Review of the Gasteruptiidae (Hymenoptera: Evanioidea) from the territory of the former Yugoslavia, with three newly reported species.

The results of more than 120 years of investigation of the fauna of Gasteruptiidae for the territory of former Yugoslavia (including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, FYR of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia) are summarized. Results from recently collected material and from unidentified specimens in collections are combined with those of published records. The total number of valid species of the genus Gasteruption Latreille for the area of former Yugoslavia is 22, which is more than in any country represented in Fauna Europaea database. One species is firstly recorded for the mainland Europe (G. syriacum Szépligeti), two more species are newly recorded for the investigated area and there are 23 first country-records for the involved countries (based on 17 species).

Effect of α-cypermethrin and pirimiphos-methyl on wing morphology of Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) and T. confusum Jacquelin du Val: a comparative study.

Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) and Tribolium confusum Jacquelin du Val (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) are widespread and serious pests of stored products. Various insecticides are applied aiming to effectively manage both species. Here, two insecticides are tested, the pyrethroid α-cypermethrin and the organophosphate pirimiphos-methyl, hypothesizing that they can lead to morphological changes in the certain body parts of the adult offspring of treated T. castaneum and T. confusum parental female adults. For this purpose, the geometric morphometric method to the elytra and hindwings was applied. Both males and females were included in the analysis. The results showed that adult individuals of T. confusum showed higher tolerance to both insecticides compared to T. castaneum adults. This finding is reflected in analyses of both pairs of wings in T. confusum where changes in shape were negligible. The hindwings of T. castaneum experienced deformations to both insecticides. More significant changes in wing shape were observed in the α-cypermethrin treatment compared to pirimiphos-methyl. In the case of T. castaneum, even the shortest exposure to insecticides (5 min) is enough to provoke shape changes in the hindwings. Deformities in offspring, caused after treatment of their parents with insecticides, could moderate the frequency of insecticidal applications in storages.

Four New Species of Pseudephedrus (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Aphidiinae) from Chile with a Key to Species Identification.

The following work consists of the description of four new species of the genus Pseudephedrus Starý (Aphidiinae), endemic to South America, associated with endemic callaphidid aphid hosts. The descriptions of the new species are based on new samples from Chile and Argentina. The new species described here are as follows: Pseudephedrus staryi sp.n., which is morphologically very close to the already described P. chilensis Starý, with clear apomorphies; P. pubescens sp.n., which presents a setose scutellum, P. flava sp.n. and P. patagonicus sp.n. which have distinct, very elongated, and crenulated petioles representing synapomorphies and probably form separate phylogenetic lineages within Pseudephedrus. All hosts are aphids from the genus Neuquenaphis Blanchard, with varying degrees of diet specialization. From our field and laboratory observations, we hypothesize that, since attempts to sample parasitoids using sweep nets were much more successful than sampling from collected aphids, and since we found mummified aphids only on the ground among the fallen leaves under the trees, Neuquenaphis aphids fall to the ground showing a dropping behaviour as a defence against natural enemies after being stung by parasitoids. This makes rearing from live aphids very unsuccessful and could help explain why it has been difficult to collect and describe species. We supplement the distribution of Pseudephedrus from South America and present a key for the identification of all species based on their morphology.

Sub-Lethal Effects of Pirimiphos-Methyl Are Expressed to Different Levels in Wings of Three Stored-Product Coleopterans: A Geometric Morphometrics Investigation.

Tenebrio molitor L. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), Prostephanus truncatus (Horn), and Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) (Coleoptera: Bostrychidae) are noxious insect pests of grains in storages. Pirimiphos-methyl is widely used to protect grains at the post-harvest stage. However, the sub-lethal impact of this active ingredient on the offspring of all three coleopterans remains unknown. Thus, mated females of each species were exposed separately to pirimiphos-methyl at short exposures (30 min, 3, 5, 8, 16, 24, and 36 h), where the elytra and hindwings of the adult progeny were analyzed with the geometric morphometrics method. Males and females of all species were incorporated into the analysis. The results revealed variability among species. Tenebrio molitor was the most sensitive among three species, displaying significant deformations in the elytra and hindwings. Males had more conspicuous morphological changes than females. Prostephanus truncatus hindwings exhibited deformities after 36 h of exposure to pirimiphos-methyl. In contrast, R. dominica offspring were not affected by pirimiphos-methyl. In light of our findings, organophosphorus insecticides may cause variable sub-lethal effects to stored-product insects. This issue may lead to different insecticidal treatments according to the targeted stored-product species.

Parasitic wasps related to Prays oleae (Bernard, 1788) (Lepidoptera, Praydidae) in olive orchards in Greece.

The olive moth, Prays oleae (Bernard, 1788) (Lepidoptera: Praydidae) is categorised among the most devastating insect pests of olives, whose anthophagous and carpophagous generations can cause yield loss up to 581 and 846 kg of fruit per ha, respectively. In this study, results of the captured parasitoids in olive tree (Olea europaea Linnaeus, 1753) orchards, or infested olive plant material in Crete, Greece, is presented. Five of the six identified species captured in trap devices are related to P. oleae, i.e., Chelonus elaeaphilus Silvestri, 1908, Chelonus pellucens (Nees, 1816), Apanteles xanthostigma (Haliday, 1834), Diadegma armillatum (Gravenhorst, 1829), and Exochus lentipes Gravenhorst, 1829. The species Eupelmus urozonus Dalman, 1820 and Pnigalio mediterraneus Ferrière & Delucchi, 1957 were reared from infested P. oleae leaves. Chelonus pellucens is reported for the first time from Greece. According to the international literature, 59 hymenopterous and dipterous parasitoid species are associated with P. oleae in Europe.

Morphological variation of Aphidius ervi Haliday (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) associated with different aphid hosts.

BACKGROUND: Parasitoids are frequently used in biological control due to the fact that they are considered host specific and highly efficient at attacking their hosts. As they spend a significant part of their life cycle within their hosts, feeding habits and life history of their host can promote specialization via host-race formation (sequential radiation). The specialized host races from different hosts can vary morphologically, behaviorally and genetically. However, these variations are sometimes inconspicuous and require more powerful tools in order to detect variation such as geometric morphometrics analysis. METHODS: We examined Aphidius ervi, an important introduced biological control agent in Chile associated with a great number of aphid species, which are exploiting different plant hosts and habitats. Several combinations (biotypes) of parasitoids with various aphid/host plant combinations were analyzed in order to obtain measures of forewing shape and size. To show the differences among defined biotypes, we chose 13 specific landmarks on each individual parasitoid wing. The analysis of allometric variation calculated in wing shape and size over centroid size (CS), revealed the allometric changes among biotypes collected from different hosts. To show all differences in shape of forewings, we made seven biotype pairs using an outline-based geometric morphometrics comparison. RESULTS: The biotype A. pis_pea (Acyrthosiphon pisum on pea) was the extreme wing size in this study compared to the other analyzed biotypes. Aphid hosts have a significant influence in the morphological differentiation of the parasitoid forewing, splitting biotypes in two groups. The first group consisted of biotypes connected with Acyrthosiphon pisum on legumes, while the second group is composed of biotypes connected with aphids attacking cereals, with the exception of the R. pad_wheat (Rhopalosiphum padi on wheat) biotype. There was no significant effect of plant species on parasitoid wing size and shape. DISCUSSION: Although previous studies have suggested that the genotype of parasitoids is of greater significance for the morphological variations of size and shape of wings, this study indicates that the aphid host on which A. ervi develops is the main factor to alter the structure of parasitoid forewings. Bigger aphid hosts implied longer and broader forewings of A. ervi.