Stars in subtropical Japan: a new gregarious Meteorus species (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Euphorinae) constructs enigmatic star-shaped pendulous communal cocoons

Abstract

A new gregarious braconid parasitoid wasp of Euphorinae, Meteorus stellatus Fujie, Shimizu & Maeto sp. nov., is described from the Ryukyu Islands in Japan, based on an integrative taxonomic framework. The phylogenetic position of the new species within the Meteorini was analyzed based on DNA fragments of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase 1 (CO1) and the nuclear 28S rDNA genes. The new species was recovered as a member of the versicolor complex of the versicolor + rubens subclade within the pulchricornis clade. The new species is a gregarious parasitoid of two Macroglossum species (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) and constructs single or several unique star-shaped cocoon masses separately suspended by very long threads. The evolution of gregariousness and spherical cocoon masses is discussed.

Discovery of a New Endoparasitoid Wasp (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Microgastrinae) on Bombyx Larvae (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) from Japan

“…Partial fragments of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase 1 (CO1, widely known as a barcoding gene for many invertebrate taxa) were amplified using a pair of primers, CO1 lco hym (5' -CAA ATC ATA AAG ATA TTG G -3') and CO1 hco extB (5' -CCT ATT GAW ARA ACA TAR TGA AAA TG -3') (Schulmeister 2003). The laboratory protocols followed those of Shimizu et al ( 2020) and Fujie et al (2021).…”

Comparative mitogenomes reveal diverse and novel gene rearrangements in the genus Meteorus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

“…Braconidae is one of the most species-rich families of Hymenoptera, including 42 subfamilies represented by over 1,100 genera and more than 21,220 known species (Chen and van Achterberg, 2019). Meteorus Haliday, 1835 is a cosmopolitan genus within Euphorinae and more than 300 species have been described (Fujie et al, 2021). They are…”

“…Braconidae is one of the most species-rich families of Hymenoptera, including 42 subfamilies represented by over 1,100 genera and more than 21,220 known species ( Chen and van Achterberg, 2019 ). Meteorus Haliday, 1835 is a cosmopolitan genus within Euphorinae and more than 300 species have been described ( Fujie et al, 2021 ). They are koinobiont endoparasitoids of Coleoptera or Lepidoptera larvae, and some of their hosts are considered pest insects, including some major pests such as Agrotis ipsilon , Helicoverpa armigera , Lymantria dispar and Spodoptera frugiperda ( Yu et al, 2016 ).…”

“…They are koinobiont endoparasitoids of Coleoptera or Lepidoptera larvae, and some of their hosts are considered pest insects, including some major pests such as Agrotis ipsilon , Helicoverpa armigera , Lymantria dispar and Spodoptera frugiperda ( Yu et al, 2016 ). Several final-instar larvae of Meteorus can produce cocoons suspended by a common cable, and the cocoon architecture is one of the key characters for identifying these species ( Fujie et al, 2021 ).…”

Variación Morfométrica Entre Meteorus laphygmae y Meteorus arizonensis1 en Durango, México

“…Para la mayoría de ellas, los más confiables son aquellos asociados a la cabeza y a la longitud del ovipositor (Aguirre 2009). Además de la morfometría, otro criterio utilizado en la delimitación de especies es el uso de marcadores moleculares como el COI (citocromo oxidasa c región I), el cual ha mostrado ser de utilidad en varias familias de Hymenoptera (Stigenberg et al 2015, Pereira et al 2020, Fujie et al 2021. Por lo anterior, se estableció como objetivo analizar los caracteres morfométricos correspondientes a M. laphygmae y M. arizonensis de Durango, comparados con los caracteres descritos en las claves taxonómicas, descripciones, y diagnosis, así como también analizar su variación genética reportada anteriormente (González-Maldonado et al 2019).…”