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Issue: Vol. 4550 No. 2: 24 Jan. 2019
Type: Article
Published: 2019-01-24
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4550.2.7
Page range: 268–276
Abstract views: 68
PDF downloaded: 1

Two new species of Rhogadopsis Brèthes (Braconidae: Opiinae) as solitary
parasitoids of Merochlorops species complex (Diptera: Chloropidae) from India

ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources, 2491, H. A. Farm Post, Bellary Road, Hebbal, Bangalore, 560 024, India
Dept. Terrestrial Zoology, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Darwinweg 2, 2333 CR Leiden, Netherlands
ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources, 2491, H. A. Farm Post, Bellary Road, Hebbal, Bangalore, 560 024, India
CABI, Bakeham Lane, Surrey, TW20 9TY, UK
CABI, Bakeham Lane, Surrey, TW20 9TY, UK
Sikkim University, 6th mile, Samdur, P. O. Tadong-737102 Gangtok, Sikkim, India
ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources, 2491, H. A. Farm Post, Bellary Road, Hebbal, Bangalore, 560 024, India
Hymenoptera Hedychium gardnerianum solitary larval-pupal parasitoid invasive weed

Abstract

During surveys for the potential biocontrol agents Merochlorops species complex (Diptera: Chloropidae), to control the invasive weed Hedychium gardnerianum Sheppard ex Ker Gawl. (Zingiberaceae), two new species of Rhogadopsis Brèthes (Braconidae: Opiinae) viz., R. gratia Gupta & van Achterberg, sp. n. and R. macrusa Gupta & van Achterberg, sp. n. were reared as solitary larval-pupal parasitoids of Merochlorops in the stems of H. gardnerianum. Interestingly, both wasp species have very different ovipositor lengths, in addition to other characters for species delimitation. Perhaps parasitism by the respective wasp species depends on the thickness of the stem harbouring the chloropid larvae. In the present study, both these new species of wasps are described and illustrated, together with notes on their biology. For the first time the genus Rhogadopsis has been found associated with Chloropidae; earlier records concern Agromyzidae.

 

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