Hidden biodiversity in entomological collections: The overlooked co-occurrence of dipteran and hymenopteran ant parasitoids in stored biological material
2017
Biological collections around the world are the repository of biodiversity on Earth; they also hold a large quantity of unsorted, unidentified, or misidentified material and can house behavioral information on species that are difficult to access or no longer available to science. Among the unsorted, alcohol-preserved material stored in the Formicidae Collection of the ‘El Colegio de la Frontera Sur’ Research Center (Chetumal, Mexico), we found nine colonies of the ponerine ant Neoponera
villosa, that had been collected in bromeliads at Calakmul (Campeche, Mexico) in 1999. Ants and their brood were revised for the presence of any sign of parasitism.
Cocoonswere dissected and their content examined under a stereomicroscope. Six N.
villosaprepupae had been attacked by the ectoparasitoid syrphid fly Hypselosyrphus trigonus Hull (Syrphidae:
Microdontinae), to date the only known dipteran species of the
Microdontinaewith a parasitoid lifestyle. In addition, six male
pupaefrom three colonies contained gregarious endoparasitoid wasps. These were specialized in parasitizing this specific host caste as no
gyneor worker
pupaedisplayed signs of having been attacked. Only immature stages (larvae and
pupae) of the wasp could be obtained. Due to the long storage period, DNA amplification failed; however, based on biological and morphological data,
pupaewere placed in the
Encyrtidaefamily. This is the first record of an encyrtid wasp parasitizing N.
villosa, and the second example of an encyrtid as a primary parasitoid of ants. Furthermore, it is also the first record of co-occurrence of a dipteran ectoparasitoid and a hymenopteran endoparasitoid living in
sympatrywithin the same population of host ants. Our findings highlight the importance of biological collections as reservoirs of hidden biodiversity, not only at the taxonomic level, but also at the behavioral level, revealing complex living networks. They also highlight the need for funding in order to carry out biodiversity inventories and manage existing collections.
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