Systematics of Old World Odontacolus Kieffer s.l. (Hymenoptera,Platygastridae s.l.): parasitoids?of?spider?eggs

The genera Odontacolus Kieffer and Cyphacolus Priesner are among the most distinctive platygastroid wasps because of their laterally compressed metasomal horn; however, their generic status has remained unclear. We present a morphological phylogenetic analysis comprising all 38 Old World and four Neotropical Odontacolus species and 13 Cyphacolus species, which demonstrates that the latter is monophyletic but nested within a somewhat poorly resolved Odontacolus. Based on these results Cyphacolus syn. n. is placed as a junior synonym of Odontacolus which is here redefined. The taxonomy of Old World Odontacolus s.str. is revised; the previously known species Odontacolus longiceps Kieffer (Seychelles), Odontacolus markadicus Veenakumari (India), Odontacolus spinosus (Dodd) (Australia) and Odontacolus hackeri (Dodd) (Australia) are re-described, and 32 new species are described: Odontacolus africanus Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Congo, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe), Odontacolus aldrovandii Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Nepal), Odontacolus anningae Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Cameroon), Odontacolus australiensis Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Australia), Odontacolus baeri Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Australia), Odontacolus berryae Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Australia, New Zealand, Norfolk Island), Odontacolus bosei Valerio & Austin sp. n. (India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka), Odontacolus cardaleae Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Australia), Odontacolus darwini Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Thailand), Odontacolus dayi Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Indonesia), Odontacolus gallowayi Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Australia), Odontacolus gentingensis Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Malaysia), Odontacolus guineensis Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Guinea), Odontacolus harveyi Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Australia), Odontacolus heratyi Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Fiji), Odontacolus heydoni Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Malaysia, Thailand), Odontacolus irwini Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Fiji), Odontacolus jacksonae Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Cameroon, Guinea, Madagascar), Odontacolus kiau Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Papua New Guinea), Odontacolus lamarcki Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Thailand), Odontacolus madagascarensis Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Madagascar), Odontacolus mayri Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Indonesia, Thailand), Odontacolus mot Valerio & Austin sp. n. (India), Odontacolus noyesi Valerio & Austin sp. n. (India, Indonesia), Odontacolus pintoi Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Australia, New Zealand, Norfolk Island), Odontacolus schlingeri Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Fiji), Odontacolus sharkeyi Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Thailand), Odontacolus veroae Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Fiji), Odontacolus wallacei Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Australia, Indonesia, Malawi, Papua New Guinea), Odontacolus whitfieldi Valerio & Austin sp. n. (China, India, Indonesia, Sulawesi, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam), Odontacolus zborowskii Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Australia), and Odontacolus zimi Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Madagascar). In addition, all species of Cyphacolus are here transferred to Odontacolus: Odontacolus asheri (Valerio, Masner & Austin) comb. n. (Sri Lanka), Odontacolus axfordi (Valerio, Masner & Austin) comb. n. (Australia), Odontacolus bhowaliensis (Mani & Mukerjee) comb. n. (India), Odontacolus bouceki (Austin & Iqbal) comb. n. (Australia), Odontacolus copelandi (Valerio, Masner & Austin) comb. n. (Kenya, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Thailand), Odontacolus diazae (Valerio, Masner & Austin) comb. n. (Kenya), Odontacolus harteni (Valerio, Masner & Austin) comb. n. (Yemen, Ivory Coast, Paskistan), Odontacolus jenningsi (Valerio, Masner & Austin) comb. n. (Australia), Odontacolus leblanci (Valerio, Masner & Austin) comb. n. (Guinea), Odontacolus lucianae (Valerio, Masner & Austin) comb. n. (Ivory Coast, Madagascar, South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe), Odontacolus normani (Valerio, Masner & Austin) comb. n. (India, United Arab Emirates), Odontacolus sallyae (Valerio, Masner & Austin) comb. n. (Australia), Odontacolus tessae (Valerio, Masner & Austin) comb. n. (Australia), Odontacolus tullyae (Valerio, Masner & Austin) comb. n. (Australia), Odontacolus veniprivus (Priesner) comb. n. (Egypt), and Odontacolus watshami (Valerio, Masner & Austin) comb. n. (Africa, Madagascar). Two species of Odontacolus are transferred to the genus Idris Förster: Idris longispinosus (Girault) comb. n. and Idris amoenus (Kononova) comb. n., and Odontacolus doddi Austin syn. n. is placed as a junior synonym of Odontacolus spinosus (Dodd). Odontacolus markadicus, previously only known from India, is here recorded from Brunei, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. The relationships, distribution and biology of Odontacolus are discussed, and a key is provided to identify all species.     

