Abstract
Several species of the genusAphidiusare well known as commercial biocontrol agents of pest aphids, and more than 130 species of the genus have been recorded worldwide. To date, only 15Aphidiusspecies have been recorded in South Korea. Using the DNA barcode region (ca. 658 bp) of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), we amplified sequences of 15AphidiusKorean species, aligned them in combination with 23 reference species retrieved from GenBank for comparison and identification, and then reconstructed a barcode phylogeny by the neighbour-joining method. As a result, threeAphidiusspecies were found to be new to Science. Descriptions and illustrations of the three species new to Science –Aphidius longicarpussp. nov.,A. longistigmussp. nov., andA. asiaticussp. nov.– are provided, together with their phylogenetic position within the genusAphidius. In addition, a redescription ofA. areolatus, a parasitoid of maple aphids (Peryphillusspp.), is also given.
Highlights
The genus Aphidius consists of more than 130 species around the world and belongs to the subfamily Aphidiinae, which includes approximately 63 genera and 650 species (Yu et al 2016)
Aphidius asiaticus sp. nov. is clustered with Aphidius longistigmus sp. nov. and is present with two specimens (171010-DBAP-007)
Genetic divergence between Aphidius asiaticus sp. nov. and Aphidius longistigmus sp. nov. is in the range of 3.1–3.9%, as compared with the two MOTUs in Aphidius longistigmus sp. nov., whose average genetic divergence is 1.6%
Summary
The genus Aphidius consists of more than 130 species around the world and belongs to the subfamily Aphidiinae, which includes approximately 63 genera and 650 species (Yu et al 2016). All Aphidius species are solitary koinobiont endoparasitoids of aphids, and many of them (e.g. A_colemani, A. gifuensis) are commercially used and produced as biocontrol agents against pest aphids worldwide (Hågvar and Hofsvang 1991; Blackman and Eastop 2000). As a species-rich genus with a huge diversity of host aphids, many new species have been discovered and described in recent studies (Tomanović et al 2007; Davidian and Gavrilyuk 2010; Petrović et al 2020). Since Aphidius species such as A. colemani and A. ervi are used as imported biocontrol agents against pest aphids worldwide, especially in agriculture and horticulture (Sequeira and Mackauer 1992; Henter and Via 1995; Fernandez and Nentwig 1997; Takada 1998), it is important to explore indigenous Aphidius species and to confirm their diversity in South Korea and surrounding regions. We confirm the presence of A. areolatus, which was poorly known and often misidentified, in South Korea and redescribe it
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