A review of the tachinid parasitoids (Diptera: Tachinidae) of Nearctic Choristoneura species (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), with keys to adults and puparia
Author
O’Hara, James E.
text
Zootaxa
2005
938
1
46
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.171153
33181367-eefc-4e3a-90f2-ca6390420139
11755326
171153
Actia diffidens
Curran, 1933
,
Fig. 37
Host records ex.
Choristoneura conflictana
:
Prentice 1955
(SK, MB);
O’Hara 1991
(†SK, MB); †
Arnaud 1978
(SK, MB); †
Huber
et al.
1996
(
America
north of
Mexico
).
Host records ex.
Choristoneura rosaceana
:
O’Hara 1991
(ON); †
Huber
et al.
1996
(
America
north of
Mexico
).
FIGURES 37–42
. Habitus images.
37
.
Actia diffidens
.
38
.
Actia interrupta
.
39
.
Ceromasia auricaudata
.
40
.
Compsilura concinnata
.
41
.
Cyzenis incrassata
.
42
.
Eumea caesar
.
This species is an uncommonly recorded parasitoid of
Choristoneura
species. It is similar in size and appearance to
A. interrupta
except that wing vein
CuA
1 is almost always bare dorsally (only rarely with one to several hairs; veins
R
1 and
R
4+5 haired as in
A. interrupta
; cf.
Figs. 12 and 13
).
Actia diffidens
is common and widespread throughout
Canada
and the northern and eastern
United States
, with scattered records throughout the rest of the
United States
and
Mexico
(
O’Hara 1991
). The first instar of
A. diffidens
was figured by
O’Hara (1988)
and the adult was redescribed by
O’Hara (1991)
in his revision of the Nearctic species of
Actia
. The three larval instars, pupa, and puparium were described and illustrated by
Prebble (1935)
.
Prebble (1935)
studied parasitism of the tortricid
Acleris variana
(Fernald)
(as
Peronea variana
) by
A. diffidens
in Nova
Scotia
. He found that adult
A. diffidens
appeared in June, parasitism of third to fifth instar
A. variana
occurred from late June to mid July, and fully developed maggots emerged from their hosts and formed puparia from mid July to mid August. Known hosts of
A. diffidens
are mostly
Tortricidae
but include a few species of
Geometridae
,
Gracillariidae
,
Noctuidae
, and
Pyralidae
(
Arnaud 1978
;
O’Hara 1991
).