Iceromyia flavifrons 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 : 496-497

Iceromyia flavifrons Noyes

(Figs 1234-1239; Hab. E 179, G 180)

Iceromyia flavifrons Noyes, 1980:205 . Holotype E, Trinidad (WI), NHMUK, examined.

DIAGNOSIS. Female (overall length about 1.6-2.6mm): head generally pale yellow to pale orange with very weak brassy, blue and purple sheen; ocellar area often with a brown triangular mark from occipital margin to anterior ocellus and occasionally a short, brown band across top of scrobes; mouth margin dark brown, this darker area usually extending at least a little way up gena; antenna (Fig. 1237) with scape, pedicel and funicle pale orange, scape with ventral margin narrowly brown; clava dark brown; thorax mostly dark brown, but scutellum pale orange; mesoscutum with anterior half or so metallic blue laterally and purple medially and posteriorly, narrower posterior part metallic green; legs varying from completely pale orange to all coxae dark brown with brownish areas on all femora and tibiae; fore wing (Fig. 1238) infuscate; propodeum dark brown, side metallic green; gaster dark purple brown, basal tergites quite strongly coppery and metallic blue and green; gonostylus pale orange, apex brownish; head (Fig. 1234) about 6-7X as wide as frontovertex; ocelli forming an angle of about 40°; frontovertex slightly shiny with fine, shallow, polygonally-reticulate sculpture of cell diameter about 0.5X diameter of eye facet; interantennal prominence clearly separated from transfacial carina; antenna as in Fig. 1237; scape broadened and flattened, hardly more than 2X as long as broad; funicle segments strongly transverse, gradually increasing in width so that F6 is about 2X as wide as F1, linear sensilla only on F4-F6, sometimes absent from F4; clava clearly longer than pedicel and funicle combined, sutures oblique, sensory area extending about 0.7X along ventral surface of clava, apex strongly obliquely truncate; thorax with polygonally reticulate to imbricate-reticulate sculpture on pronotum, mesoscutum and axilla that is of similar depth and mesh size to sculpture in ocellar area; scutellum with similar sculpture to axilla, but conspicuously deeper; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 1238, 1239; hypopygium Fig. 1236; ovipositor (Fig. 1235) strongly exserted, the exserted part about 2X as long as mid tibial spur or more than 0.5X length mid tibia; gonostylus about 2.6X as long as mid tibia spur. Male (length about 1.4-1.6mm): head with ocellar area dark purple-brown with a slight coppery purple sheen; rest of head with a metallic green sheen; clava brownish; mesoscutum with a brassy sheen, weakly mixed green and purple; scutellum mostly with a weak coppery sheen, side and apex metallic green; side of propodeum metallic blue-green; antenna relatively high on head with torulus about level with lower eye margin; scape hardly more than 3X as long as broad.

DISTRIBUTION. Trinidad (WI), Honduras (new record), Costa Rica (new record).

HOSTS.Reared from Crypticerya montserratensis (Riley & Howard) ( Hemiptera : Monophlebidae ) on Delonix regia (Bojer) Raf. ( Fabales : Fabaceae ) ( Noyes, 1980, see also below).

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: TRINIDAD & TOBAGO, Trinidad, ex Icerya montserratensis , C.I. E. 18981, iv.1963 (C.I. B.C.) “ Iceromyia flavifrons gen et sp.n. det. J.S. Noyes 1979 Holotype ” ( NHMUK) . Paratypes: 1G, same data as holotype ( NHMUK) .

Non type material. HONDURAS, 13E, 6G, El Zamorano, ex Icerya montserratensis on Delonix regia , 28.vi.1988 (F.D. Bennett); COSTA RICA, 1E, Alajuela, PN Arenal, Sendero Pilón, LN 453800 271500, 600m, T. Malaise, #58461, 6.viii-5.ix.2000 (G. Carballo); 1E, Heredia, OTS La Selva, 3km S Puerto Viejo, iv-v.1993 (P. Hanson); 1E, Heredia, OTS-La Selva, 10°26’N 84°01’W, ii.1994 ( ALAS); 1E, Puntarenas, Golfito, Est. Agujas, LS 526650 276750, 300m, canopy fog, #61183, 13.iii.2000 (J. Azofeifa). Material in MZUCR and NHMUK.

COMMENTS. The material from Costa Rica and Honduras differs from holotype of flavifrons in having the head orange with the ocellar area dark brown, all coxae dark brown and the femora and tibiae with distinct dark markings. In the holotype the head is very pale orange with only the mouth margin dark brown and the legs, including the coxae, are almost completely pale orange with only a weak subapical brown mark dorsally on the mid femur and a very faint subbasal brown band on the mid tibia .