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We record for the first time from the Galapagos Islands the species Eupelmus pulchriceps (Cameron, 1904) as well as the genus Horismenus Walker, 1843 with its species Horismenus dennoi Hansson, Kenyon & Benrey, 2019, all of them Hymenoptera parasitoids of seed beetles in the genus Acanthoscelides Schilsky, 1905. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chalcidoidea is a hyperdiverse superfamily of mostly small, parasitoid wasps of which 14 families and at least 422 species have been recorded from Greece. In the present study, additional distributional data from Greece is provided for Brachymeria rugulosa (Forster, 1859) and Brachymeria tibialis (Walker, 1834). Furthermore, Brachymeria podagrica (Fabricius, 1787) and Monodontomerus obscurus Westwood, 1833 are recorded for the first time from Greece. As well, a new host gall species for B. rugulosa is noted and the presence of Brachymeria inermis (Fonscolombe, 1840) is briefly discussed. Finally, a checklist for the genera Brachymeria (Hymenoptera, Chalcididae) and Monodontomerus (Hymenoptera, Torymidae) is compiled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Drosophila parasitoid system is an excellent model for the study of biological and ecological interactions. In Japan, extensive studies have been carried out on Drosophila parasitoids since the early 2000s. Here we provide up-to-date information on their diversity, distributions, host use and reproductive mode. Until now, 45 wasp species have been recorded. In addition, four genetically distinct groups (tentatively assigned as "races") have been found in Ganaspis brasiliensis (Figitidae). Most of them are larvo-pupal parasitoids belonging to the families Figitidae and Braconidae, and some are pupal parasitoids of the families Pteromalidae and Diapriidae. A species of Encyrtidae was also recorded. Their major hosts are indicated with information on the host's breeding sites. Except Ganaspis xanthopoda and two races of G. brasiliensis that are distributed both in tropical and temperate regions, they are divided into tropical and temperate species. The tropical species are mainly distributed in Southeast Asia, and their distributions in Japan are restricted to the Ryukyu islands, particularly Iriomote-jima. The temperate species have been recorded from the main islands of Japan and surrounding islands but not from the Ryukyu islands, except two braconid species, Asobara japonica and Phaenocarpa sp. TK1. Some of the temperate species have also been recorded from Korea, China, Europe and/or North America. Among the 45 Japanese parasitoid spe- cies, at least seven are assumed to be thelytokous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its arrival in New Zealand, Meteorus pulchricornis has parasitised adventive and native lepidopteran host species. We carried out a survey of parasitism by M. pulchricornis and native parasitoids of native lepidopteran host species in the Auckland region. From September 2013 to January 2016, parasitoids were reared from larvae collected from native host plants in habitats including urban gardens, regenerating native forest and native forest remnants. Meteorus pulchricornis was the most abundant parasitoid, accounting for 12% of parasitism, and was reared from 11 of 26 native Lepidoptera species. The host range of M. pulchricornis overlapped with eight other parasitoid species. A previously unrecorded species of Casinaria as well as M. pulchricornis were reared from Cleora scriptaria larvae collected from Te Hauturu-ō-Toi/Little Barrier Island. The parasitoid host association data collected provides preliminary information on the potential impact of M. pulchricornis on native parasitoids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In central Japan Ganaspis xanthopoda and Asobara japonica commonly parasitize the larvae of frugivorous drosophilids, mainly in montane forests, and urban environments and small groves, respectively. These two parasitoids start reproduction about one month later than their host drosophilids, probably to avoid searching for hosts when host density is low in early spring. It is likely that the local variation in the abundance of these parasitoids and a temporal refuge for their hosts contribute to the persistence of this parasitoid-host community. The forest species, G. xanthopoda, parasitized at least three Drosophila species that are abundant in forests, supporting the hypothesis that parasitoids are better adapted to attack frequently-encountered host species. This parasitoid did not parasitize drosophilid species that are phylogenetically distantly-related to the three host species or less frequent in forests. Benefits of using such species as host would not exceed the costs of evolving virulence to them. Another parasitoid, A. japonica, parasitized various indigenous and exotic drosophilid species including those that it rarely encountered in the field. It is not clear why this species has such a wide host range.