Spider silk felting—functional morphology of the ovipositor tip of Clistopyga sp. (Ichneumonidae) reveals a novel use of the hymenopteran ovipositor

Apical serrations of the hymenopteran ovipositor have been widely postulated to originally constitute adaptations for cutting through hard substrates. Simplifications of the ovipositor tip have occurred in several ichneumonid wasp genera associated with spiders. Despite such reduction in Clistopyga (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae), the ovipositor still possesses some apical serrations. Through the first detailed study, we believe, on the behaviour of an ovipositing Clistopyga species, we show that it can alter its ovipositor for different purposes and that the primary function of the apical serrations is clinging to its spider host as the spider attempts to escape. Intriguingly, we also discover a hitherto undocumented adaptation for the hymenopteran ovipositor. The female wasp seals openings in the silken spider nest by using its ovipositor on the silk in a highly sophisticated way that is comparable to how humans entangle wool by needle felting. By studying the ovipositor morphology through a scanning electron microscope, we elucidate how this works, and we hypothesize that by closing the nest the female wasp protects its developing kin.     

柑桔大实蝇产卵器的结构及形态观察

柑桔大实蝇Bactrocera minax (Enderlein)是柑桔果树上的重要害虫,近年来危害日趋严重,对我国柑桔生产造成了严重影响。本文在室内及野外观察了柑桔大实蝇雌虫产卵器的结构及外部形态特征。结果表明：产卵器分为产卵器基节、翻转膜、产卵管三部分,其长度依次为：4.63±0.38 mm、5.24±0.28 mm、4.39±0.32 mm,产卵器拉伸全长为14.24±0.27 mm。产卵器有3种状态：正常状态、产卵前准备状态、产卵状态。产卵前准备状态表现为产卵器完全伸长,可弯曲、反复旋转并回折成γ形。在雌虫产卵状态时,产卵器基节留在果实外,产卵管刺穿透果皮后在果皮下产卵。     

Oviposition by Lobesia botrana is stimulated by sugars detected by contact chemoreceptors

Abstract.  The influence of glucose, fructose and sucrose on oviposition site selection by Lobesia botrana is studied by combining behavioural and electrophysiological experiments. Oviposition choice assays, using surrogate grapes treated with grape berry surface extracts of Vitis vinifera cv. Merlot at different development stages, show that L. botrana females are most stimulated by extracts of mature berries containing the highest concentrations of glucose and fructose. Choice assays reveal that the oviposition response to these sugars is dose-dependant (with a threshold of the applied solution = 10 m m and a maximum stimulation at 1  m ) and that females are more sensitive to fructose than to glucose. Tarsal contact-chemoreceptor sensilla are unresponsive to stimulation with sugars but the ovipositor sensilla contain at least one neurone most sensitive to fructose and sucrose with a threshold of approximately 0.5 m m . Corresponding to the behavioural data, glucose is significantly less stimulatory to sensilla than fructose or sucrose. It is argued that fructose may be of special importance for herbivorous insects exploiting fruit as an oviposition site.     

The female postabdomen of the enigmatic Nannochoristidae (Insecta: Mecopterida) and its phylogenetic significance

