Skeletal morphology of Opius dissitus and Biosteres carbonarius (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), with a discussion of terminology.

Dave Karlsson,Fredrik Ronquist,Mark F Feldlaufer

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0032573

Dave Karlsson, Fredrik Ronquist + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0032573

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Journal: PloS one	Publication Date: Apr 30, 2012
Citations: 58	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Swedish Museum of Natural History

Abstract

The Braconidae, a family of parasitic wasps, constitute a major taxonomic challenge with an estimated diversity of 40,000 to 120,000 species worldwide, only 18,000 of which have been described to date. The skeletal morphology of braconids is still not adequately understood and the terminology is partly idiosyncratic, despite the fact that anatomical features form the basis for most taxonomic work on the group. To help address this problem, we describe the external skeletal morphology of Opius dissitus Muesebeck 1963 and Biosteres carbonarius Nees 1834, two diverse representatives of one of the least known and most diverse braconid subfamilies, the Opiinae. We review the terminology used to describe skeletal features in the Ichneumonoidea in general and the Opiinae in particular, and identify a list of recommend terms, which are linked to the online Hymenoptera Anatomy Ontology. The morphology of the studied species is illustrated with SEM-micrographs, photos and line drawings. Based on the examined species, we discuss intraspecific and interspecific morphological variation in the Opiinae and point out character complexes that merit further study.

Highlights

The parasitic-wasp family Braconidae forms one of the most impressive insect radiations we know
Despite the fact that most taxonomic work on braconids is based on external morphology, and will remain so for the foreseeable future, there is a lack of detailed morphological studies of these wasps
General taxonomic treatments of braconids [2], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], ichneumonids [13], [14], [15], [16], [17] or hymenopterans [18], [19], [20], [21] provide some information relevant to braconid morphology and terminology but lack the type of details found in the in-depth studies of exemplar species available for some other groups of hymenopterans (e.g., Snodgrass [22], Duncan [23], Michener [24], Ronquist & Nordlander [25])

Summary

Introduction

The parasitic-wasp family Braconidae forms one of the most impressive insect radiations we know. Despite the fact that most taxonomic work on braconids is based on external morphology, and will remain so for the foreseeable future, there is a lack of detailed morphological studies of these wasps. General taxonomic treatments of braconids [2], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], ichneumonids [13], [14], [15], [16], [17] or hymenopterans [18], [19], [20], [21] provide some information relevant to braconid morphology and terminology but lack the type of details found in the in-depth studies of exemplar species available for some other groups of hymenopterans (e.g., Snodgrass [22] (bees), Duncan [23] (vespids), Michener [24] (bees), Ronquist & Nordlander [25] (ibaliids))

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