Eucharitidae

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Eucharitidae
Temporal range: Priabonian–Recent
Pseudochalcura nigrocyanea.jpg
Pseudochalcura nigrocyanea
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Superfamily: Chalcidoidea
Family: Eucharitidae
Latreille, 1809
Subfamilies

Akapalinae
Eucharitinae
Gollumiellinae
Oraseminae

Diversity
4 subfamilies
42 genera
400 species
Latina rugosa planidia (arrows, magnified) attached to an ant larva Latina rugosa planidia.png
Latina rugosa planidia (arrows, magnified) attached to an ant larva
Stilbula quinqueguttata from Australia Stilbula quinqueguttata.jpg
Stilbula quinqueguttata from Australia

The Eucharitidae are a family of parasitic wasps. [1] Eucharitid wasps are members of the superfamily Chalcidoidea and consist of four subfamilies: Akapalinae, Eucharitinae, Gollumiellinae, and Oraseminae. [2] Most of the 42 genera and >400 species of Eucharitidae are members of the subfamilies Oraseminae and Eucharitinae, and are found in tropical regions of the world. [3]

Contents

Eucharitids are specialized parasitoids of ants, meaning each species is usually only parasitic of one genus of ant. [3] Furthermore, they are one of the few parasitoids that have been able to use ants as hosts, despite ants’ effective defense systems against most parasitoids. [4] [5] [6] Eucharitid parasitism occurs year-round, with a majority of it occurring during hot and humid months. However, the amount of parasitism that occurs depends primarily on the size of the ant colony and the number of host pupae in them, and not on the season. [4]

Life cycle

Female eucharitids oviposit rows of eggs into plant tissue, such as leaves and stems, away from ant colonies. [7] The eggs are a translucent white and are about 0.19 mm long and 0.08 mm wide. They are elliptical and flat on one side. As the eggs mature, they turn a brown color and ten days after oviposition, they hatch. [1] The larvae are solely responsible for their entry into the ant colony and the parasitism of their host. [3] They are 0.13 mm long and are able to travel several inches on the leaf but do not leave the egg cluster. After six to seven days, they attach themselves to foraging ants heading back to their brood; however, sometimes they will attach themselves to other insects, using them as intermediate hosts. Once in the brood, the larvae will attach to their host larva. [1] Some Eucharitidae are external parasites while others are internal parasites; [4] however, all eucharitid species finish their development as ectoparasites. [1]

Limited feeding on the host occurs until the host pupates, after which, most of it is consumed by the wasp. [3] Usually, only one parasite per host is found, but in some cases, superparasitism occurs, and two to four wasps will attach to, and emerge from one host. [4] Once the wasps emerge, the ant colony grooms and feeds them as if they were part of the ants’ brood. In some instances, worker ants have been observed assisting the wasps to emerge from their host. The wasps gain acceptance in these ways, and the ants show no signs of aggression because the wasps acquire their host's odor upon entry into the colony. By mimicking the odor of their host, eucharitid wasps are able to keep themselves safe until the scent wears off, at which point they leave the ant colony and begin mating. [7]

Adult wasps emerge from the ant nest in the morning; the males emerge before the females. In most cases, the males swarm one to two feet above the nest, and as soon as the females emerge, mating occurs. However, the males of certain species, such as Kapala terminalis, calmly wait on foliage surrounding the nest until the females emerge. Many times, the males will begin mating with the females before they have a chance to take flight, and in some instances, mating will occur while the wasps are still inside the ants' nest. [8] After mating, the females lay all their eggs in one day. The egg capacity of each female is 1000 to 10000. [7]

Anatomy

Most eucharitids are between 2.0 and 5.4 mm long and vary from metallic colors to black. They have 13 or fewer segments on their antennae, but some have up to 26. [9]

The main anatomical characteristics of eucharitid wasps are:

Subfamilies

Oraseminae

Orasema simplex from Argentina Orasema simplex.jpg
Orasema simplex from Argentina

