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Distinguishing adults of Bracon cephi and Bracon lissogaster (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), parasitoids of the wheat stem sawfly (Hymenoptera: Cephidae)1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

J.B. Runyon ,
R.L. Hurley ,
W.L. Morrill  and
D.K. Weaver
J.B. Runyon*
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, Montana State University-Bozeman, Bozeman, Montana, United States 59717
R.L. Hurley
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, Montana State University-Bozeman, Bozeman, Montana, United States 59717
W.L. Morrill
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, Montana State University-Bozeman, Bozeman, Montana, United States 59717
D.K. Weaver
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, Montana State University-Bozeman, Bozeman, Montana, United States 59717
*
2 Author to whom all correspondence should be addressed (E-mail: jbrunyon@montana.edu).
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Extract

The wheat stem sawfly, Cephus cinctus Norton (Hymenoptera: Cephidae), has been the most economically important insect pest of wheat in the northern Great Plains since cultivation began (Weiss and Morrill 1992). The wheat stem sawfly was first reported from wild grasses where populations were often highly parasitized by a number of parasitoids, including Bracon (= Microbracon) cephi (Gahan) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) (Criddle 1923; Ainslie 1929). A similar species, Bracon lissogaster Muesebeck, was later reported to also attack C. cinctus larvae (Muesebeck 1953; Somsen and Luginbill 1956). These parasitoids are now prevalent in wheat in some regions of Montana (Morrill et al. 1994, 1998; Morrill 1997). The life histories and phenologies of these sympatric idiobiont ectoparasitoids are similar. The ability to distinguish B. cephi from B. lissogaster is essential in elucidating their effects on populations of C. cinctus. We examined 159 females and 123 males of B. cephi from Chouteau, Hill, Stillwater, Teton, and Toole counties in Montana; Burke, Burleigh, Rolette, and Williams counties in North Dakota; Rock County in Minnesota; and southem Alberta (Rockyford and Consort). The 254 females and 215 males of B. lissogaster examined were from Chouteau, Hill, Teton, and Toole counties in Montana. Holotypes were compared to verify identifications.

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 133 , Issue 2 , April 2001 , pp. 215 - 217
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 2001

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Footnotes

1

Contribution No.\-2000-68 of the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station.

References

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