Hünefeld, F. and Beutel, R.G. 2011. The female postabdomen of the enigmatic Nannochoristidae (Insecta: Mecopterida) and its phylogenetic significance. —Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 00: 1–8. External and internal features of the female postabdomen of Nannochorista neotropica are described in detail. The conditions found in females of Nannochoristidae come closest to the ground plan of Mecopterida. This lineage is characterised by telescoping postabdominal segments, a presumptive autapomorphic feature that is modified in some antliophoran groups, but displayed by the nannochoristid species in a typical manner. More potential autapomorphies of Mecopterida, all present in Nannochoristidae, are the neo‐formation of an intersegmental muscle, a transverse muscle spanning between the genital appendages of segment VIII, a muscle connecting these appendages and the genital chamber and the loss of an intersegmental muscle. Plesiomorphic features of Nannochoristidae are the presence of paired genital appendages on segments VIII and IX. Information on the egg‐depositing substrates of the females is not available. The telescoping postabdomen is suitable for oviposition in soft substrates such as moist soil, or rotten plant materials in the riparian zone, and this is possibly a ground‐plan feature of Mecopterida. The results of recent phylogenetic analyses based on morphological data support a placement of Nannochoristidae in Antliophora, whereas the exact position of the group remains ambiguous. No characters of the female postabdomen were found supporting the monophyly of Mecoptera as conventionally circumscribed, that is Nannochoristidae + Boreidae + Pistillifera.     

Sensory receptors of the ovipositor ofTrichogramma maidis [Hym.:Trichogrammatidae]

Sensory receptors of the ovipositor ofTrichogramma maidis are described. Sense organs are found on the 2^nd valvifers (1 type), on the tip of the 3^rd valvulae (2 types) and on the 1^st valvulae (4 types). The nature and possible functions of these sensilla are discussed.      

Molecular markers to differentiate two morphologically-close species of the genus Sitobion

The effect of allelochemicals from its host, the larva of the cabbage root fly, Delia radicum (L.) (Diptera: Anthomyiidae), and the host's food plant on the ovipositor probing response of the parasitoid Trybliographa rapae (Westw.) (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) were investigated. Trybliographa rapae probed both cabbage root fly infested and uninfested swede (Brassica napus var. napobrassica), although significantly more wasps responded to infested swede. Antennal sensilla are likely to be the mediators of this response. The synomones and kairomones involved are extractable in water, diethyl ether and methanol. No response was observed to washed, starved cabbage root fly larvae. Wasps spent significantly longer searching infested swede than uninfested, although probing frequency remained constant. It is suggested that the initiation of probing in T. rapae is dependent on a threshold concentration of general synomones or host related synomones and kairomones, whereas time spent searching a particular area is dependent on the environment perceived by sensilla on the ovipositor.     

A spatial analysis of the ecology and morphology of cicadas in the Pauropsalta annulata species complex (Hemiptera: Cicadidae)

The cicada Pauropsalta annulata Goding & Froggatt, 1904 comprises several distinct song types across its known distribution in eastern Australia, with these songs being statistically distinguishable from one another. Here we use spatial analysis of adult morphology and plant species associations to test further the hypothesis that P. annulata song types represent a complex of cryptic species. To structure this investigation we contrast different approaches and expectations given under the framework of ecological speciation with those of the recognition concept of species. Plotting the geographical distributions of these cicadas revealed that each of the P. annulata song types have independent geographical distributions, with relatively small areas of overlap. ‘Predicted distribution’ modelling revealed that the distribution of each song type forms a unique climatic envelope, which suggests that abiotic factors (rather than interactions among the cicadas themselves) influence the geographical representation of the different song types. One song type has consistent differences in male genitalia, and female ovipositor length differs significantly among three of the other song types. Each song type is strongly associated with a small number of tree species, and these associations are maintained in areas of sympatry. The spatial comparisons made in this study suggest that the P. annulata song types investigated actually represent three species. One of these species is represented by two of the song types originally recognized, and these appear to intergrade in sympatry, and thus represent subspecies. The spatial consistency of the plant associations and morphology exhibited by these (sub)species is significant because it represents an ecological measure of species stability. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2010, 101 , 553–565.     

Kairomone stimulates increased probes and host stings in a cleptoparasitoid

Abstract.  Eupelmus vuilleti acts as a cleptoparasitoid when encountering a host parasitized by Dinarmus basalis . The encounter of a parasitized host stimulates an increasing number of ovipositor probes directly above the parasitized host, an increasing number of host stings and the destruction of approximately 40% of the D. basalis eggs. The stimulation of ovipositor probes appears to be due to the detection of a stimulus that is different from the stimulus allowing interspecific host discrimination. It appears that a proteinacious substance produced by the D. basalis venom gland and deposited on the edge of the drilled hole induces probing behaviour of E. vuilleti .