Abstract
Species of Symphrasinae (Neuroptera: Mantispidae) are ectoparasitoids of larvae and pupae of holometabolous insects, primarily of Hymenoptera in their larval stages. Herein we present the third case of an association between the mantidfly genus Anchieta Navás, 1909 with the order Hymenoptera. The hymenopteran species attacked by the as of yet undescribed species of Anchieta is Montezumia dimidiata Saussure, 1852 (Vespidae: Eumeninae), a predacious wasp that constructs mud nests. The association was observed in Peruvian Amazonia (near Tarapoto, San Martín), after rearing the mantidflies from a wasp nest. The biology and mimicry pattern with stingless bees of the reared Anchieta species is discussed.
Highlights
The insect family Mantispidae (Neuroptera: Mantispoidea), commonly known as mantidflies are remarkable insects which have raptorial forelegs, a complex trait shared with the Rhachiberothidae, and the extinct Dipteromantispidae (Lambkin, 1986; Aspöck & Mansell, 1994; Ohl, 2007; Liu et al, 2016; Engel et al, 2018)
Despite the interesting morphology of the adults, the mimicry with toxic or poisonous insects exhibited by several genera, and the complex postembryonic development (Brauer, 1852, 1869, 1887) – in which their larvae may be ectoparasitoids, parasites, and spider-egg predators, many aspects of mantidflies biology and taxonomy still need research (Redborg & MacLeod, 1985; Eggleton & Belshaw, 1992; Redborg, 1998; Snyman et al, 2020)
Of the remaining smaller subfamilies, the New World Symphrasinae, which is composed of three extant genera, Anchieta Navás, 1909, Plega Navás, 1928 and Trichoscelia Westwood, 1852 have been reported as ectoparasitoids of larval Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, and possibly Diptera (Redborg, 1998; Hook et al, 2010; Maia-Silva et al, 2013; Snyman et al, 2020)
Summary
The insect family Mantispidae (Neuroptera: Mantispoidea), commonly known as mantidflies are remarkable insects which have raptorial forelegs, a complex trait shared with the Rhachiberothidae, and the extinct Dipteromantispidae (Lambkin, 1986; Aspöck & Mansell, 1994; Ohl, 2007; Liu et al, 2016; Engel et al, 2018). Their general appearance superficially resembles that of praying mantises (Insecta: Mantodea), but such condition is a product of evolutionary convergence (Aspöck & Aspöck, 2007). Most of the hymenopteran records has been on Polybia Lepeletier, 1836 (Vespidae: White, 1841; Walker, 1853; Rogenhofer, 1862; Smith, 1863; Westwood, 1867; Hagen, 1877; Brauer, 1887; Berg, 1899; Parfin, 1958; Richards, 1978; Penny, 1982; Dejan & Canard, 1990), and apoid wasps of the genus Trypoxylon Latreille, 1796 (Crabronidae: Parker & Stange, 1965; Buys, 2008), as well as various solitary bees, such as Melitoma Lepeletier & Serville, 1828 (Apidae: Linsley & MacSwain, 1955; Linsley et al, 1980), Hylaeus Fabricius, 1793 (Colletidae: Hook et al, 2010), and Megachile Latreille, 1802 (Megachilidae: Parker & Stange, 1965)
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