Insect Ecology and Ethology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Calicut, Kerala, 673635, India.
Insect Biosystematics and Conservation Laboratory, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Royal Enclave, Srirampura, Jakkur Post, Bangalore, 560064, India.
Sci Rep. 2022 Feb 2;12(1):1747. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-05705-x.
Hymenopteran parasitoids are well known for their ubiquitous diversity, important ecological roles and biocontrol potential. We report the first detailed documentation of mite predation by a parasitoid wasp, Bracon predatorius Ranjith & Quicke sp. nov., (Insecta: Hymenoptera), first case of obligate predatory behaviour in the family Braconidae and first case of mite feeding within the superfamily Ichneumonoidea. Larvae of a new wasp species are shown to develop entirely as predators of eriophyid mites that induce leaf galls in a commercially important plant. They display highly modified head capsule morphology that we interpret as being associated with this atypical life style. We propose that the new feeding strategy evolved separately from recently described entomophytophagy in another species of the same genus. The divergent larval morphological adaptations of both species indicate a high degree of evolutionary developmental plasticity in the developmental stage.
膜翅目寄生蜂以其广泛的多样性、重要的生态作用和生物防治潜力而闻名。我们报告了首例由寄生蜂 Bracon predatorius Ranjith & Quicke sp. nov.（昆虫纲：膜翅目）捕食螨虫的详细记录，这是 Braconidae 科中首次出现的专性捕食行为，也是 Ichneumonoidea 超科中首次出现的螨虫取食行为。研究表明，一种新的黄蜂物种的幼虫完全以诱导商业上重要植物产生叶瘿的叶螨为食。它们表现出高度特化的头壳形态，我们认为这与这种非典型的生活方式有关。我们提出，这种新的取食策略是从同一属的另一个物种中最近描述的昆虫食性中独立进化而来的。这两个物种幼虫形态的不同适应表明，在发育阶段存在高度的进化发育可塑性。
