Iconella melitaraevora Fernandez-Triana, 2025

Iconella melitaraevora Fernandez-Triana sp. nov.

Holotype.

United States • ♀ ( UTIC) • New Mexico, Santa Fe, Armstrong residence ; 35.2268, - 106.2080; 17.xi.2023; ex. Melitara subumbrella ( Lepidoptera , Pyralidae , Phycitinae); Wyatt Armstrong & Colin Morrison colls; UTIC 396104 GoogleMaps .

Paratypes.

Same locality and dates as holotype. UTIC: ♀ UTIC 396102 , ♂ UTIC 396103 , ♀ UTIC 396105 ; CNC: ♂ ISRL 148316.04 ; USNM: ♂ ISRL 148316.06 , ♀ ISRL 148312.05 GoogleMaps .

Distribution.

New Mexico, USA. These specimens are the only known representatives of this species.

Etymolgy.

Named after its lepidopteran host species.

Diagnostic description

also see key below. This species can be recognized as Iconella based on the features first described by Mason (1981) and further expanded and discussed in Fernandez-Triana et al. (2013, 2020), namely: a sinuated vein cu-a in the hind wing and the presence of a median longitudinal carina on the propodeum. Iconella melitaraevora is very distinctive from most other described species in the New World (Fig. 1 View Figure 1 ). Iconella isolata , a species recorded from the Caribbean and South America, has much lighter coloration of hind legs and veins in forewing, as well as mostly transparent or whitish pterostigma, with only thin brown margins (pterostigma almost completely brown, with only small whitish spot anteriorly in melitaraevora ). Two species recorded from Central America ( Costa Rica and Mexico), I. andydeansi and I. jayjayrodriguezae both have mostly transparent or whitish pterostigma, with only thin brown margins (pterostigma almost completely brown, with only small whitish spot anteriorly in melitaraevora ); T 1 width at anterior margin 3.1 × or more its width at posterior margin (T 1 width at anterior margin 2.4–2.6 × its width at posterior margin in melitaraevora ); metatibia with smaller darker area posteriorly and with larger yellow spot on anterior half of first segment of metatarsus (metatibia dark on posterior half and first segment of metatarsus with very small yellow spot anteriorly in melitaraevora ). Iconella canadensis , recorded from Eastern Canada, has different pterostigma color (mostly transparent or whitish versus mostly brown in melitaraevora ); comparatively smaller ocelli size (ocular-ocellar line 1.6 × posterior ocellus diameter versus 2.0 × melitaraevora ); and shorter ovipositor sheath (ovipositor sheath length 0.8 × or less metatibial length versus 1.06–1.12 × in melitaraevora ). Also see key below for additional diagnostic description.

The most similar species is I. etiellae , which is the only other species so far recorded from New Mexico, among several other states in the central and western U. S. A. ( Rodriguez et al. 2013; Fernandez-Triana et al. 2020). The main morphological differences between these two species are the hind leg color (metatibia entirely yellow and metatarsus almost entirely yellow in etiellae , metatibia with posterior half dark brown to black and almost entire metatarsus dark brown to black in melitaraevora ); different size of ocelli (ocular-ocellar line 1.6 × posterior ocellus diameter in etiellae , 2.0 × in melitaraevora ); and T 1 width slightly different (T 1 width at anterior margin 2.4–2.5 × T 1 width at posterior margin in etiellae versus 2.0 × in melitaraevora ). Additionally, the longitudinal median carina on propodeum is more strongly defined in etiellae (much thinner and weak in melitaraevora ), although this is a character difficult to assess unless several specimens from both species are at hand and available for comparison. The two species have different recorded caterpillar hosts within the Lepidoptera family Pyralidae (Table 1 View Table 1 ; Etiella zinckenella , Melitara junctolineella , Psorosina hammondi , and Ufa rubedinella for etiellae ; Melitara subumbrella for melitaraevora ). There are also molecular differences based on DNA barcodes (Fig. 2 View Figure 2 ) with 43 / 552 bp different base pairs, or a 7.8 % difference, between the two species melitaraevora (Process ID NACMA 001-24) and etiellae (Process ID HYCNE 1332-11). The combination of morphology, biology and molecular data allows us to separate and distinguish these two species. It is important to note that there are many undescribed species accessioned on BOLD, that are probably in Iconella , and the CO 1 sequence data of this species differentiates it from those undescribed.

