Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Type: Article
Published: 2019-03-06
Page range: 347–366
Abstract views: 92
PDF downloaded: 1

A synopsis of the Brazilian Eucharitidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) fauna: an annotated checklist of the family in the country, with a revised key for the New World genera

Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Avenida Coronel Francisco Heráclito dos Santos, sn - Jardim das Américas, Curitiba - PR, P.O. Box 19020, 81531-980, Brazil.
Laboratório de Biodiversidade de Insetos, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Avenida Fernando Ferrari, 514, Prédio Ciências Biológicas, Bloco A, sala 213 - Goiabeiras, Vitória - ES, 29075-910, Brazil.
PInstituto Nacional de Pesquisas Amazônicas, Avenida André Araujo, 2936, Campus II - Aleixo, Manaus - AM, P.O. Box 478, 69011-970, Brazil.
Hymenoptera Ant parasitoids biology distribution identification key Neotropics

Abstract

The current work provides a revised and updated key to the genera of Eucharitidae occurring in the New World, with the major traits of genera illustrated through high-resolution photomicrography. We provide an annotated list of genera and species currently known from Brazil, with a new record for a genus previously unknown for the country. Additionally, we provide a literature revision of the biology and cuticular hydrocarbon profile for the Eucharitidae. The lack of knowledge on the eucharitid Brazilian fauna is briefly discussed.

 

References

  1. Anderson, A., McCormack, S., Helden A., Sheridan, H., Kinsella, A. & Purvis, G. (2011) The potential of parasitoid Hymenoptera as bioindicators of arthropod diversity in agricultural grasslands. Journal of Applied Ecology, 48 (2), 382–390.

    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2010.01937.x

    Ayre G.L. (1962) Pseudometagea schwarzii (Ashm.) (Eucharitidae: Hymenoptera), a parasite of Lasius niger Emery (Formicidae: Hymenoptera). Canadian Journal of Zoology, 40, 157–164.

    https://doi.org/10.1139/z62-020

    Burks, R.A., Heraty, J.M., Dominguez, C. & Mottern, J.L. (2018) Complex diversity in a mainly tropical group of ant parasitoids: Revision of the Orasema stramineipes species group (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Eucharitidae). Zootaxa, 4401 (1), 1–107.

    https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4401.1.1

    Burks, R.A, Mottern, J. & Heraty, J.M. (2015) Revision of the Orasema festiva species group (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Eucharitidae). Zootaxa, 3972 (4), 521–534.

    https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3972.4.4

    Buys, S.C., Cassaro, R. & Salomon, D. (2010) Biological observations on Kapala Cameron 1884 (Hymenoptera Eucharitidae) in parasitic association with Dinoponera lucida Emery 1901 (Hymenoptera Formicidae) in Brazil. Tropical Zoology, 23 (1), 29–34.

    Clausen, C.P. (1923) The biology of Schizaspidia tenuicornis Ashm, a eucharid parasite of Camponotus. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 16, 195–219.

    https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/16.3.195

    Clausen, C.P. (1940) The oviposition habits of the Eucharidae (Hymenoptera). Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences, 30 (12), 504–516.

    Clausen, C.P. (1941) The habits of the Eucharidae. Psyche, 48, 57–69.

    https://doi.org/10.1155/1941/21539

    d’Ettorre, P. & Lenoir, A. (2010) Nestmate recognition. In: Lach L., Parr C.L. & Abbott K.L. (eds) Ant Ecology. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 194–209.

    Dejean, A., Schatz, B., Orivel, J., Beugnon, G., Lachaud, J.-P., Corbara, B. (1999) Feeding preferences in African ponerine ants: a cafeteria experiment (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Sociobiology, 34, 555–568.

    Evenhuis, N.L. (2018) Abbreviations for insect and spider collections of the world. Available from http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/codens/codens-inst.html (accessed 11 May 2018)

    Gahan, A.B. (1940) A contribution to the knowledge of Eucharidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea). Proceedings of the United States National Museum, 88 (3086), 425–458.

    https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00963801.88-3086.425

    Gould, R.K., Pejchar, L., Bothwell, S.G., Brosi, B., Wolny, S., Mendenhall, C.D. & Daily, G. (2013) Forest Restoration and Parasitoid Wasp Communities in Montane Hawai’i. PloS ONE, 8 (3), e59356.

    https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0059356

    Heraty, J.M. (1986) Pseudochalcura (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae), a New World genus of chalcidoids parasitic on ants. Systematic Entomology, 11, 183–212.