Oraseminae are parasitic on the ant genus Pheidole (Myrmicinae), as well as the fire ant in southern South America and the little red fire ant in the Caribbean. [3] They are distributed worldwide in tropical regions, such as Costa Rica, Ecuador, [5] Brazil, and Argentina. [4] [7] They are also native to Texas, Florida, Massachusetts, Delaware, [11] and Colorado. [7]

An orasemine female punctures the plant tissue on which she will oviposit, and places an egg inside of each incision. [3] The eggs are deposited on the edges of the underside of leaves, and are sometimes found in the buds and stems of the plant. [7] They have been known to oviposit on blueberry leaves, [7] tea leaves (Das), oak leaves, olive leaves, mango leaves, flower heads, and banana fingers. Species of Eucharitidae are consistent in their choice of leaf for oviposition. [5]

Because orasemine eggs are laid on plants that are not always visited by foraging ants, the larvae will most often attach to intermediate hosts, [12] or “insect prey” that will eventually be devoured by ants. [4] Sometimes, however, foraging ants are present and there is no need for an intermediate host. [7] Upon arriving at the ants’ brood, the larva burrows into the host's thorax and feeds there. The wasp feeds until the host larva pupates; after the host pupates, the wasp will resume feeding until it emerges from its host. [3] The average time of development from planidia to adult is 29.5 days; the average pupal stage is 8.2 days. [7]

Because orasemine larvae, pupae, and adults are easily distinguished from their host, [13] the wasps disguise themselves by passively obtaining the odor of the fire ants. After a few days in the nest, the odor wears off and the ants begin to notice the wasps are not a part of their brood. At this point, the wasps leave the nest to mate and lay eggs. [5] Though orasemines have a high fertility rate, only a small percentage of eggs survive to adulthood. [7]

Eucharitinae

Eucharitinae are parasites of poneromorph ants, Ectatommatinae, Ponerinae, and Formicinae, although one genus from Australia is parasitic on the bulldog ant. [3]

Female Eucharitinae bear up to 4500 eggs and begin oviposition soon after emerging from the nest. [4] They deposit their eggs in groups of eight to 15 [10] on plant buds, on the undersides of leaves or on fruit skin. [3] Eucharitine larvae attach themselves to foraging ants and do not use an intermediate host. Some species of Eucharitinae, such as Kapala terminalis and other Kapala sp., have been known for their jumping capabilities. They stand erect on the plant on which they hatched, and without any distinguishable preparation, jump about 10 mm from the leaf onto a foraging ant. [8] The larvae are external parasitoids of their hosts, [4] and are not noticed due to their acquisition of the host’s odor. [13] After the wasps are fully developed, they emerge in large numbers. The males swarm around the nest in wait of the females. Mating takes place immediately, and oviposition occurs soon after. [10] A fossil genus, Palaeocharis is known from Eocene Baltic amber. [14]

Gollumiellinae

Gollumiella sp. Gollumiella cf. antennata 2.jpg
Gollumiella sp.

Gollumiellinae are unique in that they hook their eggs onto the plants and connect a ropey secretion to them, which stand erect. This acts as an attraction mechanism for Paratrechina ants. Gollumiellinae larvae burrow into the hosts' thoraces and feed there. [3] The rest of its life cycle is similar to the aforementioned life cycle of eucharitids. Two Indo‐Pacific genera are included here: [15]

Akapalinae

This subfamily is monotypic, containing only the genus Akapala Girault, 1934.

Biological control

Eucharitids are candidates for biological control because each subfamily targets a specific ant genus. [5] On the other hand, some eucharitids, including the genus Kapala, are classified as pests for several different reasons. [4] First, a few days after oviposition occurs, the leaves dry up where each egg was located. Second, tea leaves with such marks reportedly do not have as strong of a flavor as tea leaves without these marks. [12] Third, not all eucharitids have a significant effect on the size of their hosts' colony. [8]

Orasema species are sometimes used as means of biological control for many ants, including the fire ant and little fire ant, because pesticides can cause damage to the environment, and they do not always work on fire ants. In addition, at least two eucharitid species groups are specialized parasites of these ants. Heraty stated, “Leaving aside the philosophical problems associated with introducing any organism for biological control, I believe that species of Orasema do have potential as biological control agents and deserve more study.” [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ovipositor</span> Anatomical structure for laying eggs

