Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 5799 No. 2: 28 Apr. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-04-28
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5799.2.2
Page range: 239-258
Abstract views: 52
PDF downloaded: 3

Review of fig wasps (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Agaonidae & Pteromalidae) associated with Ficus (Moraceae) in South Korea, with descriptions of two new species

Division of Education; Honam National Institute of Biological Resources; Mokpo; Jeollanam-do; 58762; South Korea.
Insect Biosystematics Laboratory; Department of Agricultural Biotechnology; Seoul National University; Seoul; 08826; South Korea
Invasive Alien Species Team; National Institute of Ecology; Seocheon; 33657; South Korea.; Laboratory of Systematic Entomology; Department of Applied Biology; College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Chungnam National University; Daejeon; 34134; South Korea.
Insect Biosystematics Laboratory; Department of Agricultural Biotechnology; Seoul National University; Seoul; 08826; South Korea; Research Institute of Agricultural and Life Sciences; Seoul National University; Seoul; 08826; South Korea.
Forest Biodiversity Research Division; Korea National Arboretum; Pocheon; Gyeonggi; 11186; South Korea.
Hymenoptera COI CytB new species parasitoid phytophagous

Abstract

This study presents the first comprehensive review of South Korean fig wasps (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Agaonidae, Pteromalidae) associated with Ficus. Two new species, Wiebesia confusa Park & Kim, sp. nov. (Agaonidae) and Philotrypesis bicolor Park & Kim, sp. nov. (Pteromalidae), were reared from the figs of Ficus oxyphylla (=F. sarmentosa var. nipponica, Moraceae). Furthermore, two additional agaonid species, Blastophaga nipponica Grandi, 1922 and Wiebesia pumilae (Hill, 1967), and a pteromalid species, Sycoscapter inubiae (Ishii, 1934), are formally recorded from South Korea for the first time. The mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and cytochrome b genes were used to corroborate the morphological identification of the wasps. A key to Korean species, descriptions, diagnoses and host plant records are provided, along with detailed images of morphological characters for each species.

 

