Taxonomic revision of the Campoplex difformis group (Ichneumonidae, Campopleginae), with particular reference to species of economic importance

Abstract

Despite their importance as potential biological control agents, species of the campoplegine genus Campoplex Gravenhorst, 1829 are hard to identify. Previous works provided short descriptions or poor illustrations of crucial characters, meaning it is often impossible to distinguish closely related species. We provide illustrations to identify species of the Campoplex difformis group and redescriptions of and illustrations for C. difformis (Gmelin, 1790), C. capitator Aubert, 1960, C. dubitator Horstmann, 1985, C. formosanae Horstmann, 2012, and C. unicingulatus (Schmiedeknecht, 1909). In addition, the taxonomic status of C. difformis is clarified; a lectotype is designated for C. capitator in Aubert’s collection in Lausanne and the host record for this species on Ancylis mitterbacheriana (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) is queried; Campoplex corsicator Aubert, 1960 stat. nov. is removed from synonymy with Campoplex tibialis (Szépligeti, 1916) and redescribed.

Back to the Wild: The Parasitoid Community of Lobesia botrana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in a Grapevine-Free Natural Environment

“…The list of parasitoids associated with EGVM is extremely long, and several authors have attempted to provide a complete list of species parasitizing this lepidopteran [ 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 ]. Not all these records should be considered valid, mainly due to inaccuracies in rearing, errors in identifications, and difficulties in interpreting names given by some authors in the past, as the taxonomic meaning of a name often changes over time or according to the author [ 69 , 70 , 88 ]. Most of the data comes from the investigation of the EGVM parasitoids in vineyards, as from the beginning this moth has been associated with the grapevine, showing its potential as a pest since the second half of 19th [ 69 ].…”

“…It was also the only parasitoid with a 100% occupancy in the selected area, proving to be a structural member of the community [ 81 ]. C. capitator is a Mediterranean species [ 87 , 88 ], widespread in most of the southern European wine-growing areas, where it is one of the main if not the most efficient parasitoid of EGVM [ 46 , 47 , 48 , 50 , 52 , 70 , 99 , 100 ]. Beyond EGVM, its host range seems restricted to a few other tortricid species feeding on grapevine, such as Eupoecilia ambiguella (Hübner, 1796) and occasionally Sparganothis pilleriana (Denis and Schiffermüller, 1775) [ 89 ].…”

“…Beyond EGVM, its host range seems restricted to a few other tortricid species feeding on grapevine, such as Eupoecilia ambiguella (Hübner, 1796) and occasionally Sparganothis pilleriana (Denis and Schiffermüller, 1775) [ 89 ]. Indeed, C. capitator belongs to a group of sibling species, which are difficult to separate on a morphological basis but that have probably differentiated based on host specialisation [ 88 ]. Our data strongly support the strict association of C. capitator with EGVM, as the trend of emergency of this parasitoid during the three-year sampling clearly followed that of the EGVM and gives credit to its possible use as a biological control agent against this pest as soon as the difficulties in its mass rearing can be overcome [ 101 ].…”

Assessing species richness of the subfamily Campopleginae (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) community in Darab damask rose rain-fed plain, Fars province, Iran

“…Campopleginae Förster is one of the most diverse subfamilies of this family, consisting of more than 2500 known species into 66 genera (Vas et al, 2022;Yu et al, 2016). Members of this subfamily are mainly solitary koinobiont parasitoids of Lepidoptera and less commonly Coleoptera larvae and may be known as promising biological control candidates for some agricultural pests (Quicke, 2015;Scaramozzino et al, 2018;Shaw et al, 2016;Abedi et al, 2020;Bagheri et al, 2020;Di Giovanni et al, 2021;Soroka et al, 2020). One of the most important biological characteristics of campoplegines is that they are polyphagous in their host range because of the injection of polydnaviruses along with their eggs which help them to feed on a broad spectrum of Lepidoptera species (Shaw et al, 2016;Stireman & Shaw, 2022).…”

New species and records of Afrotropical Campopleginae IV. (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae)

“…The material is deposited in the HNHM and in the MZLU. Identifications were based on Cresson (1865), Holmgren (1868), Thomson (1887), Cameron (1906Cameron ( , 1911, Cushman (1915), Morley (1916), Hellén (1949), Benoit (1957), Horstmann (1969Horstmann ( , 1973Horstmann ( , 1981Horstmann ( , 2000, Gupta (1974), Kusigemati (1988), Azidah et al (2000), Rousse & Villemant (2012), Labou et al (2000), Shaw et al (2016), Di Giovanni et al (2021), Folia ent. hung.…”