First report of parasitism on pupae of Opsiphanes invirae amplificatus Stichel (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae) by Conura (Conura) maculata (Fabricius) (Hymenoptera, Chalcididae) in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Abstract

Opsiphanes invirae (Hübner, 1818) is widespread in Brazil but is most commonly found between the states of Rio de Janeiro (Southeastern Region) and Rio Grande do Sul (Southern Region) (Silva et al. 1968; Ferreira et al. 1998). This species is considered a pest of the "açaí" palm tree (Euterpe oleraceae) in Eastern Brazilian Amazonia (Northern Region), according to Souza & Lemos (2007). In Rio Grande do Sul, this subspecies was recorded by Link & Alvarez Filho (1979), and Link et al. (1980) [treated as Opsiphanes invirae amplificatus Stichel (1904) by those authors]. More recently, Lamas (2004) also reported the occurrence of this subspecies in Paraguay. Six species of Chalcididae are listed as parasitoids of Opsiphanes (pupa stage):

First record of Conura (Conura) maculata (Fabricius, 1787) (Hymenoptera, Chalcididae) parasitizing Opsiphanes invirae amplificatus Stichel, 1904 (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae) in the province of Corrientes, Argentina

“…The Neotropical fauna is represented by 217 species (Delvare and Arias-Penna 2006) of which 63 have been reported in Argentina (Noyes 2017), where the genus Conura Spinola,1837 is the best represented, with 30 species (Noyes 2017). Conura are generally parasitoids of both larval and pupal stages of lepidopteran (Marchiori et al 2004, Marcicano et al 2007, Salgado-Neto and Lopes da Silva 2011, Tibcherani et al 2016), but also parasitize larvae of Diptera and other Hymenoptera (Stireman andSinger 2003, Couri et al 2006), Coleoptera (Montes and Costa 2011), and Neuroptera, or are hyperparasitoids of Icneumonidae and Tachinidae (Couri et al 2006, Sakazaki et al 2011. They are usually solitary parasitoids, but some smaller species are gregarious (Gates et al 2012).…”

“…Conura maculata (Fabricius, 1787) is a gregarious parasitoid, currently known to occur in North America (USA and Mexico), Central America (Nicaragua, Panama, and Costa Rica) and South America (Venezuela, Colombia, French Guiana, Ecuador, Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina) (De Santis and Fidalgo 1994, Salgado-Neto and Lopes da Silva 2011, Arias and Delvare 2003, Noyes 2017.…”