Occurrence and biology of Pseudogonalos hahnii (Spinola, 1840) (Hymenoptera: Trigonalidae) in Fennoscandia and the Baltic states

Abstract

Pseudogonalos hahniiis the only known species of Trigonalidae in Europe. It is a hyperparasitoid of lepidopteran larvae via ichneumonid primary parasitoids. Possibly, it has also been reared from a symphytan larva. We report the species for the first time from Estonia, Lithuania and Russian Fennoscandia, and list all known observations from Finland and Latvia. An overview of the biology of the species is presented with a list of all known host records.

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“…1), which is also present in Asia (China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Siberia). In Europe, P. hahnii is known from Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United Kingdom (Väänänen et al 2018). Although the species is known from most of the European countries, it appears to be collected only in small numbers, being relatively rare (Broad 2016;Väänänen et al 2018).…”

“…In Europe, P. hahnii is known from Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United Kingdom (Väänänen et al 2018). Although the species is known from most of the European countries, it appears to be collected only in small numbers, being relatively rare (Broad 2016;Väänänen et al 2018). This scarcity of records can be partially explained by the very short life span of the adults, which seems to be at most eight days (Carmean 1991).…”

“…Trin. ex Steud., Pinus sp., Poaceae, Prenanthes purpurea L., Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn, Rubus sp., Urtica dioica L., Vaccinium myrtillus L., etc), which needs to be consumed by a secondary host (sawfly or lepidoptera larvae) in order to hatch (Väänänen et al 2018). It was shown that the ovarioles of Pseudogonalos hahnii can contain more than 10.000 eggs and it can lay more than 1000 eggs per day in laboratory conditions (Bischoff 1936).…”

“…It was shown that the ovarioles of Pseudogonalos hahnii can contain more than 10.000 eggs and it can lay more than 1000 eggs per day in laboratory conditions (Bischoff 1936). After hatching in the secondary host gut, trigonalyid larva searches for its primary host, which is represented by Ichneumonidae larvae (Insecta: Hymenoptera), in the case of Pseudogonalos hahnii (Väänänen et al 2018). The known species of both primary and secondary hosts of Pseudogonalos hahnii are summarized in Väänänen et al (2018).…”

“…After hatching in the secondary host gut, trigonalyid larva searches for its primary host, which is represented by Ichneumonidae larvae (Insecta: Hymenoptera), in the case of Pseudogonalos hahnii (Väänänen et al 2018). The known species of both primary and secondary hosts of Pseudogonalos hahnii are summarized in Väänänen et al (2018).…”