Eupelmus confusus Al khatib, 2015

Delvare, G., Escolà, A. Ribes, Stojanova, A. M., Benoit, L., Lecomte, J. & Askew, R. R., 2019, Exploring insect biodiversity: the parasitic Hymenoptera, chiefly Chalcidoidea, associated with seeds of asphodels (Xanthorrhoeaceae), with the description of nine new species belonging to Eurytomidae and Torymidae, Zootaxa 4597 (1), pp. 1-90 : 71

Eupelmus confusus Al khatib, 2015

( Figs 31 A–E)

Material examined. Type material. Holotype ♀ (in BMNH) . Other material. FRANCE: Bouches-du-Rhône, La Ciotat , 36 m, 43.19861°N 5.63138°E, ex seeds of A. cerasiferus , 12.vi.2010 and 28.iv.2011 (H. Dumas) (9 ♀ 3 ♂, 10 in RAPC) ; Corse, Aléria , Vaccaja , 20 m, 42.12861°N 9.46556°E, ex seeds of A. ramosus , 22.ix.2011, adults emerged 25.iv/ 15.v.2012, (J. Balajas) (48 ♀ 12 ♂, in GDPC) ; Corse, Linguizetta , 50 m, 42.28194°N 9.51722°E, same asphodel and collecting date and collector (7 ♀ 1 ♂, in GDPC) ; Corse, Piedicorte-di-Gaggio , N 200, pont génois, 183 m, 42.22167°N 9.26528°E, same asphodel, collecting date and collector (5 ♀, in GDPC) ; Vienne, Châtellerault , Aire de Chagnats on A10, 131 m, 48.81778°N 0.54611°E, cut from seed A. a. albus , 28.vii.2007 (R.R. Askew) (1 ♂, remains in RAPC) ; ITALY: Sicilia, San Fratello, Monte Nebrodi , N Casello Volpe , 1150 m, 37.94402°N 14.62579°E, on maturing flowers of A. ramosus (G. Delvare) (1 ♀, in GDPC) ; San Fratello, Monte Nebrodi , Passo dei Tre , 775 m, 37.97803°N 14.61925°E, on flowers of A. ramosus , 26.vi.2014 (G. Delvare) (6 ♀, in GDPC) ; Vizzini, Monte Iblei , SE Lago Dirillo , contrado Rubalé , 350 m, 37.12103°N 14.72166°E, ex seeds of A. ramosus , 21.vi.2014 (86 ♀ 56 ♂, in GDPC) ; Vizzini, Monte Iblei , SE Lago Dirillo , contrado Rubalé , 420 m, 37.10778°N 14.72578°E, ex seeds of A. ramosus , 19.vi.2014, adults emerged 07–15.iv.2015 (G. Delvare) (52 ♀ 45 ♂, in GDPC) ; same data but host plant Asphodeline lutea (5 ♀ 4 ♂, in GDPC) ; same locality, host plant and collector, SE Vizzini, Valle Paradiso , 600 m, 37.14727°N 14.80591°E (4 ♀, in GDPC) ; Zingaro, Zingaro Reserve , 38.09918°N 12.79707°E, ex seeds of A. ramosus , 9.v.2005 (R.R. Askew) (5 ♀ 4 ♂, 5 in RAPC) ; SPAIN, Mallorca, Sòller , 50 m, 39.7961°N 2.68205°E, ex fruits of A. ramosus , 10.ix.2011 (J. Biblioni) (1 ♀ det. G.A.P. Gibson, in RAPC don. A. Ribes) ; TURKEY: Aegean sea Gökçe Ada Island , Şirinköy village , 62 m, 40.12944°N 25.73805°E, ex seed of Asphodelus sp., 8.vi.2011 (A. Stojanova) (2 ♀, in RAPC; 2 ♂, in ASPC).

Biology. Trophic relationships. Eupelmus confusus belongs to the urozonus species group, a complex of closely allied and sibling species that are commonly reared from plant galls, especially those of Cynipidae (Hymenoptera) , Tephritidae and Cecidomyiidae (Diptera) , but they also attack cocooned Lepidoptera and their primary parasitoids, as well as other host groups ( Gibson 2011; Al khatib et al. 2014, 2016). The host species mentioned by Al khatib et al. (2014) Bruchophagus sp. [= B. insulare described here] in A. ramosus ( Fig. 42 ), Macrolabis [= Lasioptera ] laserpitii Rubsaamen, 1917 and Asphondylia sp. ( Cecidomyiidae ), Myopites stylata (Fabricius, 1794) and Bactrocera oleae Gmelin, 1790 (Tephritidae) , Andricus kollari (Hartig, 1843) , Biorhiza pallida (Olivier, 1791) , Diplolepis rosae , D. kuriphilus and Timaspis phoenixopodos Mayr, 1882 (Cynipidae) .

In the course of opening seeds in a sample of A. albus albus from France (Vienne), dead males of E. confusus were found within two seeds ( Fig. 39 ). In one seed two males, one still partly in its pupal case, were with the remains of an adult female Pteromalus tethys (below) on which they had evidently developed as either secondary or tertiary parasitoids of B. abscedus . Another male E. confusus appeared to be with the remains of a larva of Tortricidae (Lepidoptera) , probably Cochylis epilinana Duponchel, 1842 .

Phenology. In our study a male emerged after overwintering from A. albus albus fruits collected in France, 8 ♀ 2 ♂ emerged in the first year from fruits of A. cerasiferus from France, as did 4 ♀ 3 ♂ from fruits of A. ramosus collected in Sicilia, and 2 ♀ were reared from fruits of Asphodelus sp. from Turkey and a single male, most probably of E. confusus , emerged from an A. fistulosus seed capsule from Spain (Lleida, Alfes, collected 21.vi.2011, A. Ribes).

Figures

FIGURES 31A–E. Eupelmus confusus Al khatib. A–C, ♀. D–E, ♂. A, habitus. B, mesotarsus in lateroventral view. C, fore wing venation. D, habitus. E, fore wing venation. Female ex A. ramosus from Aléria, Vaccaja, Corse, France; male ex A. ramosus from Vizzini, Monte Iblei, Sicilia, Italy.

FIGURE 39. Trophic web of A. albus albus. Horizontal scale bars proportional to the numbers of reared specimens examined that are indicated in the bars. Arrows pointing out the direction of the trophic relationships: from phytophagous Bruchophagus spp. to the asphodel and from parasitoids to chalcid hosts.

FIGURE 42. Trophic web of A. ramosus. Horizontal scale bars proportional to the numbers of reared specimens examined that are indicated in the bars. Arrows pointing out the direction of the trophic relationships: from phytophagous Bruchophagus spp. to the asphodel and from parasitoids to chalcid hosts. The estimated number of Bruchophagus abscedus parasitized by P. depilata was estimated considering that a mean of 10 Puklina emerge from a larva of Bruchophagus.