The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typically its form is adapted to functions such as preparing a place for the egg, transmitting the egg, and then placing it properly. For most insects, the organ is used merely to attach the egg to some surface, but for many parasitic species, it is a piercing organ as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trophallaxis</span> Transfer of food between members of a community through stomodeal or proctodeal means

Trophallaxis is the transfer of food or other fluids among members of a community through mouth-to-mouth (stomodeal) or anus-to-mouth (proctodeal) feeding. Along with nutrients, trophallaxis can involve the transfer of molecules such as pheromones, organisms such as symbionts, and information to serve as a form of communication. Trophallaxis is used by some birds, gray wolves, vampire bats, and is most highly developed in eusocial insects such as ants, wasps, bees, and termites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parasitoid</span> Organism that lives with its host and kills it

In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionary strategies within parasitism, distinguished by the fatal prognosis for the host, which makes the strategy close to predation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apocrita</span> Suborder of insects containing wasps, bees, and ants

Apocrita is a suborder of insects in the order Hymenoptera. It includes wasps, bees, and ants, and consists of many families. It contains the most advanced hymenopterans and is distinguished from Symphyta by the narrow "waist" (petiole) formed between the first two segments of the actual abdomen; the first abdominal segment is fused to the thorax, and is called the propodeum. Therefore, it is general practice, when discussing the body of an apocritan in a technical sense, to refer to the mesosoma and metasoma rather than the "thorax" and "abdomen", respectively. The evolution of a constricted waist was an important adaption for the parasitoid lifestyle of the ancestral apocritan, allowing more maneuverability of the female's ovipositor. The ovipositor either extends freely or is retracted, and may be developed into a stinger for both defense and paralyzing prey. Larvae are legless and blind, and either feed inside a host or in a nest cell provisioned by their mothers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brood parasitism</span> Animal reliance on other individuals to raise its young

Brood parasitism is a subclass of parasitism and phenomenon and behavioural pattern of animals that rely on others to raise their young. The strategy appears among birds, insects and fish. The brood parasite manipulates a host, either of the same or of another species, to raise its young as if it were its own, usually using egg mimicry, with eggs that resemble the host's. The strategy involves a form of aggressive mimicry called Kirbyan mimicry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parasitoid wasp</span> Group of wasps

Parasitoid wasps are a large group of hymenopteran superfamilies, with all but the wood wasps (Orussoidea) being in the wasp-waisted Apocrita. As parasitoids, they lay their eggs on or in the bodies of other arthropods, sooner or later causing the death of these hosts. Different species specialise in hosts from different insect orders, most often Lepidoptera, though some select beetles, flies, or bugs; the spider wasps (Pompilidae) exclusively attack spiders.

<i>Nomada</i> Genus of bees

With over 850 species, the genus Nomada is one of the largest genera in the family Apidae, and the largest genus of cuckoo bees. Cuckoo bees are so named because they enter the nests of a host and lay eggs there, stealing resources that the host has already collected. The name "Nomada" is derived from the Greek word nomas, meaning "roaming" or "wandering."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leucospidae</span> Group of wasps

The Leucospidae are a specialized group of wasps within the superfamily Chalcidoidea, that are ectoparasitoids of aculeate wasps or bees. They are typically mimics of bees or stinging wasps, often black with yellow, red, or white markings, sometimes metallic, with a robust mesosoma and very strong sculpturing. The hind femora are often greatly enlarged, with a row of teeth or serrations along the lower margin as in Chalcididae. The wing has a longitudinal fold. The female ovipositor is sometimes short, but if not, it is recurved and lies along the dorsal side of the metasoma, a unique feature. The males are also unusual, in the fusion of many of the metasomal segments to form a capsule-like "carapace".

<i>Phengaris rebeli</i> Species of butterfly

Phengaris rebeli, common name mountain Alcon blue, is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It was first found and described in Styria, Austria, on Mount Hochschwab around 1700. Although it was initially classified as a subspecies of P. alcon, a European researcher, Lucien A. Berger, designated it as a separate species in 1946. Genetic similarities between P. rebeli and P. alcon have led many researchers to argue that the two are the same species and differences are due to intraspecific variation.

