TITLE:
The Biology of Szelenyiopria talitae (Hymenoptera: Diapriidae): Larval Parasitoid of the Leaf-Cutting Ant Acromyrmex subterraneus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
AUTHORS:
Thalles Cardoso Mattoso, Denise Delores Oliveira Moreira, Thais Berçot Pontes Teodoro, Claudio Luiz Moreira de Souza, Rita de Kássia Guarnier da Silva, Veronica de Morais, Carlos Peres Silva, Milton Erthal Jr., Richard Ian Samuels
KEYWORDS:
Formicidae, Leaf Cutting Ant, Pest, Koinobiont
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Entomology,
Vol.9 No.3,
July
26,
2021
ABSTRACT: The biology of a koinobiont parasitoid of
leaf-cutting ant larvae, Szelenyiopria talitae (Hymenoptera:
Diapriidae), was studied from naturally infested Acromyrmex subterraneus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) nests. Nests were collected in the field from the
Atlantic rainforest biome in the state of Rio de Janeiro. A total of
fifty-three nests were collected from 2015 to 2018. Parasitized nests were only
found during the months of September and October. Approximately 22% of the
nests collected over a four-year period were found to have been parasitized by S.
talitae. The mean within-nest parasitism rate
was 66.3%. This diapriid displayed both solitary (14%) and gregarious
parasitism (86%), with up to a maximum of 12 parasitoids developing within a
single host. Gregarious parasitism with two (29%) or three (21%) S. talitae per host was most frequently observed. There was a positive correlation between
the number of parasitoids per host and host size (dry weight), indicating that S.
talitae females oviposited a higher number of eggs in larger hosts. There
was also a negative correlation between S. talitae pharate adult
size and the number of parasitoids per host, which could have been caused by
sibling competition for limited host resources. The high levels of parasitism
seen here had a debilitating effect on the colonies. Acromyrmex subterraneus is a serious pest in Brazil, and these studies lay the foundation for
understanding the impact of S. talitae on ant populations.