A review of the tachinid parasitoids (Diptera: Tachinidae) of Nearctic Choristoneura species (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), with keys to adults and puparia

Abstract

The genus Choristoneura (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) comprises about 16 species in the Nearctic Region and includes several destructive pests of importance to forestry and agriculture. The following 15 species of Tachinidae (Diptera) are recognized as occasional or common parasitoids of Choristoneura species in this region: Actia diffidens Curran, Actia interrupta Curran, Ceromasia auricaudata Townsend, Compsilura concinnata (Meigen), Cyzenis incrassata (Smith), Eumea caesar (Aldrich), Hemisturmia parva (Bigot), Hyphantrophaga blanda (Osten Sacken), Hyphantrophaga virilis (Aldrich and Webber), Lypha fumipennis Brooks, Madremyia saundersii (Williston), Nemorilla pyste (Walker), Nilea erecta (Coquillett), Phryxe pecosensis (Townsend), and Smidtia fumiferanae (Tothill). Keys to the adults and puparia of these tachinid species are provided. The known distribution, biology, and rates of parasitism are reviewed for each species and published host records from Choristoneura species are listed. Colour habitus images of adults, illustrations of all puparia, and illustrations of features mentioned in the adult key are included. Thirteen other species of Tachinidae recorded from Choristoneura species but excluded from the main text as highly dubious, rare, or accidental records are briefly discussed.