Parasitism of Hymenoepimecis manauara Pádua & Oliveira (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Pimplinae) on Leucauge henryi Mello-Leitão (Araneae: Tetragnathidae) in Brazilian Amazonian

Abstract

BackgroundA parasitoid wasp Hymenoepimecis manauara Pádua & Oliveira, 2015 was recorded parasitizing, for the first time, a female spider of Leucauge henryi Mello-Leitão, 1940 in the Amazon rainforest, Brazil. Images, description of the cocoon and comments about this interaction were added.New informationFirst record of Hymenoepimecis manauara parasitizing Leucauge henryi with description of cocoon and comments about this interaction.

Behavioral Modification of Leucauge mariana Induced by an Ichneumonid Spider-Parasitoid, Hymenoepimecis castilloi, in the Colombian Andes

“…The complete lack of adhesive spirals and the increase of lines connected to vegetation in order to reinforce the modified web of L. mariana were observed in all interactions between Leucauge and Hymenoepimecis wasps (Eberhard 2001 ; Sobczak et al 2009 ; Gonzaga et al 2015 ; Pádua et al 2016 ; Santos-Murgas et al 2022 ; Kloss et al 2022 ). We suggest that these features of cocoon webs may promote protection against scavenging arthropods, stability against climate conditions, and flying insect strikes, as previously observed in cocoon webs built by Agelena silvatica Thorell (Araneae: Agelenidae: formerly A. limbata ) (Matsumoto 2009 ), L. volupis (Gonzaga et al 2015 ), and by spiders of genus Cyclosa Menge (Araneae: Araneidae) (Matsumoto and Konishi 2007 ; Takasuka et al 2015 ; Kloss et al 2016 ).…”

“…This genus includes 28 species, which are distributed in low and mid altitudes from tropical Mexico to northern Argentina (Yu et al 2016 ; Pádua et al 2020 ; Pádua 2022 ). Information about host behavior modification was described to 12 species, associated with spiders of the Araneidae and Tetragnathidae families (Eberhard and Gonzaga 2019 ; Gaione-Costa et al 2022 ; Kloss et al 2022 ; Santos-Murgas et al 2022 ), especially of the genus Leucauge White (Araneae: Tetragnathidae) (Eberhard 2000a , b ; Sobczak et al 2009 ; Eberhard 2013 ; Gonzaga et al 2015 ; Pádua et al 2016 ; Gaione-Costa et al 2022 ; Kloss et al 2022 ; Santos-Murgas et al 2022 ).…”

Seven new species of spider-attacking Hymenoepimecis Viereck (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Pimplinae) from Ecuador, French Guiana, and Peru, with an identification key to the world species

“…Biological notes. Parasitoid of Leucauge henryi Mello-Leitão, 1940 (Araneae: Tetragnathidae) (Pádua et al 2016).…”

“…The species of Hymenoepimecis are known to be koinobiont ectoparasitoids attacking sub-adult and adult orb-web-spinning spiders belonging to the families Araneidae and Tetragnathidae (summarised in Pádua et al 2016). Hymenoepimecis is closely related to Acrotaphus Townes and Ticapimpla Gauld and it can be easily separated from these two genera by possessing a pocket-like structure on the mediodorsal part of the pronotum .…”

Description of the male of Hymenoepimecis bicolor (Brullé, 1846) (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Pimplinae)

“…Currently, Hymenoepimecis is composed by 20 valid species (Yu et al, 2012;Pádua et al, 2015), of which 12 are known as parasitoids of spiders (summarized in Pádua et al, 2016). Regarding these interactions, it is known that the larva of some wasp species can induce the host spider to construct a modified web (cocoon web), which is subsequently used as substrate for the wasp larva's cocoon (Eberhard, 2000a(Eberhard, , b, 2001Sobczak et al, , 2014Gonzaga et al, 2010;).…”