatrine genus Alphomelon that occur in Area de Conservación Guanacaste (e.g., Deans et al. 2003).