<i>Jalmenus evagoras</i> Species of butterfly

Jalmenus evagoras, the imperial hairstreak, imperial blue, or common imperial blue, is a small, metallic blue butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is commonly found in eastern coastal regions of Australia. This species is notable for its unique mutualism with ants of the genus Iridomyrmex. The ants provide protection for juveniles and cues for adult mating behavior. They are compensated with food secreted from J. evagoras larvae. The ants greatly enhance the survival and reproductive success of the butterflies. J. evagoras lives and feeds on Acacia plants, so butterfly populations are localized to areas with preferred species of both host plants and ants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wasp</span> Group of insects

A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. The wasps do not constitute a clade, a complete natural group with a single ancestor, as bees and ants are deeply nested within the wasps, having evolved from wasp ancestors. Wasps that are members of the clade Aculeata can sting their prey.

<i>Polistes exclamans</i> Species of wasp

Polistes exclamans, the Guinea paper wasp, is a social wasp and is part of the family Vespidae of the order Hymenoptera. It is found throughout the United States, Mexico, the Bahamas, Jamaica and parts of Canada. Due to solitary nest founding by queens, P. exclamans has extended its range in the past few decades and now covers the eastern half of the United States, as well as part of the north. This expansion is typically attributed to changing global climate and temperatures. P. exclamans has three specific castes, including males, workers, and queens, but the dominance hierarchy is further distinguished by age. The older the wasp is, the higher it is in ranking within the colony. In most P. exclamans nests, there is one queen who lays all the eggs in the colony. The physiological similarities between the worker and queen castes have led to experiments attempting to distinguish the characteristics of these two castes and how they are determined, though males have easily identifiable physiological characteristics. Since P. exclamans live in relatively small, open combed nests, they are often subject to predators and parasites, such as Chalcoela iphitalis, Elasmus polistis, and birds. P. exclamans have defense and recognition strategies that help protect against these predators and parasites.

<i>Polistes atrimandibularis</i> Species of wasp

Polistes atrimandibularis is one of four obligate social parasites among the Polistes wasps found in Europe. Of the four social paper wasp parasite species known, it is the smallest. It parasitizes multiple species such as P. dominula, P. nimpha, P. associus, P. gallicus, and P. biglumis. Females of P. atrimandibularis are unable to build a nest or produce workers, and therefore rely entirely on the host colony.

<i>Polistes biglumis</i> Species of wasp

Polistes biglumis is a species of social wasp within Polistes, the most common genus of paper wasp. It is distinguished mainly by its tendency to reside in montane climates in meadows or alpine areas. Selection pressure from the wasp's environment has led to several idiosyncrasies of its behavior and lifecycle with respect to its relative species in the genus Polistes. It alone among paper wasps is often polyandrous. In addition, it has a truncated nesting season that gives rise to unique competitive dynamics among females of the species. P. biglumis wasps use an odor-based recognition system that is the basis for all wasp-to-wasp interaction of the species. The wasp's lifecycle is highly intertwined with that of Polistes atrimandibularis, an obligate social parasite wasp that frequently invades the combs of P. biglumis wasps.

<i>Latina</i> (wasp) Genus of wasps

Latina is a genus of South American chalcid wasps in the family Eucharitidae. There are four known species of Latina with three known in Argentina and one from Venezuela.

<i>Tamarixia radiata</i> Species of wasp

Tamarixia radiata, the Asian citrus psyllid parasitoid, is a parasitoid wasp from the family Eulophidae which was discovered in the 1920s in the area of northwestern India (Punjab), now Pakistan. It is a parasitoid of the Asian citrus psyllid, an economically important pest of citrus crops around the world and a vector for Citrus greening disease.

<i>Melittobia australica</i> Species of wasp

Melittobia australica is a species of chalcid wasp from the family Eulophidae which is a gregarious ecto-parasitoid of acuealate Hymenoptera.