References

  1. Berg, C.C. (1989) Classification and distribution of Ficus. Experientia, 45, 605–611. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01975677
  2. Berg, C.C. & Corner, E.J.H. (2005) Flora Malesiana. Series I. Seed Plants. Vol. 17. Part 2. Moraceae (Ficus). Nationaal Herbarium Nederland, Leiden, 727 pp.
  3. Blaimer, B.B., Santos, B.F., Cruaud, A., Gates, M.W., Kula, R.R., Mikó, I., Rasplus, J.-Y., Smith, D.R., Talamas, E.J., Brady, S.G. & Buffington, M.L. (2023) Key innovations and the diversification of Hymenoptera. Nature Communications, 14, 1212. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36868-4
  4. Bouček, Z. (1988) Australasian Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera). A biosystematic revision of genera of fourteen families, with a reclassification of species, CAB International, Wallingford, Oxon, U.K., Cambrian News Ltd, Aberystwyth, Wales, 832 pp.
  5. Chen, Y., Compton, S.G., Liu, M. & Chen, X.Y. (2012) Fig trees at the northern limit of their range: the distributions of cryptic pollinators indicate multiple glacial refugia. Molecular Ecology, 21, 1687–1701. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2012.05491.x
  6. Chen, Y., Liu, M., Compton, S.G. & Chen, X.Y. (2014) Distribution of nuclear mitochondrial pseudogenes in three pollinator fig wasps associated with Ficus pumila. Acta Oecologica, 57, 142–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2013.10.001
  7. Chung, G.Y. (2017) Ficus erecta, F. nipponica, and F. thunbergii. In: Oh, B-.U. & Oh, S-.H. (Eds.), Silvics of Korea. Korea National Arboretum, Pocheon, pp. 109–148.
  8. Compton, S.G., van Noort, S., Mcleish, M.J., Deeble, M. & Stone, V. (2009) Sneaky African fig wasps that oviposit through holes drilled by other species. African Natural History, 5, 9–15.
  9. Compton, S.G. & van Noort, S. (1992) Southern African fig wasps (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea): resource utilization and host relationships. Proceedings of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, 95, 423–435.
  10. Cook, J.M. & Rasplus, J.-Y. (2003) Mutualists with attitude: coevolving fig wasps and figs. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 18, 241–248. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0169-5347(03)00062-4
  11. Cruaud, A., Jabbour-Zahab, R., Genson, G., Cruaud, C., Couloux, A., Kjellberg, F., Van Noort, S. & Rasplus, J.Y. (2010) Laying the foundations for a new classification of Agaonidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea), a multilocus phylogenetic approach. Cladistics, 26 (4), 359–387. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-0031.2009.00291.x
  12. Cruaud, A., Rasplus, J.-Y., Zhang, J., Burks, R., Delvare, G., Fusu, L., Gumovsky, A., Huber, J.T., Janšta, P., Mitroiu, M.-D., Noyes, J.S., van Noort, S., Baker, A., Böhmová, J., Baur, H., Blaimer, B.B., Brady, S.G., Bubeníková, K., Chartois, M., Copeland, R.S., Dale-Skey Papilloud, N., Dal Molin, A., Dominguez, C., Gebiola, M., Guerrieri, E., Kresslein, R.L., Krogmann, L., Lemmon, E., Murray, E.A., Nidelet, S., Nieves-Aldrey, J.L., Perry, R.K., Peters, R.S., Polaszek, A., Sauné, L., Torréns, J., Triapitsyn, S., Tselikh, E.V., Yoder, M., Lemmon, A.R., Woolley, J.B. & Heraty, J.M. (2024) The Chalcidoidea bush of life: evolutionary history of a massive radiation of minute wasps. Cladistics, 40, 34–63. https://doi.org/10.1111/cla.12561
  13. Cruaud, A., Rønsted, N., Chantarasuwan, B., Chou, L.S., Clement, W., Couloux, A., Cousins, B., Genson, G., Harrison, R.D., Hanson, P.E., Hossaert-Mckey, M., Jabbourzahab, R., Jousselin, E., Kerdelhue, C., Kjellberg, F., Lopez-Vaamonde, C., Peebles, J., Peng, Y.-Q., Pereira, R.A.S., Schramm, T., Ubaidillah, R., Noort, S.V., Weiblen, G.D., Yang, D.-R., Yodpinyanee, A., Libeskind-Hadas, R., Cook, J.M., Rasplus, J.-Y. & Savolainen, V. (2012) An extreme case of plant–insect co-diversification: figs and fig-pollinating wasps. Systematic Biology, 61, 1029–1047. https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/sys068
  14. Dalman, J.W. (1820) Försök till Uppställning af Insect-familjen Pteromalini, i synnerhet med afseen de på de i Sverige funne Arter. Kungliga Svenska Vetenskapsakademiens Handlingar, 41 (1), 123–174 + 177–182, tab. VII–VIII.
  15. Förster, A. (1878) Kleine monographien parasitischer Hymenopteren. Verhandlungen des Naturhistorischen Vereins der Preussischen Rheinlande und Westfalens, Bonn, 35, 42–82.
