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Issue: Vol. 5691 No. 1: 8 Sept. 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-09-08
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5691.1.7
Page range: 130-136
Abstract views: 143
PDF downloaded: 2

A new species of the non-pollinating fig wasp genus Ficobracon van Achterberg & Weiblen (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) associated with Ficus tinctoria subsp. gibbosa (Rosales: Moraceae) from the Western Ghats, India

Marine Aquarium & Regional Centre; Zoological Survey of India; Digha; West Bengal—721428; India.
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Ministry of Agriculture/Key Lab of Agricultural Entomology; Institute of Insect Sciences; Zhejiang University; Hangzhou; Zhejiang; China.
Western Ghat Regional Centre; Zoological Survey of India; Eranhipalam; Kozhikode; Kerala—673006; India.
Hymenoptera Braconidae Ficobracon Kerala fig-association new species

Abstract

Syconia of figs (Moraceae: Ficus spp.) are known to harbour diverse parasitoid communities; however, records of braconid wasps within these microhabitats remains limited. In this study, we describe a new species of Ficobracon van Achterberg & Weiblen (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), based on female and male specimens reared from syconia of Ficus tinctoria subsp. gibbosa (Blume) Corner (Rosales: Moraceae) in Kerala, India. The new species, morphologically similar to F. codonatus Huang & van Achterberg, 2013, is distinguished and illustrated herein. It is the first record of the genus Ficobracon from southern India and the sixth known species globally. Additionally, this study documents the first association of a Ficobracon species with non-pollinating fig wasps in F. tinctoria subsp. gibbosa syconia from India, expanding our understanding of the ecological interactions within these specialized microhabitats.

 

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How to Cite

Binoy, C., Achterberg, C.V. & Sureshan, P. (2025) A new species of the non-pollinating fig wasp genus Ficobracon van Achterberg & Weiblen (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) associated with Ficus tinctoria subsp. gibbosa (Rosales: Moraceae) from the Western Ghats, India. Zootaxa, 5691 (1), 130–136. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5691.1.7