Abstract
Trichogramma bruni is an insufficiently studied South American species whose limits are still not well defined. Thus, the objective of the present study was to characterize T. bruni taxonomically and to determine the association between morphological variations as well as host and habitat, based on morphological and biological studies. Specimens from the Escola Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de Queiroz" (ESALQ) collection, and from the University of California Riverside (UCR) and specimens collected from the vegetation of forest parks with native areas planted with eucalyptus in Piracicaba and Itatinga, State of São Paulo, were also analyzed. The holotype deposited at Univeridade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) collection was also examined. The variability in the genital capsule of T. bruni observed both among individuals of the same progeny and among specimens from different hosts is remarkable and is mainly related to the dorsal lamina. Therefore, an association of diagnostic characters rather than the dorsal lamina alone should be used for the identification of T. bruni and intraspecific variations should be considered. The intraspecific variation observed for T. bruni is a factor that should be considered for its identification, since the influence of the environment (habitat + host) and the variation among individuals itself is responsible for the plasticity observed in the genital capsule. Heliconius erato phyllis, Hamadryas feronia, Erosina hyberniata and Mechanitis lysiminia are new hosts of T. bruni.
Highlights
Several Trichogramma species do not show a clear morphological characterization, a fact that might cause problems in identification, which is mainly based on morphological characteristics, especially the male genitalia (Nagarkatti & Nagaraja, 1971)
New hosts and geographic distribution T. bruni is only found in the Neotropical region, with distribution in Brazil, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago and Venezuela
The new T. bruni records were obtained from eggs of lepidopterous species not economically important, collected in a sub-forest and in the margin vegetation of forest areas
Summary
Several Trichogramma species do not show a clear morphological characterization, a fact that might cause problems in identification, which is mainly based on morphological characteristics, especially the male genitalia (Nagarkatti & Nagaraja, 1971). This is the case of T. bruni, an insufficienty studied South American species whose limits are still not well defined. The distribution and hosts of this species have been described by Zucchi & Monteiro (1997) and Pinto (1998). The association between morphological variations its habitat and hosts, has not been studied yet, because only few specimens have been collected
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