  16. Grandi, G. (1927) Contributi alla conoscenza degli Imenotteri Agaonidi. Bollettino del Laboratorio di Entomologia, 1, 1–121.
  17. Gardner, E.M., Bruun-Lund, S., Niissalo, M., Chantarasuwan, B., Clement, W.L., Geri, C., Harrison, R.D., Hipp, A.L., Holvoet, M., Khew, G., Kjellberg, F., Liao, S., Pederneiras, L.C., Peng, Y.Q., Pereira, J.T., Phillipps, Q., Ahmad Puad, A.S., Rasplus, J.-Y., Sang, J., Juul Schou, S., Velautham, E., Weiblen, G.D., Zerega, N.J.C., Zhang, Q., Zhang, Z., Baraloto, C. & Rønsted, N. (2023) Echoes of ancient introgression punctuate stable genomic lineages in the evolution of figs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 120, e2222035120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2222035120
  18. Gibson, G.A.P. (1997) Chapter 2. Morphology and Terminology. In: Gibson, G.A.P., Huber, J.T. & Woolley, J.B. (Eds.), Annotated Keys to the Genera of Nearctic Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera). National Research Council of Canada, NRC Research Press, Ottawa, pp. 16–44.
  19. Grandi, G. (1921) Diagnosi preliminari di Imenotteri dei fichi. Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova, 49, 304–316.
  20. Gravenhorst, J.L.C. (1829) Disuisito de Cynipe psene auctorum et descriptio Blastophagae, novi Hymenopterorum generis. Beiträge zur Entomologie, besonders in Bezug auf die schlesische Fauna, 1, 27–33.
  21. Grimaldi, D. & Engel, M.S. (2005) Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 772 pp.
  22. Heraty, J. & Hawks, D. (1998) Hexamethyldisilazane – A chemical alternative for drying insects. Entomological News, 109, 369–374.
  23. Hill, D.S. (1967) Figs (Ficus spp.) of Hong Kong. Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong, viii+128 pp.
  24. Ishii, T. (1934) Fig chalcidoid of Japan. Kontyû, 8, 84–100.
  25. Joseph, K.J. (1964) A proposed revision of the classification of the fig insects of the families Agaonidae and Torymidae (Hymenoptera). Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society of London, Series B, 33 (3/4), 63–66. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3113.1964.tb01613.x
  26. Kaartinen, R., Stone, G.N., Hearn, J., Lohse, K. & Roslin, T. (2010) Revealing secret liaisons: DNA barcoding changes our understanding of food webs. Ecological Entomology, 35 (5), 623–638. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2311.2010.01224.x
  27. Katoh, K. & Standley, D.M. (2013) MAFFT multiple sequence alignment software version 7: improvements in performance and usability. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 30 (4), 772–780. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/mst010
  28. Kerdelhué, C. & Rasplus, J.Y. (1996) Non-pollinating Afrotropical fig wasps affect the fig– pollinator mutualism in Ficus within the subgenus Sycomorus. Oikos, 75, 3–14. https://doi.org/10.2307/3546315
  29. Kim, J.S. & Kim, T.Y. (2011) Woody Plants of Korean Peninsula. Kyohaksa, Publishing Co., Seoul, 688 pp.
  30. Kirchner, L. (1867) Catalogus Hymenopterorum Europae. Zoologisch-Botanische Gesellschaft, Vindobonae, 285 pp.
  31. Korea National Arboretum (2022) English names for Korea native plants. Revised Version. Korea National Arboretum, Pocheon, 445 pp.
  32. Korea National Arboretum (2026) Korea Plant Name Index. Available from: https://www.nature.go.kr/kpni/index.do (accessed 7 January 2026) [in Korean]
  33. Kumar, S., Stecher, G., Li, M., Knyaz, C. & Tamura, K. (2018) MEGA X: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis across Computing Platforms. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 35 (6), 1547–1549. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msy096
  34. National Institute of Biological Resources [NIBR] (2024) Ficus oxyphylla National Species List of Korea. Available from: https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&pageMode=view&ktsn=120000060479 (accessed 5 June 2025)
  35. Peng, S. & Rasplus, J.Y. (2006) First record of the fig wasp genus Diaziella Grandi (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Pteromalidae: Sycoecinae) from the Asian mainland with description of two new species from China. Zootaxa, 1337 (1), 39–59. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.1337.1.2
