Characteristics of the cocoon and natural history of the gregarious Meteorus restionis sp. n. (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Meteorinae) from Costa Rica

Abstract

A new species of a gregarious Meteorus wasp (Braconidae) constructs an unusual cocoon mass. Meteorus restionis sp. n. is described and distinguished from similar species. Cocoons of M. restionis are dark-brown, ovoid, and they are attached perpendicularly by their posterior end along a long, suspended cable. Th e cable is formed by intertwined, independent threads which are glued together at irregular intervals along its length, suggesting a certain degree of cooperation or at least tolerance among larvae during the construction of the cable. Intertwining and gluing the individual threads in a single cable presumably gives it a greater resistance against wind and other environmental stress. Prior to emergence the wasp cuts a neat, circular cap at the anterior end of its cocoon, and the cap remains attached by some threads to the rest of the cocoon.

Figure 3 from: Fujie S, Shimizu S, Tone K, Matsuo K, Maeto K (2021) Stars in subtropical Japan: a new gregarious Meteorus species (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Euphorinae) constructs enigmatic star-shaped pendulous communal cocoons. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 86: 19-45. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.86.71225

“…A cable of M. stellatus sp. nov. consists of a lot of individual threads and seems to be very strong, pretty much like that of M. restionis Shaw & Jones (Barrantes et al 2011). Interestingly, cocoon masses of M. townsendi are suspended by a fairly long cable, the length of which is approximately 3.0 m (Zitani and Shaw 2002;Zitani 2003), while the longest cable of M. stellatus sp.…”

“…The cable of gregarious Meteorus is thought to be very resistant to breaking and highly tolerant to environmental stress (Barrantes et al 2011). A cable of M. stellatus sp.…”

“…The suspended larvae were blown with air currents created by breathing, as there was no wind, which would enhance the merging of each individually suspended larva in the laboratory as it would in natural conditions. A single silk thread spun by an individual larva is called a "thread", and intertwined threads are called a "cable" as in Barrantes et al (2011). A short movie showing the cocoon formation behavior is available on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuHarLHolPM).…”

An illustrated key to Neotropical species of the genus Meteorus Haliday (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Euphorinae)

“…The study of the Neotropical fauna has received particular attention in Colombia accounting for 38 species (Aguirre et al 2011), Costa Rica with 21 (Zitani et al 1998; Shaw and Nishida 2005; Barrantes et al 2011) and Ecuador with 18 (Shaw and Jones 2009; Aguirre et al 2010; Jones and Shaw 2012; Aguirre and Shaw 2014a, 2014b). In contrast, several other countries have far fewer species reported: Argentina with six species (Tosquinet 1900; Blanchard 1936; De Santis 1967; Luna and Sanchez 1999), Mexico with three (Marsh 1979; Pair et al 1986; Molina-Ochoa et al 2001), Brazil, Chile, Honduras, Nicaragua each with two (Porter 1926; Muesebeck 1939; Muesebeck 1958; Artigas 1972; Maes 1989; Gladstone 1991; Cave 1993), and Bermuda, Panama, Peru and Venezuela each with one (Ashmead 1889; Muesebeck 1939, 1967; Hilburn et al 1990; De Huiza 1994).…”

Caracterización de una Especie deMeteorus(Hymenoptera: Braconidae) Presente en Larvas deSpodoptera frugiperda(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) en el Norte de Tamaulipas, México

“…El género Meteorus Halliday está compuesto de 326 especies (Yu 2012) que son endoparasitoides cenobiontes, es decir, que permiten la recuperación y el desarrollo temporal subsecuente del hospedero después del ataque. Estos parasitoides atacan especialmente a las larvas exofíticas de al menos diez familias del Orden Lepidoptera, algunos parasitan a una sola larva mientras otros son gregarios (Shaw y Nishida 2005, Barrantes et al 2011. El gusano cogollero, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E.…”