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Systematics of the parasitic wasp genus Hypomicrogaster Ashmead (Braconidae: Microgastrinae)

General Information

Principal Investigator: Alejandro A. Valerio C. Ph.D.

Participant Institutions: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in colaboration of Prof. J.B. Whitfield, Central American Institute of Biological Research and Conservation.

 

The waps family Braconidae is currently composed of 55 genera. The genus Hypomicrogaster (Microgastrinae: Braconidae: Ichneumonoidea) was described by Ashmead in 1898 . Ashmead’s generic description did not included new species. Curiously is Thomas Say (1836) whom described the species type for the genus Hypomicrogaster under the name Microgaster zonaria. Later, Muesebeck (1922) wrote that Say’s type specimen was lost but some material was identified as M. zonaria by Ashmead in combination of the type specimen for the synonymized species Protapanteles recurvitae (Ashmead 1920).

The generic limits for Hypomicrogaster remained uncharacterized during the generic revision of Nixon (1965), whom recognized 8 species groups from which currently only the virbius and zonaria species groups are recognized under the genus Hypomicrogaster. Currently the genus Hypomicrogaster has 28 described species, but the genus delimitation and its phylogenetic position within the subfamily Microgastrinae remains a mistery.

Currently, the taxa Dasylagon, Diolcogaster, Dolichogenidea, Microplitis y Parapenteles are considered to be the posible sister-groups for the genus Hypiomicrogaster aacording to Whitfield et al. (2003) but depending on what genus phylogeny you look the taxon placement as syster-group change for the mentioned taxa.

In terms of their ecology, little is know. Mason (1981) described the genus as specialist parasitoids on miner larvae of micro leps like the family Pyralidae (Insecta: Lepidoptera)] .

Objectives

  • Delimit the genus using Neotropical meterial as well as the description of the sopecies for the New World.
  • Revise the phylogenetic position of the genus within the Microgastrinae.
  • Revise the genus distribution.
  • Construct identification keys for the species.

Methodology

Taxonomic revision. Through the adquisition of museum specimens (i.e., USNM, USA; Museo Nacional de Costa Rica), insect collections at universities (i.e. Museo de Insectos, UCR, CR), and prived collections (i.e. Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad, CR) the taxonomic revision of teh genus Hypomicrogaster will be done.

Genes. Sequencing of nuclear and mitochondrial genes will be perform for the phylogenetic analysios of the genus Hypomicrogaster. In addition, sequences from other taxa within the Microgastrinae will be used to test the validity and monophyletic nature of the genus.

Morphology. A morphological matrix will be constructed using as starting point the description for the soecies of the genus Hypomicrogaster Ashmead.

Analysis. The sequence alingment will be performr with the program ClustalX, the the phylogenetic analysis will be perform using Bayesian inference by using the program Mr. Bayes.

Biología. Through the collaboration with the Caterpillar rearing project of D.H. Janzen (http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu/caterpillars/database.lasso), and the rearing project in Ecuador by G. Gentry (http://www.caterpillars.org) I hope to develop a better understanding of the host use by the genus Hypomicrogaster.

©2007 CIBRC