A New Darwin Wasp (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) and New Records of Behavioral Manipulation of the Host Spider Leucauge volupis (Araneae: Tetragnathidae).

Abstract

Some ichneumonid wasps of the Polysphincta group of genera (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Pimplinae) induce behavioral modifications in their host spiders during a specific moment of their development, resulting in the construction of webs that differ in several aspects from those constructed by unparasitized individuals. In this study, we describe the parasitoid wasp Hymenoepimecis pinheirensis sp. n. (Ichneumonidae: Pimplinae) and present information on behavioral modifications in the orb-web structure of its host, the spider Leucauge volupis (Keyserling 1893). Previously, reported observation on this host/parasitoid interaction was restricted to one locality, and the wasp species was misidentified as Hymenoepimecis jordanensis Loffredo and Penteado-Dias 2009. Modified webs built by parasitized spiders lack adhesive spirals and have several radii that converge to the web hub. The cocoon built by the wasp larvae is attached to the web hub, suspended by horizontal radial lines, and surrounded by a tridimensional tangle positioned below the hub. This modified web structure is similar to the most frequent architecture of webs constructed by individuals of Leucauge mariana (Taczanowski 1881) parasitized by Hymenoepimecis tedfordi Gauld 1991. However, cocoon webs built by L. volupis parasitized by H. pinheirensis sp. n. differ from the cocoon webs described for the other Leucauge species parasitized by Hymenoepimecis wasps. This evidence suggests that the modified web pattern in Leucauge species is determined by specific responses of each spider species to the behavioral manipulation mechanism displayed by the wasps.