Abstract
Hymenopteran parasitoids are well known for their ubiquitous diversity, important ecological roles and biocontrol potential. We report the first detailed documentation of mite predation by a parasitoid wasp, Bracon predatorius Ranjith & Quicke sp. nov., (Insecta: Hymenoptera), first case of obligate predatory behaviour in the family Braconidae and first case of mite feeding within the superfamily Ichneumonoidea. Larvae of a new wasp species are shown to develop entirely as predators of eriophyid mites that induce leaf galls in a commercially important plant. They display highly modified head capsule morphology that we interpret as being associated with this atypical life style. We propose that the new feeding strategy evolved separately from recently described entomophytophagy in another species of the same genus. The divergent larval morphological adaptations of both species indicate a high degree of evolutionary developmental plasticity in the developmental stage.
Highlights
Hymenopteran parasitoids are well known for their ubiquitous diversity, important ecological roles and biocontrol potential
The presents study indicates that Bracon predatorius generally oviposits during early stages of gall development (Fig. 1d) on galls induced by Aceria doctersi mostly on tender leaves (Fig 1a–c) and rarely on petioles and stems[13]
Aceria doctersi galls parasitised by B. predatorius have been found in Kodakara (Thrissur district, Kerala) about 100 km away from the type locality in Kozhikode
Summary
Hymenopteran parasitoids are well known for their ubiquitous diversity, important ecological roles and biocontrol potential. Nov., (Insecta: Hymenoptera), first case of obligate predatory behaviour in the family Braconidae and first case of mite feeding within the superfamily Ichneumonoidea. Larvae of a new wasp species are shown to develop entirely as predators of eriophyid mites that induce leaf galls in a commercially important plant. They display highly modified head capsule morphology that we interpret as being associated with this atypical life style. We provide here the first detailed observations of acarophagy, a new larval feeding strategy, in the parasitoid Hymenoptera, the first such case in the Ichneumonoidea, and the first case of purely predatory behaviour in the Braconidae. The biology described here expands both host range and feeding strategy within the Ichneumonoidea
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