Seed-feeding species of Bruchophagus Ashmead (Hymenoptera : Eurytomidae) associated with native Australian acacias that are invasive in South Africa, with the description of two new species

摘要

A search for phytophagous eurytomid wasps of the genus Bruchophagus Ashmead that develop in the seeds of certain native Australian acacias in Australia and New Zealand has yielded three species. Although these three species are probably restricted to members of the subgenus Phyllodineae, to which the vast majority of Australian Acacia species belong, they are not host specific at the species level. Interest in these phytophagous wasps stems from an ongoing search for suitable natural enemies to limit the invasiveness of certain Australian acacias in South Africa. The three species are B. acaciae (Cameron), B. orarius sp. n and B. interior sp. n. A key for their separation, and comments on their relationship with other eurytomids that are associated with the genus Acacia, are also provided.