Body measurements and proportions (measurements of holotype provided first, followed, between parentheses, by range based on other specimens). Body L: 3.4 mm (3.2–3.5 mm). Fore wing L: 3.5 mm (3.5–3.6 mm). F 2 L / W: 0.22 mm / 0.09 mm (0.22–0.23 mm / 0.10 mm). F 14 L / W: 0.10 mm / 0.07 mm (0.10 mm / 0.07– 0.06 mm). F 15 L / W: 0.10 mm / 0.06 mm (0.10 mm / 0.06 mm). Metafemur L / W: 0.82 mm / 0.26 mm (0.82–0.83 mm / 0.26–0.27 mm). Metatibia L: 1.06 mm (1.02 – 1.06 mm). Ovipositor L: 1.12 mm (1.14–1.18 mm). OOL: 0.14 mm (0.13–0.14 mm). POL: 0.15 mm (0.14–0.15 mm). OD: 0.07 mm (0.07 mm). T 1 W anterior margin / W posterior margin: 0.32 mm / 0.12 mm (0.32 mm / 0.12–0.13 mm). T 2 W posterior margin / L: 0.44 mm / 0.11 mm (0.44–0.45 mm / 0.11–0.12 mm). Ovipositor sheath L / metatibia L: 1.06 × (1.09–1.12 ×). Ocular-ocellar line / posterior ocellus diameter: 2.0 ×. T 1 width at anterior margin / T 1 width at posterior margin: 2.4–2.6 ×.

Biology.

The host for I. melitaraevora is Melitara subumbrella , a host-specific herbivore on Opuntia which has been recorded from three Opuntia species ( Mann 1969). Melitara subumbrella larvae were collected on O. phaeacantha ( Cactaceae , Fig. 3 B View Figure 3 ), a mid to high elevation Opuntia distributed in dryland habitats of North America from Baja California, California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Chihuahua, Oklahoma, and Texas. Melitara subumbrella larval feeding causes the host plant cladode tissue to swell and create a shelter, which resembles a “ gall ”, and within which the larvae build tunnels and develop (Fig. 3 B View Figure 3 ). This behavior and the associated plant-response is typical of shelter-building phycitine larvae that use Opuntia host plants (authors, unpublished data).

Twelve M. subumbrella larvae arrived at the laboratory alive. This number was based on the observation of conspicuous frass emission from host plant pads (Fig. 3 B, C View Figure 3 ). Ultimate instar Melitara subumbrella larvae exited the host plant pads and formed puparia within the top 5 cm of soil. This behavior is also typical of Opuntia specialist phycitine larvae ( Mann 1969). Five M. subumbrella larvae had I. melitaraevora larval cohorts emerge (Fig. 3 F View Figure 3 ) and make cocoons within puparia that their caterpillar hosts constructed for pupation (Fig. 3 G View Figure 3 ; Suppl. material 1). The wasp larvae were gregarious, with a range of 8–20 successfully emergent individuals per caterpillar cohort (x ̄ = 16 wasps ± 4 S. E.). Adult wasps from four of five cohorts emerged successfully, the reason for failed emergence of the final cohort is unknown. The sex ratio was female skewed with 28 females and 19 males reared, overall. However, one cohort had more males than females (9 ♀: 10 ♂).

We do not know when I. melitaraevora oviposition took place in the field. But the M. subumbrella were clearly parasitized upon field collection on 23 August 2023 because they were held in containment for the duration of their development which precludes the possibility that they were attacked by other braconid wasps in transit from Santa Fe County, NM to Austin, TX. We observed larvae from one cohort emerge from the host and pupate on 10 December and another cohort was observed pupating on 18 December. Ultimately, two cohorts emerged on approximately 18 December 2023, the third emerged on 25 December 2023 and the fourth on 27 December 2024 (we did not observe the other two cohorts pupating). So, pupal development time was 7–8 days (N = 2), and total immature development was at least 15–19 weeks (N = 4) under laboratory conditions.