Ixodiphagus tadystes
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| Noyes , 2010 |
Ixodiphagus tadystes 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 as yet unknown tick hosts . The hatching larvae feed ontheir hostas parasitoids . Ixodiphagus tadystes has so far only been found in Costa Rica .
description
From Ixodiphagus tadystes only the females are known to date. They are small, dark-colored wasps whose appearance other chalcids corresponds, but which have a strong and slightly flattened physique. The color of the head and body is dark brown, the head with a brass-colored sheen and bluish and purple reflections. Thorax and Gaster are a little brighter and have a less metallic shimmer. The body length is between 0.9 and 1.3 millimeters. The wingspan is well below two millimeters, the front wings are at least 2.3 times as long as they are wide and translucent at the base, otherwise dark and opaque.
The head is flattened at the top and 1.8 times as wide as the anterior vertex , with a trim with bristle-like setae , which are located in conspicuous depressions. The three ocelli on the head form an angle of about 95 degrees in front. The distance between the posterior ocelles and the complex eyes is significantly smaller than their own diameter. At the front of the head there are two antennas that are close together . Their scapus is long and slender, about three times as long as it is wide, and is orange in color. It is followed by the pedicellus and a funiculus divided into six limbs. The first flagellomer of the funiculus is longer than the second. The first four flagellomeres have no longitudinal sensilla , only the fifth and sixth flagellomer. The furrows between the flagellomeres of the three-part clavus are weak but complete, so that the impression of a seven-part funiculus does not arise.
The scutellum is very flat and has slight depressions with hair on the surface. The posterior margin of the hypopygium is straight, in the middle it has several strong setae. The legs have dark brown coxae and femora , the tibiae are lighter and may be pale orange-brown in color. The limbs of the tarsi , each with apical brown and distal orange-colored ends, are lightened.
Ixodiphagus tadystes is similar to the species Ixodiphagus hookeri . It differs from this in the first flagellomer of the funiculus, which is longer than the second flagellomer. The first member of the clavus is clearly connected to the second. The posterior ocelles are much closer to the edge of the complex eyes than their own diameter. The forewings are at least 2.3 times as long as they are wide. In Ixodiphagus hookeri , the first flagellum of the funiculus is shorter than any other. The basal segment of the clavus is clearly separated from the second by a furrow, so that the impression of a seven-segment flagellum is created. The posterior ocelles are significantly farther away from the edges of the complex eyes than their own diameter. Sensilla and is both longer than wide and longer than the second flagellomer. The furrow between the first two members of the clavus is weak but complete, here too without the impression of a seven-membered funiculum. The posterior margin of the hypopygium is straight and it has showy short and strong setae.
Way of life
All species in the genus Ixodiphagus are parasitoids . They lay their eggs in larvae or nymphs of various types of ticks , which serve as food for their larvae. The tick host of Ixodiphagus tadystes is not yet known.
distribution
Ixodiphagus tadystes has so far only been detected in Costa Rica . The type location is the nature reserve La Maritza in the province of Guanacaste ( 10 ° 57 ′ 25.7 ″ N , 85 ° 29 ′ 44.4 ″ W ). The 31 paratypes come from the provinces of Alajuela , Cartago , Guanacaste , Limón and Puntarenas . In addition to Ixodiphagus tadystes , five other species of the genus Ixodiphagus occur in Costa Rica . Ixodiphagus texanus was described as early as 1907, the other four were described with Ixodiphagus tadystes in 2010 .
Systematics and taxonomy
Ixodiphagus tadystes is one of 15 species of the genus Ixodiphagus Howard , 1907 in the monotypic tribe Ixodiphagini Howard , 1908. This belongs to the family Encyrtidae , a family of jewel wasps whose species almost without exception parasites of insects , spiders , mites are or ticks. The Ixodiphagini are the only tick parasites.
The first description was in 2010 by the Welsh entomologist John S. Noyes from the Natural History Museum in London. Noyes treated the subfamily Encyrtinae with the Ixodiphagini and other tribes in the third volume of his presentation of the Encyrtidae of Costa Rica. The holotype is in the collection of the Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INBio) in Costa Rica.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g John S. Noyes: Encyrtidae of Costa Rica (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) 3. Subfamily Encyrtinae: Encyrtini, Echthroplexiellini, Discodini, Oobiini and Ixodiphagini, parasitoids associated with bugs (Hemiptera), insect eggs (Hemiptera, Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Neuroptera) and ticks (Acari) . Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute Volume 84. Gainesville, FL 2010, ISBN 978-1-887988-28-5 , pp. 649-660.
- ↑ John S. Noyes and Mohammad Hayat: A review of the genera of Indo-Pacific Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) . In: Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History (Entomology) 1984, Volume 48, No. 3, pp. 131-395, here p. 288, digitized .
- ^ John S. Noyes: Encyrtidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera) . Fauna of New Zealand 13. DSIR Science Information Publishing Center, Wellington 1988, ISBN 0-477-02517-X , pp. 9-12, digitized .