Dissemin is shutting down on January 1st, 2025

Published in

Hindawi, Psyche, (2013), p. 1-6, 2013

DOI: 10.1155/2013/230601

Links

Tools

Export citation

Search in Google Scholar

New Host Record forCamponotophilus delvarei(Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae), a Parasitoid of Microdontine Larvae (Diptera: Syrphidae), Associated with the AntCamponotussp. aff.textor

Journal article published in 2013 by Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud ORCID, Michael W. Gates, Jean-Paul Lachaud
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

Full text: Download

Green circle
Preprint: archiving allowed
Green circle
Postprint: archiving allowed
Green circle
Published version: archiving allowed
Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

Microdontine syrphid flies are obligate social parasites of ants. Larvae prey on ant brood whereas adults live outside the nests. Knowledge of their interaction with their host is often scarce, as it is information about their natural enemies. Here we report the first case of parasitism of a species of microdontine fly by a myrmecophilous eurytomid wasp. This is also the first host record for Camponotophilus delvarei Gates, a recently described parasitic wasp discovered in Chiapas, Mexico, within the nests of the weaver ant, Camponotus sp. aff. textor Forel. Eleven pupal cases of a microdontine fly were found within a single nest of this ant, five of them being parasitized. Five adult C. delvarei females were reared from a puparium and 29 female and 2 male pupae were obtained from another one. The eurytomid is a gregarious, primary ectoparasitoid of larvae and pupae of Microdontinae, its immature stages developing within the protective puparium of the fly. The species is synovigenic. Adult females likely locate and parasitize their hosts within the ant nest. As some species of Microdontinae are considered endangered, their parasitoids are likewise threatened and in need of accurate and urgent surveys in the future.