All the members of Eucharitidae are parasitoid of ants. Argentina has 14 genera and 41 species, but little is known about their biology. Herein are provided new data for host associations (host ant and/or host plant) of Galearia latreillei, Kapala spp., Latina rugosa, Orasema aenea, and Orasema sp. A revision of the most relevant biological aspects of Dicoelothorax platycerus, Latina rugosa, Neolirata alta, N. daguerrei, Lophyrocera variabilis, Orasema argentina, O. salebrosa, O. simplex, O. susanae, O. worcesteri, and O. xanthopus is included. New records of K. sulcifacies, Lo. plagiata, and Ob. semifumipennis in Argentina are presented. Galearia proseni is synonymized with G. latreillei. 1. Introduction Eucharitidae parasitize the immature stages of Formicidae and are among the most diverse hymenopteran parasitoids of eusocial insects [1–8]. Females are oviparous and pro-ovigenic and lay their eggs inside or on plant tissues, either individually or in masses. They oviposit away from the host, with the active first instar larva (planidium) responsible for getting into the ant nest through various associations with foraging adult ants [9]. Once in contact with the larval ant host, the planidium either remains as an external parasite or burrows into the host. Upon pupation of the host, the larva migrates to the ventral region of the thorax, just posterior to the legs of the newly formed pupa, then resumes development through two additional instars [10, 11]. The adults emerge and leave the nest on their own or may be carried by the ants and deposited in the accumulation of colony waste [10, 12, 13]. Eucharitidae are present in all zoogeographic regions but most abundant in the tropics [8]. Fifty-four genera and about 420 species worldwide have been described. In Argentina, 14 genera and 41 species have been reported [8, 14–16]. Eucharitidae were well studied in a series of early taxonomic papers by Gemignani [17–19]; however, very little information was provided on their biology. This paper reviews our current understanding and contributes new data for some of the Argentinean species. 2. Materials and Methods Females were collected by sweep netting and provided twigs with leaves, fruits, and flowers of different species of plants in 10 × 3.5？cm plastic tubes to monitor oviposition habits. Host plants with eggs extracted from the field or oviposited by the captive females were placed into a cylindrical glass container of 10 × 10？cm with dampened cotton until emergence of the first instar (planidium). Ant nests with adults, brood, and debris were collected
References
[1]
C. P. Clausen, “The immature stages of the Eucharidae,” Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, vol. 42, no. 8, pp. 161–170, 1940.
[2]
C. P. Clausen, “The oviposition habits of the Eucharidae (Hymenoptera),” Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences, vol. 30, no. 12, pp. 504–516, 1940.
[3]
C. P. Clausen, “The habits of the Eucharidae,” Psyche, vol. 48, pp. 57–69, 1941.
[4]
J. M. Heraty, “A revision of the Nearctic Eucharitinae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Eucharitidae),” Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Ontario, vol. 85, pp. 61–103, 1985.
[5]
J. M. Heraty, “Classification and evolution of the Oraseminae in the Old World, with revisions of two closely related genera of Eucharitinae (Hym: Eucharitidae),” Life Sciences Contributions (Royal Ontario Museum), vol. 157, pp. 1–174, 1994.
[6]
J. M. Heraty, “Biology and importance of two eucharitid parasites of Wasmannia and Solenopsis,” in Exotic Ants: Biology, Impact and Control of Introduced Species,, D. Williams, Ed., pp. 104–120, Westview Press, Boulder, Colo, USA, 1994.
[7]
J. M. Heraty, “Phylogenetic relationships of Oraseminae (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae),” Annals of the Entomological Society of America, vol. 93, no. 3, pp. 374–390, 2000.
[8]
J. M. Heraty, “A revision of the genera of Eucharitidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) of the world,” Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute, vol. 68, pp. 1–367, 2002.
[9]
J. M. Heraty and K. N. Barber, “Biology of Obeza floridana (Ashmead) and Pseudochalcura gibbosa (Provancher) (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae),” Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, vol. 92, no. 2, pp. 248–258, 1990.
