Colastomion Baker (Braconidae, Rogadinae): nine new species from Papua New Guinea reared from Crambidae

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Abstract

Nine new species of Colastomion Baker are described, illustrated and keyed based on series of specimens reared from caterpillars of crambid moths from lowland Papua New Guinea plus one additional field collected specimen, viz. C. cheesmanae Quicke sp. n., C. crambidiphagus Quicke sp. n., C. gregarius Quicke sp. n., C. maclayi Quicke sp. n., C. madangensis Quicke sp. n., C. masalaii Quicke sp. n., C. parotiphagus Quicke sp. n., C. pukpuk Quicke sp. n. and C. wanang Quicke sp. n. Most species are morphologically easily distinguished but DNA barcoding additionally reveals a pair of exceedingly similar species (C. pukpuk sp. n. and C. maclayi sp. n.) that might otherwise have gone unrecognised. The new species each appear to be relatively specialised on their host species and all parasitize only caterpillars of Lepidoptera: Crambidae: Spilomelinae.

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Molecular detection of trophic links in a complex insect host-parasitoid food web.

Norman Miller, D L Quicke, Matthew Smith-Banks … (2011)

Previously, host-parasitoid links have been unveiled almost exclusively by time-intensive rearing, while molecular methods were used only in simple agricultural host-parasitoid systems in the form of species-specific primers. Here, we present a general method for the molecular detection of these links applied to a complex caterpillar-parasitoid food web from tropical rainforest of Papua New Guinea. We DNA barcoded hosts, parasitoids and their tissue remnants and matched the sequences to our extensive library of local species. We were thus able to match 87% of host sequences and 36% of parasitoid sequences to species and infer subfamily or family in almost all cases. Our analysis affirmed 93 hitherto unknown trophic links between 37 host species from a wide range of Lepidoptera families and 46 parasitoid species from Hymenoptera and Diptera by identifying DNA sequences for both the host and the parasitoid involved in the interaction. Molecular detection proved especially useful in cases where distinguishing host species in caterpillar stage was difficult morphologically, or when the caterpillar died during rearing. We have even detected a case of extreme parasitoid specialization in a pair of Choreutis species that do not differ in caterpillar morphology and ecology. Using the molecular approach outlined here leads to better understanding of parasitoid host specificity, opens new possibilities for rapid surveys of food web structure and allows inference of species associations not already anticipated. Published 2011. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

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Population genetics of ecological communities with DNA barcodes: an example from New Guinea Lepidoptera.

Karolyn Darrow, Paul Hebert, Lauren E. Helgen … (2010)

Comparative population genetics of ecological guilds can reveal generalities in patterns of differentiation bearing on hypotheses regarding the origin and maintenance of community diversity. Contradictory estimates of host specificity and beta diversity in tropical Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) from New Guinea and the Americas have sparked debate on the role of host-associated divergence and geographic isolation in explaining latitudinal diversity gradients. We sampled haplotypes of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I from 28 Lepidoptera species and 1,359 individuals across four host plant genera and eight sites in New Guinea to estimate population divergence in relation to host specificity and geography. Analyses of molecular variance and haplotype networks indicate varying patterns of genetic structure among ecologically similar sympatric species. One-quarter lacked evidence of isolation by distance or host-associated differentiation, whereas 21% exhibited both. Fourteen percent of the species exhibited host-associated differentiation without geographic isolation, 18% showed the opposite, and 21% were equivocal, insofar as analyses of molecular variance and haplotype networks yielded incongruent patterns. Variation in dietary breadth among community members suggests that speciation by specialization is an important, but not universal, mechanism for diversification of tropical Lepidoptera. Geographically widespread haplotypes challenge predictions of vicariance biogeography. Dispersal is important, and Lepidoptera communities appear to be highly dynamic according to the various phylogeographic histories of component species. Population genetic comparisons among herbivores of major tropical and temperate regions are needed to test predictions of ecological theory and evaluate global patterns of biodiversity.