Biology, immature and adult morphology, and molecular characterization of a new species of the genus Entedon (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) associated with the invasive pest Specularius impressithorax (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae, Bruchinae) on Erythrina plants

• Published in: Bulletin of entomological research Vol. 101; no. 6; p. 715
• Main Authors: Gumovsky, A V, Ramadan, M M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01-12-2011
• Subjects: Animals; Coleoptera - parasitology; Erythrina - parasitology; Female; Hawaii; Host-Parasite Interactions; Introduced Species; Larva - anatomy & histology; Larva - classification; Male; Pest Control, Biological; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Sex Ratio; Wasps - anatomy & histology; Wasps - classification; Wasps - genetics
• ISSN: 1475-2670
• DOI: 10.1017/S0007485311000290

Entedon erythrinae sp. n. (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), a gregarious egg-larval endoparasitoid of the Erythrina bruchine Specularius impressithorax, an invasive pest of the coral tree seeds (Erythrina spp.), is described from the Hawaiian Islands and Africa (South Africa, Tanzania and Mozambique). The biology and morphology of preimaginal stages of this new species are described in details.It is remarkable that the early embryo of the parasitoid represents a mass of undifferentiated cells surrounded by a peculiar membrane formed by the peripheral enlarged polygonal cells. The young larva developing inside this membrane corresponds morphologically to the second instar of congeneric species. Various peculiarities of the parasitoid-host relationships in gregarious and solitary Entedon parasitoids are discussed. The DNA sequences of 28S D2 (nuclear), Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI, mitochondrial) and Cytochrome B (CytB, mitochondrial) genes are provided for this new species and compared with the sequences of some other Afrotropical and Palearctic species of the genus.