    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3113.1986.tb00176.x

    Heraty, J.M. (1998) The genus Dilocantha (hymenoptera: Eucharitidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 100 (1), 72–87.

    Heraty, J.M. (2002) A revision of the genera of Eucharitidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) of the world. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute, 68, 1–367.

    Heraty, J.M. (2004) Three new species of Gollumiella Hedqvist (Hymenotpera: Eucharitidae). Zootaxa, 497, 1–10.

    https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa497.1.1

    Heraty, J.M. (2005) A revision of the genus Isomerala (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae). Acta Societas Zoologicae Bohemicae, 69, 137–145.

    Heraty, J.M. (2006) Familia Eucharitidae. In: Fernández, F. & Sharkey, M. J. (eds) Introducción a los Hymenoptera de la Región Neotropical. Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, pp. 709–716.

    Heraty, J.M. (2017) Catalog of World Eucharitidae. Available from http://hymenoptera.ucr.edu/EucharitidaeCatalog2017.pdf. (accessed 11 May 2018).

    Heraty, J.M. & Barber, K.N. (1990) Biology of Obeza floridana (Ashmead) and Pseudochalcura gibbosa (Provancher) (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 92 (2), 248–258.

    Heraty, J.M. & Woolley, J.B. (1993) Separate species or polymorphism: a recurring problem in Kapala (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 85, 517–531.

    https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/86.5.517

    Heraty, J., Hawks, D., Kostecki, J.S. & Carmichael, A. (2004) Phylogeny and behaviour of the Gollumiellinae, a new subfamily of the ant-parasitic Eucharitidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea). Systematic Entomology, 29 (4), 544–559.

    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0307-6970.2004.00267.x

    Heraty, J.M., Heraty, J.M. & Torréns, J. (2009) A new species of Pseudochalcura (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae), with a review of antennal morphology from a phylogenetic perspective. Zookeys, 20, 215–231.

    https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.20.126

    Heraty, J.M. & Murray, E. (2013) The life history of Pseudometagea schwarzii, with a discussion of the evolution of endoparasitism and koinobiosis in Eucharitidae and Perilampidae (Chalcidoidea). Journal of Hymenoptera Research, 35, 1–15.

    https://doi.org/10.3897/JHR.35.6025

    Heraty, J.M., Wojcik, D.P. & Jouvenaz, D.P. (1993) Species of Orasema parasitic on the Solenopsis saevissima-complex in South America (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae, Formicidae). Journal of Hymenoptera Research, 2 (1), 169–182.

    Herreid, J.S. & Heraty, J.M. (2017) Hitchhikers at the dinner table: a revisionary study of a group of ant parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae) specializing in the use of extrafloral nectaries for host access. Systematic Entomology, 42, 204–229.

    https://doi.org/10.1111/syen.12206

    Hölldobler, B. & Wilson, E.O. (1990) The ants. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 733 pp.

    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-10306-7

    Howard, R.W. & Blomquist, G.J. (2005) Ecological, behavioral, and biochemical aspects of insect hydrocarbons. Annual Reviews of Entomology, 50, 371–393.

    https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ento.50.071803.130359

    Howard, R.W., Pérez-Lachaud, G. & Lachaud, J.-P. (2001) Cuticular hydrocarbons of Kapala sulcifacies (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae) and its host, the ponerine ant Ectatomma ruidum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 94, 707–716.

    https://doi.org/10.1603/0013-8746(2001)094[0707:CHOKSH]2.0.CO;2

    Hymenoptera Anatomy Consortium. (2018) The Hymenoptera Glossary. Available from http://glossary.hymao.org. (accessed 10 May 2018)

    Johnson, D.W. (1988) Eucharitidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea): Biology and Potential for Biological Control. The Florida Entomologist, 71 (4), 528–537.

