New distribution data for some charismatic tramp species of Platygastroidea (Hymenoptera)

Abstract

This paper documents what we consider to be expanding distributions in three genera of Platygastroidea: Platyscelio Kieffer (Scelionidae), Aphanomerus Perkins (Platygastridae) and Tetrabaeus Kieffer (Platygastridae). Platyscelio africanus Risbec is the first record of Platyscelio in the Western Hemisphere (French Guiana). Aphanomerus is a new record for the continental Nearctic region (USA, Los Angeles) and Tetrabaeus is a new record for the Palaearctic (Ukraine, Georgia, and South Korea) and Sino-Japanese (Japan) regions. Tetrabaeus also expands its known distribution in the Nearctic (Canada and Mexico). Scanning electron micrographs and brightfield images are provided to enhance knowledge of the morphology of these genera, and to make them more easily recognized in the future. Tetrabaeus americanus (Brues, 1909) and Aphanomerus rufescens Perkins, 1905 are redescribed.

Two Asian egg parasitoids of Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae) emerge in northern Italy: Trissolcus mitsukurii (Ashmead) and Trissolcus japonicus (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera, Scelionidae)

“…Expansive ranges have recently been documented in platygastroid wasps that are not known to be of agricultural significance (Masner et al 2009, Oliveira and Schoeninnger 2017, Popovici et al 2018, but are charismatic and thus more easily recognized. As parasitoids are increasingly examined in the context of the world fauna, we expect to discover many more widespread species.…”

Trissolcus hyalinipennis Rajmohana & Narendran (Hymenoptera, Scelionidae), a parasitoid of Bagrada hilaris (Burmeister) (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae), emerges in North America

“…It is likely that accidental introductions of parasitoids are constant occurrences, but establishment does not become possible until their host is sufficiently available. In addition to these biocontrol candidates, the phenomenon of "tramp" species has recently been documented in other platygastroid wasps, including both scelionids and platygastrids (Masner et al 2009, Popovici et al 2018. We suspect that the number of cosmopolitan species is much higher than currently documented, primarily because recognition of them requires a world perspective for taxa that are often speciose and not well studied.…”

First Detection of the Adventive Egg Parasitoid of Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) Trissolcus mitsukurii (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) in France

“…As explained by Mason et al [ 10 ], the unintentional introductions of natural enemies are probably more common than expected. This phenomenon of “tramp” species was documented in Platygastroidea both for Platygastridae and Scelionidae [ 11 , 12 ].…”