[10]
C. P. Clausen, “The biology of Schizaspidia tenuicornis Ashm., a eucharid parasite of Camponotus,” Annals of the Entomological Society of America, vol. 16, pp. 195–217, 1923.
[11]
J. M. Heraty, D. P. Wojcik, and D. P. Jouvenaz, “Species of Orasema parasitic on the Solenopsis saevissima-complex in South America (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae, Formicidae),” Journal of Hymenoptera Research, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 169–182, 1993.
[12]
G. Pérez-Lachaud, J. M. Heraty, A. Carmichael, and J.-P. Lachaud, “Biology and behavior of Kapala (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae) attacking Ectatomma, Gnamptogenys, and Pachycondyla (Formicidae: Ectatomminae and Ponerinae) in Chiapas, Mexico,” Annals of the Entomological Society of America, vol. 99, no. 3, pp. 567–576, 2006.
[13]
S. C. Buys, R. Cassaro, and D. S. Alomon, “Biological observations on Kapala Cameron 1884 (Hymenoptera Eucharitidae) in parasitic association with Dinoponera lucida Emery 1901 (Hymenoptera Formicidae) in Brazil,” Tropical Zoology, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 29–34, 2010.
[14]
J. Torréns, Estudios de Biología y Taxonomía de Eucharitidae (Hymenoptera: Parasitica) de Argentina, parasitoides de Formicidae (Hymenoptera: Aculeata) [Ph.D. thesis], Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Tucumán Province, Argentina, 2010.
[15]
J. Torréns and J. M. Heraty, “A new genus of Eucharitidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea), with notes on life history and immature stages,” Zootaxa, vol. 3630, no. 2, pp. 347–358, 2013.
[16]
J. Torréns, “Primer registro de Colocharis (Chalcidoidea: Eucharitidae) en la Argentina y descripción de una nueva especie,” Revista de la Sociedad Entomológica Argentina, vol. 71, no. 3-4, pp. 215–218, 2012.
[17]
E. V. Gemignani, “La familia “ Eucharidae” (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) en la República Argentina,” Anales del Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, vol. 37, pp. 477–493, 1933.
[18]
E. V. Gemignani, “Nueva nota sobre la familia Eucharidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea),” Anales del Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, vol. 39, pp. 159–166, 1937.
[19]
E. V. Gemignani, “Nuevas especies de la familia Eucharidae (Insecta, Hymenop. Chalcid.),” Comunicaciones del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, “Bernardino Rivadavia”, vol. 1, pp. 1–15, 1947.
[20]
J. J. Morrone, “Biogeografía de América Latina y el Caribe, vol. 3 of M&T-Manuales & Tesis SEA, Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa, Zaragoza, Spain, 2001.
[21]
C. Bertonatti and J. Corcuera, Situación Ambiental Argentina, Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2000.
[22]
J. Torréns and J. M. Heraty, “Description of the species of Dicoelothorax Ashmead (Chalcidoidea, Eucharitidae) and biology of D. platycerus Ashmead,” ZooKeys, vol. 165, pp. 33–46, 2012.
[23]
J. M. Heraty and J. B. Woolley, “Separate species or polymorphism: a recurring problem in Kapala (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae),” Annals of the Entomological Society of America, vol. 86, no. 5, pp. 517–531, 1993.
[24]
J. M. Heraty and D. C. Darling, “Comparative morphology of the planidial larvae of Eucharitidae and Perilampidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea),” Systematic Entomology, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 309–328, 1984.
[25]
J. Torréns, J. M. Heraty, and P. Fidalgo, “Biology and description of a new species of Laurella Heraty (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae) from Argentina,” Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, vol. 109, no. 1, pp. 45–51, 2007.
[26]
J. Torrens, J. M. Heraty, and P. Fidalgo, “Biology and description of a new species of Lophyrocera Cameron (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae) from Argentina,” Zootaxa, no. 1871, pp. 56–62, 2008.
