Dinocampus coccinellae
| Dinocampus coccinellae | |
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| Species: | D. coccinellae
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| Dinocampus coccinellae | |
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Dinocampus coccinellae is a braconid wasp parasite of Coccinellinae including the spotted lady beetle Coleomegilla maculata. D. coccinellae has been described as turning its ladybird host into a temporary "zombie" guarding the wasp cocoon.[3][4] About 25% of ladybird hosts recover after the cocoon they are guarding matures.[3]
Description
In 1802, Schrank first described a female adult of this species as "Lady-bird killer 2155. Deep black, eyes green; head, front legs, and apex of the petiolate abdomen mussel-brown."[2] (A "petiolate abdomen" is one whose basal segment is stalk-like, that is, long and slender.) Nearly all D. coccinellae are female offspring of unfertilized eggs, although males are also occasionally found.[5] The male, when observed, has no ovipositor and is slimmer and darker than females.[6]
The mature female wasp seeks out adult female ladybirds, although they will also oviposit sometimes in a male adult or in a larval instar.[5][7] One egg is planted in the host's soft underbelly. The wasp larva hatches and grows inside the ladybird; meanwhile the ladybird continues to forage and feed until the wasp larva, when it is ready to emerge, paralyzes the ladybird before tunneling out.[8]
Economic importance
Because one ladybird can consume up to 5,500 aphids in a year, any ladybird parasite represents a potential threat to agriculture.[9] In Britain, at least, the infection of seven-spotted ladybirds with D. coccinellae rose significantly during the 1990s, from about 20% to more than 70%, threatening to have a serious economic impact on British farmers.[10]
References
- ^ "Dinocampus coccinellae (Schrank 1802)". Fauna Europaea. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
- ^ a b Cushman, R. A. (1922). "The identity of Ichneumon coccinellae Schrank (Hym.)". Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 24 (9): 241–242. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
- ^ a b "Ladybird made into 'zombie' bodyguard by parasitic wasp". BBC News. 23 June 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
- ^ Fanny Maure, Jacques Brodeur, Nicolas Ponlet, Josée Doyon, Annabelle Firlej, Éric Elguero & Frédéric Thomas (2011). "The cost of a bodyguard". Biology Letters (in press). doi:10.1098/rsbl.2011.0415.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Davis, Dexter S. (2006). "Adaptive preferential selection of female coccinellid hosts by the parasitoid wasp Dinocampus coccinellae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)" (PDF). European Journal of Entomology. 103: 41–45. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Geoghegan, Irene E. (1998). "A record of a rare male of the parthenogenetic parasitoid Dinocampus coccinellae (Schrank) (Hym.:Braconidae)". The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation. 110: 171–172. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Shaw, Scott Richard (1988). "A new Mexican genus and species of Dinocampini with serrate antennae (Hymenoptera; Braconidae; Euphorinae)" (PDF). Psyche. 95: 289–298. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
- ^ "'Save our ladybirds' plea". BBC News. 17 January 2000. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
- ^ Bruce, Anne. "Parasitoid wasp threatens Scottish Seven Spot ladybird". Microscopy UK. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
- ^ Connor, Steve (5 August 1998). "Ladybirds being wiped out by parasitic wasps". The Independent. Retrieved 24 June 2011.