    https://doi.org/10.2307/3495012

    Jouvenaz, D.P., Vander Meer, R.K. & Wocjik, D.P. (1988) Chemical mimicry in a parasitoid, Orasema sp. (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae) of fire ants. Proceedings of the 18th International Congress of Entomology, Vancouver.

    https://doi.org/10.2307/3495962

    Lachaud, J.-P. & Pérez-Lachaud, G. (2012) Diversity of Species and Behavior of Hymenopteran Parasitoids of Ants: A Review. Psyche, 2012.

    https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/134746

    Lachaud, J.-P. & Pérez-Lachaud, G. (2015) Ectaheteromorph ants also host highly diverse parasitic communities: a review of parasitoids of the Neotropical genus Ectatomma. Insectes Sociaux, 62 (2), 121–132.

    https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-015-0390-x

    Lachaud, J.-P., Perez-Lachaud, G. & Heraty, J.M. (1998) Parasites associated with the ponerine ant Ectatomma tuberculatum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): First host record for the genus Dilocantha (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae). The Florida Entomologist, 81 (4), 570–574.

    Melo, G.A.R., Aguiar, A.P. & Garcete-Barrett, B.R. (2012) Hymenoptera. In: Rafael, J.A., Melo, G.A.R., Carvalho, C.J.B., Casari, S.A. & Constantino, R. (eds). Insetos do Brasil: diversidade e taxonomia. Holos Editora, Ribeirão Preto, pp. 553–612.

    Murray, E.A., Carmichael, A.E. & Heraty, J.M. (2013) Ancient host shifts followed by host conservatism in a group of ant parasitoids. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, 280 (1759), 20130495.

    https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.0495

    Narendran, T.C. & Girish Kumar, P. (2004) Two new species of Stilbula Spinola (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae) from Yemen. Zoo’s Print Journal, 19 (11), 1677–1679.

    https://doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.ZPJ.1124.1677-9

    Narendran, T.C. & Girish Kumar, P. (2005) Description of a new species and a key to species of Orasema Cameron (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae) from India. Ecobios, 3 (1 & 2), 10–14.

    Noyes, J.S. (2018) Universal Chalcidoidea Database. Available from http://www.nhm.ac.uk/chalcidoids (accessed 11 May 2018).

    Pérez-Lachaud, G., Heraty, J.M., Carmichael, A. & Lachaud, J.-P. (2006a) Biology and behavior of Kapala (Hymenoptera:Eucharitidae) attacking Ectatomma, Gnamptogenys and Pachycondyla (Formicidae: Ectatomminae and Ponerinae) in Chiapas, Mexico. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 99 (3), 567–576.

    https://doi.org/10.1603/0013-8746(2006)99[567:BABOKH]2.0.CO;2

    Pérez-Lachaud, G, López-Méndez, J.A. & Lachaud, J.-P. (2006b) Eucharitid Parasitism of the Neotropical Ant Ectatomma tuberculatum: Parasitoid Co-Ocurrence, Seasonal Variation, and Multiparasitism. Biotropica, 38 (4), 574–576.

    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2006.00169.x

    Pérez-Lachaud, G., López-Méndez, J.A., Beugnon, G., Winterton, P. & Lachaud, J.-P. (2010) High prevalence but relatively low impact of two eucharitid parasitoids attacking the Neotropical ant Ectatomma tuberculatum (Olivier). Biological Control, 52, 131–139.

    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2009.10.016

    Pérez-Lachaud, G., Bartolo-Reyes, J.C., Quiroa-Montalván C.M., Cruz-López L., Lenoir A. & Lachaud J.-P. (2015) How to escape from the host nest: Imperfect chemical mimicry in eucharitid parasitoids and exploitation of the ants’ hygienic behavior. Journal of Insect Physiology, 75, 63–72.

    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2015.03.003

    Quantum GIS Development Team (2018) Quantum GIS Geographic Information System. Open Source Geospatial Foundation Project. Available from: http://www.qgis.org. (accessed 22 March 2018).

    Santos, A., Cianciaruso, M.V. & De Marco, P. (2015) Global patterns of functional diversity and assemblage structure of island parasitoid faunas. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 25 (7), 869–879.

    https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12340.

