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
Hyphantrophaga blanda
(
Osten Sacken, 1887
)
Host records ex.
Choristoneura rosaceana
:
Wilkinson
et al.
2004
(MI).
Hyphantrophaga blanda
and
H. virilis
are, at best, uncommon parasitoids of
Choristoneura
species. They are included here rather than classed as accidental parasitoids of
Choristoneura
because a record each of
H. blanda
and
H. virilis
parasitizing different species of
Choristoneura
suggests that such parasitization is more opportunistic than accidental, and probably occurs occasionally. Both species are small to mediumsized tachinids (
5– 8mm
long), mostly gray with four black stripes on the thorax and a lightly banded abdomen. They are widely distributed throughout North
America
(
O’Hara & Wood 2004
).
Sellers (1930)
examined reared specimens of
H. blanda
and
H. virilis
(both as species of
Zenillia
RobineauDesvoidy
) and described differences between the species in the puparium and both sexes of the adult.
Thompson (1953)
described and illustrated the egg, larval instars, and puparium of
H. blanda
.
Hyphantrophaga
is a member of the
Goniini
, producing microtype eggs that are laid on foliage and consumed by a host (see
Cyzenis incrassata
above; also
Thompson 1953
). Records from a number of hosts indicate that the mature maggot of both
H. blanda
and
H. virilis
generally emerges from the host pupa but sometimes forms a puparium within the host (
Sellers 1930
). Similarly,
Ciesla (1964)
reported that
H. blanda
(as
Eusisyropa blanda
) emerges from the pupa of
Ennomos subsignaria
(Hübner) (Geometridae)
. However,
Burgess and Crossman (1927)
reported the emergence of
H. blanda
(as
Zenillia blanda
) from the larva of
Leucoma salicis
(L.) (as
Stilpnotia salicis
;
Lymantriidae
), and
Evans (1962)
reported the emergence of
H. virilis
(as
Eusisyropa virilis
) from the larva of
Melanolophia imitata
(Walker) (Geometridae)
.
Sellers (1930)
found that both
H. blanda
and
H. virilis
overwinter as larvae in the host pupa, and noted that “if parasitic on hosts producing adults in the same season, both parasites completed their development that season; but if parasitic on hosts that pass the winter in the pupal stage and emerge the following spring or summer, the flies likewise did not emerge until the following spring” (p. 574). There are usually two generations per year and multiparasitism can occur in larger hosts (
Schaffner & Griswold 1934
;
Schaffner 1959
).
Sellers (1930)
examined the host records for
H. blanda
and
H. virilis
and found that only about onethird of the hosts known for these two species are shared. They are parasitoids of a wide variety of
Lepidoptera
, attacking hosts belonging to about 15 families.
Hyphantrophaga blanda
is a well known parasitoid of several tortricids, especially
Archips
species (
Sellers 1930
;
Arnaud 1978
, as
Eusisyropa blanda
).