[27]
L. Varone, J. M. Heraty, and L. A. Calcaterra, “Distribution, abundance and persistence of species of Orasema (Hym: Eucharitidae) parasitic on fire ants in South America,” Biological Control, vol. 55, no. 1, pp. 72–78, 2010.
[28]
R. K. Vander Meer, D. P. Jouvenaz, and D. P. Wojcik, “Chemical mimicry in a parasitoid (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae) of fire ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae),” Journal of Chemical Ecology, vol. 15, no. 8, pp. 2247–2261, 1989.
[29]
L. Varone and J. Briano, “Bionomics of Orasema simplex (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae), a parasitoid of Solenopsis fire ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Argentina,” Biological Control, vol. 48, no. 2, pp. 204–209, 2009.
[30]
A. Tocchetto, “Bicho costureiro,” Revista Agronomica, Porto Alegre, vol. 6, pp. 587–588, 1942.
[31]
F. S. Roberts, “Insects affecting banana production in central America,” in Proceedings of the 10th International Congress of Entomology, vol. 3, pp. 411–415, 1958.
[32]
A. Silveira-Guido, “Investigations on the biology and biological control of the fire ant, Solenopsis saevissima richteri Forel in Uruguay,” Annual Report, Departamento de Sanidad Vegetal, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay, 1962.
[33]
A. Silveira-Guido, P. San-Martin, C. Crisci-Pisano, and J. Carbonnell-Bruhn, “Investigations on the biology and biological control of the fire ant, Solenopsis saevissima richteri Forel in Uruguay,” Third Report, Departamento de Sanidad Vegetal, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay, 1964.
[34]
R. N. Williams, “Insect natural enemies of fire ants in South America with several new records,” in Proceedings of the Tall Timbers Conference on Ecology, Animal Control and Habitat Management, vol. 7, pp. 123–134, 1980.
[35]
R. N. Williams and W. H. Whitcomb, “Parasites of fire ants in South America,” in Proceedings of the Tall Timbers Conference on Ecology, Animal Control and Habitat Management, vol. 5, pp. 49–59, 1973.
[36]
D. P. Wojcik, “Status and search for natural control agents in South America,” in Proceedings of the Annual Fire Ant Conference, vol. 5, pp. 29–37, 1986.
[37]
D. P. Wojcik, “Survey for biocontrol agents in Brazil: a final report, with comments on preliminary research in Argentina,” in Proceedings of the Imported Fire Ant Conference, pp. 50–62, Athens, Ga, USA, 1988.
[38]
D. P. Wojcik, “Behavioural interactions between ants and their parasites,” The Florida Entomologist, vol. 72, no. 1, pp. 43–51, 1989.
[39]
D. P. Wojcik, D. P. Jouvenaz, W. A. Banks, and A. C. Pereira, “Biological control agents of fire ants in Brazil,” in Chemistry and Biology of Social Insects, J. Eder and H. Rembold, Eds., pp. 627–628, J. Peperny, München, Germany, 1987.
[40]
A. P. L. Digilio and P. R. Legname, “Los árboles indígenas de la provincia de Tucumán,” Opera Lilloana, vol. 15, pp. 1–283, 1966.
[41]
D. M. Lapola, W. F. Aantonalli Jr., and E. Giannotti, “Arquitetura de ninhos da formiga neotropical Ectatomma brunneum F. Smith, 1858 (Formicidae: Ponerinae) em ambientes alterados,” Revista Brasileira de Zoociências, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 177–188, 2003.
[42]
J.-P. Lachaud, P. Cerdan, and G. Pérez-Lachaud, “Poneromorph ants associated with parasitoid wasps of the genus Kapala Cameron (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae) in French Guiana,” Psyche, vol. 2012, Article ID 393486, 6 pages, 2012.
