A record of a koinobiont endoparasitoid wasp, Melalophacharops everese (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) attacking eggs of alycaenid butterfly, Acytolepis puspa

摘要

An ichneumonid wasp, Melalophacharops everese (Uchida, 1957) emerged from the final instar larvae of a lycaenid butterfly, Acytolepis puspa (Horsfield, 1828), that had been reared trom the egg stage in captivity in the laboratory. The eggs, ovipositedon aleaf of Rosa multiflom, had been collected in a field in Tanabe City, Wakayama Prefecture. Because the wasp could not have attacked the larvae in the laboratory, we believe that the eggs must have been parasitized before they were collected. The ovipositor of M. everese consists of a simple structure lacking the distinct dorsal subapical notch used for attacking active larvae. Although the biology of species with such an ovipositor is poorly known, this structure is strongly associated with hosts that are immobile. Therefore, we concluded that the parasitoid wasp had attacked eggs of A. puspa. Tnis is the first report suggesting egg-larval development in M. everese.