Bracon, Fabricius, 1804-, 1804

Taylor, Gary S., Hyder, Brittany K. & Davies, Kerrie A., 2019, New species of gall fly (Diptera: Fergusoninidae) from Eucalyptus camaldulensis (Myrtaceae) in southern Australia and its associated parasitoids and inquilines, Zootaxa 4701 (5), pp. 401-416 : 409

Bracon sp.

Specimens examined. AUSTRALIA, South Australia: 1 ♀ (ethanol) Torrens River Linear Park, 34°55.06’S 138°35.81’E, 18.viii.2014, G. Taylor & B. Hyder, from nodular stem galls on E. camaldulensis ; 1 ♀ (dried) same data, except 27.viii.2014, from axial stem galls on E. camaldulensis ; 1 ♀ (dried) Urrbrae Wetlands , 34°57.94’S 138°37.20’E, 18.viii.2014, G. Taylor & B. Hyder, from nodular stem galls on E. camaldulensis , DNA extracted (001_BRA_AD_ EC) .

Notes on biology. Species of Bracon are primary ectoparasitoids of Lepidoptera, Coleoptera , and some Diptera and Hymenoptera larvae ( Quicke 2015). Several species of Bracon are known to be parasitic of Fergusonina including B. fergusoninus Taylor, Austin & Davies from galls of F. lockharti Tonnoir on E. camaldulensis ( Taylor et al. 1996, Taylor et al. 2005) and an undescribed species from galls of F. turneri Taylor on Melaleuca quinquenervia (Cav.) S.T.Blake ( Davies et al. 2001, Goolsby et al. 2001). In these studies Bracon was considered to be a primary ectoparasitoid of Fergusonina . However due to its relatively larger size, in this study the species of Bracon reared is likely to be a primary parasitoid of either of the lepidopteran inquilines Ardozyga loxodesma or A. stratifera (Gelechiidae) .