    Schoeninger, K. (2018) Eucharitidae in Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil. PNUD. Available from: http://fauna.jbrj.gov.br (accessed 17 December 2018)

    Schoeninger K., Silva T.S.R., Kawada R. & Torrens J. (2018) Description of the female of Colocharis hungi Torréns (Hymenoptera, Eucharitidae) and identification key for the species of Colocharis. Zootaxa, 4446 (2), 265–272.

    https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4446.2.6

    Seltmann, K.C., Yoder, M.J., Mikó, I., Forshage, M., Berton, M.A., Agosti, D., Austin, A.D., Balhoff, J.P., Borowiec, M.L., Brady, S.G., Broad, G.R., Brothers, D.J., Burks, R.A., Buffington, M.L., Campbell, H.M., Dew, K.J., Ernst, A.F., Fernández-Triana, J.L., Gates, M.W., Gibson, G.A.P., Jennings, J.T., Johnson, N.F., Karlsson, D., Kawada, R., Krogmann, L., Kula, R.R., Mullins, P.L., Ohl, M., Rasmussen, C., Ronquist, F., Schulmeister, S., Sharkey, M.J., Talamas, E., Tucker, E., Vilhelmsen, L., Ward, P.S., Wharton, R.A. & Deans, A.R. (2012) A hymenopterists’ guide to the Hymenoptera Anatomy Ontology: utility, clarification, and future directions. Journal of Hymenoptera Research, 27, 67–88.

    https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.27.2961

    Shaw, M.R. (2006) Habitat considerations for parasitic wasps (Hymenoptera). Journal of Insect Conservation, 10 (2), 117–127.

    https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-006-6288-1

    Torréns, J. (2012) Primer registro de Colocharis (Chalcidoidea: Eucharitidae) en la Argentina y descripción de uma nueva espécie. Revista de la Sociedad Entomológica Argentina, 71 (3–4), 215–218.

    Torréns, J. (2013) A Review of the Biology of Eucharitidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) from Argentina. Psyche, 2013.

    https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/926572

    Torréns, J. (2016) A new species of Pseudochalcura Ashmead (Chalcidoidea: Eucharitidae) from Argentina with descriptions of alternate sexes of two other species. Zootaxa, 4067 (2), 239–245.

    https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4067.2.8

    Torréns, J. & Heraty, J.M. (2012) Description of the species of Dicoelothorax Ashmead (Chalcidoidea, Eucharitidae) and biology of D. platycerus Ashmead. ZooKeys, 165, 33–46.

    https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.165.2089

    Torréns, J. & Heraty, J.M. (2013) A new genus of Eucharitidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea), with notes on life history and immature stages. Zootaxa, 3630 (2), 347–358.

    https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3630.2.9

    Torréns, J., Heraty, J.M. & Fidalgo, P. (2007) Biology and description of a new species of Laurella Heraty (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae) from Argentina. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 109 (1), 45–51.

    Torréns, J., Heraty, J.M., Murray, E. & Fidalgo, P. (2016) Biology and phylogenetic placement of a new species of Lasiokapala Ashmead from Argentina (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae). Systematic Entomology, 41 (3), 596-606.
    https://doi.org/10.1111/syen.12176

    Vander Meer, R.K., Jouvenaz, D.P. & Wojcik, D.P. (1989) Chemical mimicry in a parasitoid (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae) of fire ants (Hymenoptera:Formicidae). Journal of Chemical Ecology, 15, 2247–2261.

    https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01014113

    Varone, L., Heraty, J.M. & Calcaterra, J.L. (2010) Distribution, abundance and persistence of species of Orasema (Hym: Eucharitidae) parasitic on fire ants in South America. Biological Control, 55 (1), 72–78.

    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2010.06.017

    Wheeler, W.M. (1907) The polymorphism of ants, with an account of some singular abnormalities due to parasitism. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 23, 1–93.

    Wheeler, W.M. (1910) Ants: their structure, development and behavior. Columbia University Press, New York, 663 pp.

    Yoder, M.J., Mikó, I., Seltmann, K.C., Bertone, M.A. & Deans, A.R. (2010) A gross anatomy ontology for Hymenoptera. PLoS ONE, 5 (12), e15991.

    https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0015991