Observations on the biology of Gonatocerus fasciatus Girault (Hymenoptera : Mymaridae), egg parasitoid of Homalodisca coagulata (Say) and Oncometopia orbona (Fabricius) (Hemiptera : Clypeorrhyncha : Cicadellidae)

摘要

The fairyfly wasp, Gonatocerus fasciatus Giraull (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae), was originally described from material collected in Arlington, Virginia (Girault, A. A. 1911. Trans. American Entomol. Soc., 37: 253-324) and redescribed by J. T. Hubcr (1988. Mem. Entomol. Soc. Canada, 141: 1-109) who also indicated its distribution, with records from Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Gonatocerus fasciatus belongs to the ater species group of the genus Gonatocerus Nees (Huber 1988), and many New World members of this group are associated with proconiine sharpshooters (Hemiptera: Clypeorrhyncha: Cicadellidae: Cicadellinae: Proconiini) (Tri-apitsyn, S. V., L. G. Bezark & D. J. W. Morgan. 2002. Pan-Pacific Entomol., 78 (1): 34-42). Gonatocerus fasciatus was first reported from eggs of the glassy-winged sharpshooter, Homalodisca coagulata (Say), in Fort Valley, Georgia (Turner, W. F. & H. N, Pollard. 1959. Tech. Bull. United States Dep. Agric., 1188, 28 pp.). More recently, G. fasciatus was reared from sentinel eggs of the same host, laid in leaves of elderberry (Sambucus canadensis L.) and sunflower (Helianthus sp.), in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Triapitsyn, S. V., R. F. Mizell, III, J. L. Bossart & C. E. Carlton. 1998. Florida Entomol., 81 (2): 241-243). The association of G. fasciatus with H. coagulata represents the known biology. However, prior to this study we suspected that H. coagulata is not the only host for G. fasciatus because this parasitoid is known to occur in Illinois (Huber 1988), which is beyond the natural range of H. coagulata (Triapitsyn, S. V. &P. A. Phillips. 2000. Florida Entomol., 83 (2): 200-203.). In Illinois, likely host of G. fasciatus is the broad-headed sharpshooter, Oncometopia orbona (Fabricius), whose natural range includes Illinois (Turner & Pollard 1959; Young, D. A. 1968. United States Nat. Mus. Tech. Bull. No. 261, 287 pp.).