Ixodiphagus aethes
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| Hayat , 2015 |
Ixodiphagus aethes is a wasp of the genus Ixodiphagus in the family Encyrtidae . The hyperparasite lays its eggs in the larvae and nymphs of one or more unknown tick hosts . The hatching larvae feed ontheir hostas parasitoids .
description
Ixodiphagus aethes was initially thought to be a representative of a genus not yet described because of its anatomical features. In addition to Ixodiphagus taiaroaensis , it belongs to only two species of the genus Ixodiphagus , whose front wings have receded. Before the first description, the specimens were presented to the British entomologist John S. Noyes , who determined the genus. The existing identification keys only lead to the genus Ixodiphagus if it is regarded as a long-winged species.
The female holotype has a body length of 0.9 millimeters. The head is about twice as wide as it is long, has a slightly convex dorsal shape and a sharply defined rear edge. It is dark brown in color with brown and yellow antennae , the front limbs of which are clumped together. There are pronounced complex eyes on the side and three ocelli on the head .
The anterior body of Ixodiphagus aethes is unusually shaped, with a large pronotum and a short broad mesonotum, and colored brown. This shape of the front body distinguishes the species from all other species of the genus Ixodiphagus . The very short dark brown fore wings are a prominent feature. The gaster is black and as densely hairy as the head and the dorsal side of the notum. The legs, which are thinly hairy on all limbs, have black coxes , whitish thigh rings , dark brown femorae and tibiae . The first four links of the tarsi are yellow or brownish yellow, the last link brown.
Way of life
All species of the genus Ixodiphagus are obligatory parasitoids of various types of ticks that lay their eggs in the larvae or nymphs of the hosts. The host of Ixodiphagus aethes is unknown.
distribution
The holotype as the only known specimen was collected on April 2, 2014 in Shembaganur near Kodaikanal ( 10 ° 14 ′ N , 77 ° 29 ′ E ), Dindigul district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu .
Systematics and taxonomy
Ixodiphagus aethes was described by Mohammad Hayat in 2015 from a single female specimen. The specific epithet goes back to the Greek word aethes for unusual or curious and refers to the unusual habitus, especially the large, rectangular pronotum. The holotype is in the collection of the National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources in Bengaluru , Karnataka state .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Mohammad Hayat and Kamalanathan Veenakumari: Description of four new species of brachypterous Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) from India . In: Zootaxa 2015, Volume 3990, No. 2, pp. 259-271, doi : 10.11646 / zootaxa.3990.2.6 .