On the parasitoid complex of butterflies with descriptions of two new species of parasitic wasps (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) from Goa, India

Abstract

In comprehensive rearing of butterflies from Goa, India, an interesting parasitoid complex of wasps and tachinid flies was found. Two new species of parasitic wasps are described and illustrated: Tetrastichus thetisae n. sp. (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), a gregarious parasitoid reared from the pupa of Curetis thetis (Drury) (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) on the host plant Derris sp., and Sympiesis thyrsisae n. sp. (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), a gregarious parasitoid reared from the caterpillar of Gangara thyrsis (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) on the host plant Cocos nucifera L. Additionally, the following host-parasitoid associations are recorded: Amblypodia anita Hewitson (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) with Parapanteles sp. (Hymenoptera: Braconidae); Coladenia indrani (Moore) (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) with Sympiesis sp. (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae); Danaus chrysippus L. (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) with Sturmia convergens (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tachinidae); Idea malabarica Moore (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) with Brachymeria sp. (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae) and Palexorista sp. (Diptera: Tachinidae); Notocrypta curvifascia Felder & Felder (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) with Cotesia erionotae (Wilkinson) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae); and Rapala sp. (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) with an inominate species close to Aplomya spp. (Diptera: Tachinidae). This discovery is the first record of Tetrastichus as parasitoid of Curetis thetis, Sympiesis as parasitoid of Gangara thyrsis and Coladenia indrani, Brachymeria and Palexorista as parasitoids of Idea malabarica, and Cotesia erionotae as parasitoid of Notocrypta curvifascia. Data on habitat, brief diagnoses and host records for all parasitoids are provided.

Diversity of vespid wasps (Hymenoptera:Vespidae) in agroecosystem and forest ecosystem of Western Ghats region of Goa, India

“…Being a part of the biodiversity hotspot, Goa is blessed with tremendous biodiversity. Numerous studies have been conducted to study and document arthropod fauna of Goa (Rangnekar and Dharwadkar 2009, Rangnekar et al 2010, Vyjayandi et al 2010, Rangnekar and Naik 2014, Gaude and Janarthanam 2015, Gupta et al 2015, Halali et al 2015, Bowalkar et al 2017, Maruthadurai and Singh 2017, Borkar 2018, Gawas et al 2019, Pandit and Dharwadkar 2020, Baidya and Bagchi 2020.…”

Parasitoids of Butterflies: Reassignment of <I>Dolichogenidea hasorae</I> (wilkinson, 1928) as a New Combination along with New Host-parasitoid Linkages and Notes on Host Specificity from Kerala, India

“…As butterflies are important in biodiversity conservation so do their parasitoids, whether to maintain equilibrium in the nature or to reveal their threats if at all strategies are to be taken to conserve them. In India, many successful attempts have been initiated in the recent past to unveil the diversity of parasitic wasps associated with butterfly species (Gupta and Kalesh, 2012;Gupta et al, 2013;Gupta et al, 2014;Gupta et al, 2015). However sighting a parasitized caterpillar is still rare.…”