A colony of the encyrtid wasp Psyllaephagus euphyllurae (Masi) (Hymenoptera, Encyrtidae) has been established in the quarantine laboratory at the University of California, Riverside, California, USA as part of a classical biological control program against its invasive host, the olive psylla, Euphyllura olivina (Costa) (Hemiptera, Psylloidea, Liviidae), an important pest of olives in some parts of the world. The colony originators were reared from the same host found on abandoned, commercial olives in Catalonia, Spain; additional collections were made in Murcia. The parasitoid reproduces primarily by thelytoky; however, a few occasional males have been found in the field in Spain, but not in colonies reared under quarantine or laboratory conditions. Here, the female of P. euphyllurae is redescribed and its male is described and illustrated for the first time; the only previous mention of male P. euphyllurae was from Tunisia, reared from the same psyllid host but without any details on its morphology. A lectotype is designated for Encyrtus euphyllurae Masi. Information is given on the results of genetic matching between the two sexes of the parasitoid and also on the presence of the bacterial Wolbachia symbiont that apparently is affecting reproduction of this species, including its sex ratio in the field. Two species of hyperparasitoids have also emerged from the parasitized olive psylla nymphs from Catalonia: numerous specimens of Apocharips trapezoidea (Hartig) (Hymenoptera, Figitidae) and one specimen of a Pachyneuron sp. (Hymenoptera, Pteromalidae). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although many empirical and theoretical studies have elucidated the effects of habitat fragmentation on the third trophic level, little attention has been paid to the impacts of this driver on more generalist groups of non-hymenopteran parasitoids. Here, we used the highly-diverse group of tachinid flies as an alternative model to test the effects of landscape fragmentation on insect parasitoids. Our aims were: (i) to evaluate the relative importance of habitat area and connectivity losses and their potential interaction on tachinid diversity, (ii) to test whether the effects of habitat fragmentation changes seasonally, and (iii) to further assess the effect of habitat diversity on tachinid diversity and whether different parasitoid-host associations modify the species richness response to fragmentation. In 2012 a pan-trap sampling was conducted in 18 semi-natural grasslands embedded in intensive agricultural landscapes along statistically orthogonal gradients of habitat area, connectivity and habitat diversity. We found an interaction between habitat area and connectivity indicating that tachinid abundance and species richness were more negatively affected by habitat loss in landscapes with low rather than with relatively large habitat connectivity. Although tachinid communities exhibited large within-year species turnover, we found that the effects of landscape fragmentation did not change seasonally. We found that habitat diversity and host association did not affect tachinid species diversity. Our results have important implications for biodiversity conservation as any attempts to mitigate the negative effects of habitat loss need to take the general level of habitat connectivity in the landscape into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fairyfly Erythmelus klopomor Triapitsyn (Hymenoptera, Mymaridae) is an idiobiont, multivoltine egg parasitoid of lace bugs (Hemiptera, Tingidae). The parasitoid apparently reproduces thelytokously and at present is only known in the USA from 36 counties in Missouri, two in Illinois, four in Florida and one each in North Carolina and Maryland. At least a somewhat wider occurrence of the parasitoid is indicated because of the ease by which it has been reared from its primary host the oak lace bug, Corythucha arcuata (Say). It also has been reared in Missouri from the additional hosts C. cydoniae (Fitch), C. marmorata (Uhler), C. pergandei Heidemann, C. ciliata (Say), and also from Gargaphiasolani Heidemann (a new host record). The parasitoid is short lived with an average life cycle of 14.5 days and apparently overwinters as an adult. Erythmelus klopomor should be considered as a candidate classical biological control agent against the recently introduced C. arcuata in Bulgaria, northern Italy, Switzerland, and Turkey, and also possibly against the well-established invasive C. ciliata in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand the factors governing the diversity, abundance and host associations of parasitoids attacking frugivorous drosophilid flies on Iriomote-jima, a subtropical island of Japan, we monitored parasitism on several occasions over the period 2003-2009. Fifteen drosophilid and 12 parasitoid species were recorded. Three species of Drosophila, D. bipectinata, D. albomicans and D. takahashii, bred abundantly in banana baits, though their abundance varied between years and seasons. Frequent parasitoid species were Asobara japonica, A. pleuralis (Braconidae), Leptopilina ryukyuensis and L. pacifica (Figitidae). L. victoriae was recorded only in December 2003. In addition, host acceptance and host suitability of the four most frequently recorded parasitoid species were studied in the laboratory. Most parasitoid and drosophilid species showed species-specific associations with more than one antagonist species, suggesting that they have been subjected to complex coevolutionary interactions. In addition, host range of most of the parasitoid species included one of the three major Drosophila species, suggesting that the abundance of potential hosts is one of the factors determining the evolution of parasitoid host use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Japan, dominant parasitoids attacking frugivorous Drosophilidae species were Asobara (Braconidae, Alysiinae), Leptopilina, and Ganaspis species (Figitidae, Eucoilinae). Asobara japonica was found throughout Japan, and its populations in the main islands of Japan were parthenogenetic whereas those in the subtropical islands were sexually reproducing. Other parasitoids showed rather restricted distributions; A.tabida, A. rossica, A. rufescens, and Leptopilina heterotoma occurred mainly in northern to central parts of the main islands, Ganaspis xanthopoda from central to southern parts of the main islands, A. leveri in a southern part of the main islands, and A. pleuralis, L. victoriae, and Ganaspis sp. mainly in the subtropical islands. Their major hosts were species of the D. melanogaster species group in the main islands, and species of the D. melanogaster, immigrans, and polychaeta species groups in the subtropical islands. Host use considerably varied among parasitoid species, especially in the subtropical islands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]