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HYMENOPTERA, Cynipidae (Eucoilinae) (Cynipoidea) -- <Images> & <Juveniles> Description The Eucoilinae are distinguished by a
rounded rise on the scutellum. They
are parasitoids of Diptera pupae. Dalla Torre &
Kieffer (1910), Weld (1952) and Nordlander (1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982a,
1982b) have made several revisions of this subfamily. Quinlan (1986) keyed the African genera
and Quinlan (1967) constructed keys to the brachypterous genera and
species. Vet & Bakker (1985) and
Vet & Van Alphen (1985) studied various behaviors. The Eucoilinae were treated as a distinct family
Eucoilidae by Ritchie (1993). The scutellum
has an obvious rounded and raised plate or cup. They are distinguished by the presence of a raised plate on the
dorsal surface of the scutellum. Both males and females can be separated from
by differences in the number of antennal segments. Males have 15 and females
have 13. All are solitary endoparasitoids that oviposit in the
larvae of cyclorrhaphous Diptera and emerge as adults from the host puparium Only the genus Aganaspis has been deployed in biological
control of Tephritidae (Clausen 1978; Wharton et al. 1998; Ovruski et al.
2000). They are all internal parasitoids of dipterous larvae,
emerging from the puparium. Many
species inhabit the animal dung environment or are found around rotting
fruit. Most species occur in the
tropics, where they are very abundant.
More than 77 species in North
American .Eucoilines have been reared from hosts from many habitats, and
several species have been reared from flies breeding in fruit. The most
reliable host records from Tephritidae are for the genera Aganaspis
and Odontosema. Many of the species reared from fruits are parasitoids
of Drosophilidae, Pnoridae Lonchaeidae, and other flies associated with ripe
and decomposing fruit. = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = References: Please refer to <biology.ref.htm>, [Additional references
may be found at: MELVYL
Library] Buffington, M. L. 2010: The description of Banacuniculus
Buffington, new genus (Hymenoptera: Figitidae: Eucoilinae). Journal of
Hymenoptera research, 19(1): 94–112. Diaz, N. B.,
F. E. Gallardo, A. L. Gaddi & G. C. Walsh. 2009: Description of a new genus and species of Eucoilinae
(Hymenoptera: Cynipoidea: Figitidae) parasitoid of Ephydridae (Diptera). Annals
of the Entomological Society of America, 102: 603-607. |