Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory
2021 Annual Report
Accomplishments
1. Researching taxonomic and bionomic data on wasps helps protect U.S. agricultural interests. Parasitic wasps attack beneficial natural insects and cause billions of dollars of damage to crops and natural resources annually. ARS researchers at Beltsville, Maryland, focused on some 200 various species of parasitic wasps that attacks stink bugs that eat major food crops in the U.S.; flies that eat strawberry and blackberry, and other fruits; herbivorous and wood-boring insects in U.S. forests that feed on trees and kill them; plant-feeding insects in grasslands adjacent to crop fields; invasive spiders in Europe, and fire ants that disturb livestock. Along with clarifying identification, new biological attributes and host records were discovered for wasps important to agriculture and natural resources. Correct identification of biological control agents and an understanding of their biological role in mitigating pestiferous species populations is essential for making rearing and quarantine decisions in the protection of U.S. agricultural interests worldwide. Lastly, a joint project with other scientists in Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Washington DC, has resulted in the first complete phylogenomic analysis of Hymenoptera relationships, as well as more thorough analyses within superfamilies. This big data project includes over 4000 species of Hymenoptera, and 210,000 base pairs of data, requiring super computers to analyze. These data are currently being prepared for major publication outlets.
Review Publications
Abram, P., Mcpherson, A.E., Kula, R.R., Hueppelsheuser, T., Thiessen, J., Perlman, S.J., Curtis, C.I., Fraser, J.L., Tam, J., Carrillo, J., Gates, M.W., Scheffer, S.J., Lewis, M.L., Buffington, M.L. 2020. New records of Leptopilina, Ganaspis, and Asobara species associated with Drosophila suzukii in North America, including detections of L. japonica and G. brasiliensis. Journal of Hymenoptera Research. 78:1-17.
Gates, M.W., Zhang, Y., Buffington, M.L. 2020. The great greenbriers gall mystery resolved? New species of Aprostocetus (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) gall inducer and two new parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae) associated with Smilax in southern Florida, USA. Journal of Hymenoptera Research. 80:71-98.
Ruiz-Montiel, C., Gonzalez-Perez, J., Valdez-Carrasco, J., Lomeli-Flores, J., Gates, M.W., Franco-Mora, O., Castaneda-Vildozola, A. 2021. Prodecatoma diospyri Muesebeck (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae) reported in Mexico; new distribution records and damage description on black sapote fruits. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 123(2):437-442. https://doi.org/10.4289/0013-8797.123.2.437.
Lue, C., Buffington, M.L., Scheffer, S.J., Lewis, M.L., Driskell, A., Jandova, A., Kimura, M., Carton, Y., Kula, R.R., Schlenke, T., Mateos, M., Govind, S., Varaldi, J., Guerrieri, E., Giorgini, M., Wang, X., Hoelmer, K.A., Daane, K., Abram, P., Pardikes, N., Brown, J., Thierry, M., Poirie, M., Goldstein, P.Z., Miller, S., Jiggins, F., Tracey, A., Davis, J.S., Wertheim, B., Lewis, O.T., Leips, J., Lindsey, A., Staniczenko, P., Hrcek, J. 2021. DROP: Molecular voucher database for identification of Drosophila parasitoids. Molecular Ecology. 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.13435.
Buffington, M.L., Garretson, A., Kula, R.R., Gates, M.W., Carpenter, R., Smith, D., Kula, A. 2020. Pan trap color preference across Hymenoptera in a forest clearing. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata. 169(3):298-311. https://doi.org/10.1111/eea.13008.
Johnson, T.D., Buffington, M.L., Gates, M.W., Kula, R.R., Talamas, E. 2021. Deployment of aggregation-sex pheromones of longhorned beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) facilitates the discovery and identification of their parasitoids. Journal of Chemical Ecology. 47:28042. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-020-01238-7.
Lill, J., Weiss, M.R., Block, C., Kula, R.R. 2021. Larval parasitism of the silver spotted skipper, Epargyreus clarus (Cramer) (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) in the Washington D.C. area. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. https://doi.org/10.4289/0013-8797.123.1.120.
Nieves-Aldrey, J., Nicholis, J., Tang, C., Melika, G., Stone, G., Pujade-Villar, J., Buffington, M.L., Maldonado, Y., Medianero, E. 2021. Re-description and systematic re-appraisal of the genus Kokkocynips Pujade-Villar & Melika, (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Cynipini), including new combinations of Nearctic species and the description of a new species from Panama. Zootaxa. 4938:2(205-232). https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4938.2.3.
Santos, B.F., Wahl, D.B., Rousse, P., Bennett, A.M., Kula, R.R., Brady, S.G. 2021. Phylogenomics of Ichneumoninae (Hymenoptera Ichneumonidae) reveals pervasive morphological convergence and the shortcomings of previous classifications. Systematic Entomology. 46(3):704-724. https://doi.org/10.1111/syen.12484.
Nieto, D.J., Letoumeau, D., Toyama, L., Slay, C., Kula, R.R. 2020. Surveying populations of Delia radicum (L.) (Diptera: Anthomyiidae) and its associated natural enemies in organic cauliflower in California. Biocontrol Science and Technology. 31(1):112-118. https://doi.org/10.1080/09583157.2020.1845609.
Shinohara, A., Smith, D. 2021. Indoxiphia prima (Hymenoptera, Xiphydriidae): Discovery of a Taiwanese Woodwasp in Southern Japan. Bulletin of the National Museum of Nature and Science. Ser. A, 47(1):1-5. https://doi.org/10.50826/bnmnszool.47.1_1.