<i>Vespula infernalis</i> Species of wasp

Vespula infernalis is an obligate parasitic wasp, parasitizing the nests of other species in the genus Vespula. Its common host species is V. acadica in North America. It is sometimes called the cuckoo yellowjacket wasp due to its inquiline lifestyle. They differ from other parasitic wasps in their intensely aggressive behaviour during invasion and occupation of the host colony. Several morphological adaptations such as bigger body parts and highly curved stingers are present in these wasps to aid their aggressive parasitic behaviour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chrysolampidae</span> Family of wasps

Chrysolampidae is a small family of parasitoids within the Chalcidoidea. The family is related to a clade that includes the Eucharitidae, Perilampidae and Eutrichosomatidae. This group of wasp families have first-instar larvae that are called "planidia". Adult females lay eggs on vegetation frequented by their host insects; after hatching, the planidia attach themselves to adults of the host, which then carries some of them to nests of the host. Here they parasitize the host larvae or pupae, before developing into winged adults.

Podagrion mantis was first described in 1886 by W.H. Ashmead, and was the first species of its genus to have been described from the United States. All species in the genus are parasitoid wasps known only to parasitize mantids. They have been observed most often utilizing the egg case (ootheca) of Stagmomantis carolina, but have also been reported to choose S.limbata or Tenodera angustipennis as hosts, showing a high degree of specialization.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Ayre, G. L. (1962). "Pseudometagea schwarzii (Ashm.) (Eucharitidae: Hymenoptera), a parasite of Lasius neoniger Emery (Formicidae: Hymenoptera)" (PDF). Canadian Journal of Zoology. 40: 157–164. doi:10.1139/z62-020.
  2. Universal Chalcidoidea Database: Eucharitidae
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Heraty, John. Eucharitidae. Hymenopteran Systematics, University of California, Riverside (2002): Web. 16 Sep. 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Lachaud, Jean-Paul and Perez-Lachaud, Gavriela. Impact of natural parasitism by two eucharitid wasps on a potential biocontrol agent ant in southeastern Mexico. Biological Control 48 (2009): 92-99.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Heraty, J.M. Biology and importance of two eucharitid parasites of Wasmannia and Solenopsis. (1994): Pages 104-120 in Williams, D. (ed), Exotic Ants: Biology, Impact and Control of Introduced Species. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. 332 pp.
  6. Brues, C. T. (1 March 1919). "A New Chalcid-Fly Parasitic on the Australian Bull-Dog Ant". Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 12 (1): 13–21. doi:10.1093/aesa/12.1.13.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Varone, L. and Briano, J. Bionomics of Orasema simplex (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae), a parasitoid of Solenopsis fire ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Argentina. Biological Control 48 (2009): 204-209.
  8. 1 2 3 Clausen, C.P. The habits of the Eucharidae. Psyche 48 (1941): 57-69.
  9. Heraty, J.M. Family Eucharitidae. (1995) Pages 309-314. in Gauld, I.D.; Hanson, P., Hymenoptera of Costa Rica. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ??
  10. 1 2 3 Pitkin, B. R. Dr. “Eucharitidae”. Natural History Museum (2004) Universal Chalcidoidea Database Notes on families. Web. 30 Sep. 2011.
  11. Ashmead, W.H. Studies on North American Chalcididae, with descriptions of new species from Florida. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 12 (1885[30]): 10-14.
  12. 1 2 Das, G.M. Preliminary studies on the biology of Orasema assectator Kerrich (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae) parasitic on Pheidole and causing damage to leaves of tea in Assam. Bulletin of Entomological Research 54 (1963): 393-398.
  13. 1 2 Vander Meer, R.K., Jouvenaz, D.P. and Wojcik, D.P. Chemical mimicry in a parasitoid (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae) of fire ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Journal of Chemical Ecology 15 (1989): 2247-2261.
  14. Heraty, John M.; Darling, D. Christopher (2009-12-08). "Fossil Eucharitidae and Perilampidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) from Baltic Amber". Zootaxa. 2306 (1): 1–16. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.2306.1.1 . ISSN   1175-5334.
  15. Heraty J, Hawks D, Kostecki JS, Carmichael A (2004) Phylogeny and behaviour of the Gollumiellinae, a new subfamily of the ant‐parasitic Eucharitidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea). Systematic Entomology 29[4] 544-559.

Additional references