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Leptopilina japonica Novković & Kimura

(Life: Kingdom: Metazoa (animals); Phylum: Arthropoda; Class: Hexapoda; Order: Hymenoptera; Superfamily: Cynipoidea; Family: Figitidae; Subfamily: Eucoilinae; Genus: Leptopilina)

Leptopilina japonica Novković & Kimura, 2011.
These excellent photos by Warren H. L. Wong @warrenhlwong (Simon Fraser University, BC, Canada) show a female Leptopilina japonica parasitoid wasp extending her ovipositor inside a raspberry to parasitize a spotted-wing drosophila fly larvae, Drosophila suzukii, which has become a serious pest of soft fruits worldwide. This is an example of classical biological control, implemented through the introduction of this indigenous Asian species to other parts of the world, thereby reducing the need for insecticide use in agroecosystems.

Distribution

Japan. Intentionally introduced into various parts of the World including the Nearctic and Palaearctic.

Biology

Well-known for attacking Drosophilidae in various habitats, introduced into various parts of the World including the Nearctic and Palaearctic for biological control of Drosophila infesting soft fruit crops (van Alphen et al. 1991; Buffington 2007; Buffington et al. 2012; Girod et al. 2018; Lee et al. 2009; Novkovic et al. 2011)

References

Allemand, R., C. Lemaitre, F. Frey, M. Bouletreau, F. Vavre, G. Nordlander, J. van Alphen and Y. Carton. 2002. Phylogeny of six African Leptopilina species (Hymenoptera: Cynipoidea, Figitidae), parasitoids of Drosophila, with description of three new species. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Fr. 38: 319–332.

Buffington, M. L. 2007. The occurrence and phylogenetic implications of the ovipositor clip within the Figitidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Cynipoidea). J. Nat. His. 41: 2267–2282.

Buffington, M. L., S. Brady, S. Morita, and S. van Noort. 2012. Divergence estimates and early evolutionary history of Figitidae (Hymenoptera: Cynipoidea). Systematic Entomology 37: 287–304.
 Buffington ML, Forshage M, Liljeblad J, Tang CT, van Noort, S. 2020. World Cynipoidea (Hymenoptera):a key to higher-level groups. Insect Systematics and Diversity 4(4): 1–69. https://doi.org/10.1093/isd/ixaa003

Girod, P., Lierhmann, O., Urvois, T., Turlings, T., Kenis, M., & Haye, T. 2018. Host specificity of Asian parasitoids for potential classical biological control of Drosophila suzukii. Journal of pest science, 91(4), 1241–1250. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-018-1003-z

Lue, C. H., A. Driskell, J. Leips, and M. L. Buffington. 2016. Review of the genus Leptopilina (Hymenoptera, Cynipoidea, Figitidae, Eucoilinae) from the Eastern United States, including three newly described species. J. Hym. Res. 53: 35–76.

Nordlander, G. 1980. Revision of the genus Leptopilina Fφrster, 1869, with notes on the status of some other genera (Hymenoptera, Cynipoidea, Eucoilidae). Entomol. Scan. 11: 428–453.

Novkovic, B., H. Mitsui, A. Suwito, and M. T. Kimura. 2011. Taxonomy and phylogeny of Leptopilina species (Hymenoptera: Cynipoidea: Figitidae) attacking frugivorous drosophilid flies in Japan, with description of three new species. Entomological Science 14: 333–346.

Quinlan, J. 1986. A key to the Afrotropical genera of Eucoilidae (Hymenoptera), with a revision of certain genera. Bull. Br. Mus. Nat. Hist. (Entomology) 52, 243–366.

van Noort, S, Buffington ML & Forshage, M. 2015. Afrotropical Cynipoidea (Hymenoptera). ZooKeys 493: 1-176. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.493.6353

Credits

Photographs © Warren H. L. Wong (Simon Fraser University, BC, Canada).

Web author Simon van Noort (Iziko South African Museum)

 

Citation: van Noort, S. 2024. WaspWeb: Hymenoptera of the World. URL: www.waspweb.org (accessed on <day/month/year>).

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