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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #413142
Research Project: Systematics of Beetles, Flies, Moths and Wasps with an Emphasis on Agricultural Pests, Invasive Species, Biological Control Agents, and Food Security

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: Circumscription of the Ganaspis brasiliensis (Ihering,1905) species complex(Hymenoptera,Figitidae), and the description of two new species parasitizing the spotted wing drosophila,Drosophila suzukii Matsumura,1931(Diptera...)

Author
item Buffington, Matthew
item FORSHAGE, M. - The Swedish Museum Of Natural History
item SOSA-CALVO, JEFFREY - Smithsonian Institute

Submitted to: Journal of Hymenoptera Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/11/2024
Publication Date: 5/29/2024
Citation: Buffington, M.L., Forshage, M., Sosa-Calvo, J. 2024. Circumscription of the Ganaspis brasiliensis (Ihering,1905) species complex(Hymenoptera,Figitidae), and the description of two new species parasitizing the spotted wing drosophila,Drosophila suzukii Matsumura,1931(Diptera...). Journal of Hymenoptera Research. 97:441-470. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.97.118567.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.97.118567

Interpretive Summary: The spotted-wing Drosophila a major pest of soft fruit. Natural enemies of this pest have been sought in Asia, and after 10 years of research, successful candidates are now being released in the United States. Some of these natural enemies lacked species names and were impossible to differentiate from similar species. As identification is key to successful biological control, we submit this paper to help clarify these species identities and to provide data for others to also tell them apart. This paper will be used by members of the biological control community as well as ecologists and extension agents.

Technical Abstract: Based on host specificity and distribution data, it has been hypothesized that Ganaspis brasiliensis, a natural enemy of the horticultural pest spotted-wing fruit fly, Drosophila suzukii (SWD), was composed of multiple, cryptic species. Parasitoid wasps assigned to the species name Ganaspis brasiliensis and Ganaspis cf. brasiliensis were investigated using a molecular dataset of ultra-conserved elements (UCEs) and morphology. We report strong evidence for the presence of cryptic species based on the combination of UCE data (1379 UCE loci), host specificity, ovipositor morphology, and distribution data. We describe these new cryptic species as: Ganaspis lupini, new species, and Ganaspis kimorum, new species. Ganaspis lupini was formerly recognized as Ganaspis brasiliensis G3, and Ganaspis kimorum as Ganaspis brasiliensis G1. These two new species appear to be restricted to the temperate climates, whereas Ganaspis brasiliensis (formerly recognized as Ganaspis brasiliensis G5) has a more pan-tropical distribution. We investigated the characterization of the ovipositor clip of these species, and hypothesize that G. kimorum, which has a reduced ovipositor clip, has an advantage in ovipositing into fresh fruit, still on the host plant, while attacking SWD; as a corollary, G. brasilienis and G. lupini, which both have a larger ovipositor clip, are better adapted to attacking hosts in softer, rotting fruit on the ground. As Ganaspis kimorum was authorized for release as a biological control agent against SWD under the name Ganaspis brasiliensis G1, the results here have direct impact on the field of biological control.