  36. Rasplus, J.Y., Kerdelhué, C., Le Clainche, I. & Mondor, G. (1998) Molecular phylogeny of fig wasps (Hym. Chalcidoidea): Agaonidae are not monophyletic. Comptes rendus-Rendus de l'Académie des sciences, Serie III, Sciences de la vie, 321, 517–526. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0764-4469(98)80784-1
  37. Segar, S.T., Boutsi, S., Souto-Vilaros, D., Volf, M., Dunn, D.W., Cruaud, A., Pereira, R.A.S., Rasplus, J.-Y. & Kjellberg, F. (2026) The diversity of Ficus. Annals of Botany, mcaf280. [published online] https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcaf280
  38. Segar, S.T. & Cook, J.M. (2012) The dominant exploiters of the fig/pollinator mutualism vary across continents, but their costs fall consistently on the male reproductive function of figs. Ecological Entomology, 37, 342–349. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2311.2012.01370.x
  39. Simon, C., Frati, F., Beckenbach, A., Crespi, B., Liu, H. & Flook, P. (1994) Evolution, weighting, and phylogenetic utility of mitochondrial gene sequences and a compilation of conserved polymerase chain reaction primers. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 87 (6), 651–701. https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/87.6.651
  40. van Noort, S. & Rasplus, J.Y. (2024) Figweb: figs and fig wasps of the world. Available from: https://www.figweb.org (accessed 5 June 2025)
  41. Verkerke, W. (1989) Structure and function of the fig. Experientia, 45 (7), 612–622. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01975678
  42. West, S.A., Herre, E.A., Windsor, D.M. & Green, P.R. (1996) The ecology and evolution of the New World non‐pollinating fig wasp communities. Journal of Biogeography, 23 (4), 447–458. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.1996.tb00006.x
  43. Walker, F. (1846) List of the specimens of Hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. British Museum, London, vii + 100 pp.
  44. Wang, H.-Y., Hsieh, C.-H., Huang, C.-G., Kong, S.-W., Chang, H.-C., Lee, H.-H., Wang, W.-K., Chen, S.-L., Tzeng, H.-Y. & Wu, W.-J. (2013) Genetic and physiological data suggest demographic and adaptive responses in complex interactions between populations of figs (Ficus pumila) and their pollinating wasps (Wiebesia pumilae). Molecular Ecology, 22 (14), 3814–3832. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.12336
  45. Wiebes, J.T. (1978) Redescription of Sycoscapter gibbus Saunders, a parasitic fig wasps from Madagascar and Reunion (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea, Torymidae). Entomologische Berichten, Amsterdam, 38 (12), 185–189.
  46. Wiebes, J.T. (1979) Co-evolution of figs and their insect pollinators. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 10, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.es.10.110179.000245
  47. Wiebes, J.T. (1993) Agaonidae (Hymenoptera Chalcidoidea) and Ficus (Moraceae): fig wasps and their figs, X (Wiebesia). Proceedings. Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, Amsterdam, 96 (1), 91–114.
  48. Wiebes, J.T. (1994) The Indo-Australian Agaoninae (pollinators of figs). Verhandelingen der Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, Afdeeling Natuurkunde, Tweede Sectie. Vol. 92. Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, Amsterdam, 208 pp.
  49. WFO (2025) World Flora Online. Published on the Internet. Available from: https://www.worldfloraonline.org (accessed 8 August 2025)
  50. Yokoyama, J. & Iwatsuki, K. (1998) A faunal survey of fig-wasps (Chalcidoidea: Hymenoptera) distributed in Japan and their associations with figs (Ficus: Moraceae). Entomological Science, 1 (1), 37–46.
  51. Zhang, Z., Chen, Y.J., Mei, L., Zou, L., Zhang, M.J., Li, H.Q. & Zhang, D.S. (2023) Phylogeny of the Ficus sarmentosa complex (Moraceae) uncovered an omitted species and the rank elevation of F. pubigera var. maliformis. Phytotaxa, 579 (1), 17–31. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.579.1.2
  52. Zhang, Z., Zhang, D.-S., Zou, L. & Yao, C.-Y. (2022) Comparison of chloroplast genomes and phylogenomics in the Ficus sarmentosa complex (Moraceae). PLoS One, 17 (12), e0279849. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279849

How to Cite

Kim, M.-S., Park, D.-Y., Choi, S., Lee, S. & Kim, I.-K. (2026) Review of fig wasps (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Agaonidae & Pteromalidae) associated with Ficus (Moraceae) in South Korea, with descriptions of two new species. Zootaxa, 5799 (2), 239–258. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5799.2.2