Hyperparasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera, Trigonalidae) reared from dry forest and rain forest caterpillars of Area de Conservación Guanacaste, Costa Rica

By

Smith, David
Janzen, Daniel
Hallwachs, Winnie
Smith, M. Alex

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2012

Original Publication

Journal of Hymenoptera research

Volume

29

Pages

119-144

Subjects

Central America , Diptera , DNA barcoding , hyperparasitoid host specificity , Lepidoptera , tropical trophic web

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Washington, D.C International Society of Hymenopterists

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.29.3233

 

Abstract

Five species of Trigonalidae, hyperparasitoids of Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera) and Tachinidae (Diptera) that parasitize caterpillars (Lepidoptera), have been reared during the ongoing caterpillar inventory of Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG), Guanacaste Province, northwestern Costa Rica: Lycogaster apicipennis (Cameron), Taeniogonalos woodorum Smith, sp. n., Taeniogonalos fasciatipennis (Cameron), Trigonalys championi Cameron, and Trigonalys maculifrons Sharp. Morphological and DNA barcoding data support species separation of these generalist hyperparasitoids. Taeniogonalos gundlachii (Cresson) is not a widespread, color-variable species as previously treated and is probably confined to eastern North America. The species previously considered as T. gundlachii in Costa Rica is regarded as Taeniogonalos fasciatipennis, a species found only in ACG dry forest. Taeniogonalos woodorum is a similar species but found only in the ACG rain forest. Habitat and host records are given for these five species of trigonalids.