[43]
G. Pérez-Lachaud, J. A. López-Méndez, and J. P. Lachaud, “Eucharitid parasitism of the Neotropical ant Ectatomma tuberculatum: parasitoid co-occurrence, seasonal variation, and multiparasitism,” Biotropica, vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 574–576, 2006.
[44]
J. Pensiero, J. D. Mu？oz, and V. Martinez, “Alternativas de sustentabilidad del bosque nativo del Espinal. área Etnobotánica,” Proyecto de Investigación Aplicada a los Recursos Forestales Nativos (PIARFON), January 2013, http://www.ambiente.gov.ar/?idarticulo=949.
[45]
D. W. Davidson, “Ecological studies of neotropical ant gardens,” Ecology, vol. 69, no. 4, pp. 1138–1152, 1988.
[46]
M. S. Ferrucci, “Sapindaceae Juss. Guías ilustradas de clases,” Aportes Botánicos de Salta. Serie Flora, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 1–44, 2004.
[47]
W. M. Wheeler, “The polymorphism of ants, with an account of some singular abnormalities due to parasitism,” Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, vol. 23, pp. 1–93, 1907.
[48]
G. C. Wheeler and E. W. Wheeler, “New hymenopterous parasites of ants (Chalcidoidea: Eucharidae),” Annals of the Entomological Society of America, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 163–175, 1937.
[49]
H. L. Parker, “Oviposition habits and early stages of Orasema sp.,” Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, vol. 44, no. 7, pp. 142–145, 1942.
[50]
J. C. Nicolini, “La avispa costurera y la tuberculosis del olivo,” Revista Agronomica, Porto Alegre, vol. 20, pp. 35–36, 1950.
[51]
A. F. van Pelt, “Orasema in nests of Pheidole dentata Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae),” Entomological News, vol. 61, no. 6, pp. 161–163, 1950.
[52]
G. M. Das, “Preliminary studies on the biology of Orasema assectator Kerrich (Hym., Eucharitidae), parasitic on Pheidole and causing damage to leaves of tea in Assam,” Bulletin of Entomological Research, vol. 54, no. 3, pp. 373–379, 1963.
[53]
G. J. Kerrich, “Descriptions of two species of Eucharitidae damaging tea, with comparative notes on other species (Hym., Chalcidoidea),” Bulletin of Entomological Research, vol. 54, no. 3, pp. 365–372, 1963.
[54]
J. B. Johnson, T. D. Miller, J. M. Heraty, and F. W. Merickel, “Observations on the biology of two species of Orasema (Hym.: Eucharitidae),” Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, vol. 88, no. 3, pp. 542–549, 1986.
[55]
B. Carey, K. Visscher, and J. Heraty, “Nectary use for gaining access to an ant host by the parasitoid Orasema simulatrix (Hymenoptera, Eucharitidae),” Journal of Hymenoptera Research, vol. 27, pp. 47–65, 2012.
[56]
J. M. Heraty, Classification and evolution of the Oraseminae (Hymenoptera: Eucharitdae) [Ph.D. thesis], Texas A&M University, College Station, Tex, USA, 1990.
[57]
A. B. Gahan, “A contribution to the knowledge of the Eucharidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea),” Proceedings of the United States National Museum, vol. 88, pp. 425–458, 1940.
[58]
L. de Santis, “Una nueva especie de ”Orasema" del Uruguay (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae),” Revista Sociedad Entomológica Argentina, vol. 7, pp. 1–3, 1968.
[59]
J.-P. Lachaud and G. Pérez-Lachaud, “Diversity of species and behavior of hymenopteran parasitoids of ants: a review,” Psyche, vol. 2012, Article ID 134746, 24 pages, 2012.
[60]
J.-P. Lachaud and G. Pérez-Lachaud, “Impact of natural parasitism by two eucharitid wasps on a potential biocontrol agent ant in southeastern Mexico,” Biological Control, vol. 48, no. 1, pp. 92–99, 2009.
