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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Western Regional Research Center » Invasive Species and Pollinator Health » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #387415
Research Project: Biological Control of Invasive Pests in Agroecosystems and Wetland, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystems in the Far Western U.S.

Location: Invasive Species and Pollinator Health

Title: A maximalist approach to the systematics of a biological control agent: Gryon aetherium Talamas, sp. nov. (Hymenoptera, Scelionidae)

Author
item TALAMAS, ELIJAH - Florida Department Of Agriculture And Consumer Services
item BREMER, JONATHAN - Florida Department Of Agriculture And Consumer Services
item MOORE, MATTHEW - Florida Department Of Agriculture And Consumer Services
item BON, MARIE-CLAUDE - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA)
item LAHEY, ZACHARY - The Ohio State University
item ROBERTS, CHERYL - Florida Department Of Agriculture And Consumer Services
item COMBEE, LYNN - Florida Department Of Agriculture And Consumer Services
item MCGATHEY, NATALIE - Florida Department Of Agriculture And Consumer Services
item VAN NOORT, SIMON - Iziko Museums Of Cape Town
item TIMOKHOV, ALEXANDER - Lomonosov University
item Hougardy, Evelyne
item Hogg, Brian

Submitted to: Journal of Hymenoptera Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/29/2021
Publication Date: 12/23/2021
Citation: Talamas, E., Bremer, J.S., Moore, M.R., Bon, M., Lahey, Z., Roberts, C.G., Combee, L.A., McGathey, N., van Noort, S., Timokhov, A.V., Hougardy, E.H., Hogg, B.N. 2021. A maximalist approach to the systematics of a biological control agent: Gryon aetherium Talamas, sp. nov. (Hymenoptera, Scelionidae). Journal of Hymenoptera Research. 87:323–480. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.87.72842.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.87.72842

Interpretive Summary: A widespread group of parasitic wasps that attack stinkbug pests was examined to aid in their identification. A previous grouping was found to be invalid, and a parasitic wasp that attacks bagrada bug, a major pest of cole crops (i.e., cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, etc.) was found to have been misidentified on previous occasions and was renamed. This species likely arrived in North America recently, and may prove to be an important biological control agent of bagrada bug.

Technical Abstract: A morphological and molecular analysis of Gryon Haliday (Platygastroidea, Scelionidae) was conducted to provide a taxonomic and phylogenetic context for a species under evaluation as a biological control agent of Bagrada hilaris (Burmeister) (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae). Our analysis revealed that Gryon is polyphyletic and that the biological control agent is not G. gonikopalense, a name that was tentatively applied to this species in 2019. We here describe this species as new, Gryon aetherium Talamas sp. n., and resurrect the generic name Hadronotus Förster. Morphological characters that delimit our concepts of Gryon and Hadronotus are presented. Based on morphological characters and the multilocus phylogenies, we determined that four presently valid scelionid genera belong within Gryon. In total, 14 species are transferred into Gryon from these genera, 217 species are transferred from Gryon to Hadronotus, and 6 species are transferred from Gryon to Dyscritobaeus Perkins. Reevaluation of specimens determined as G. myrmecophilum in Mexico and field studies in California reveal that G. aetherium is adventive in North America.