The first record of Notocyphus tyrannicus Smith, (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) as parasitoid of Acanthoscurria Ausserer, 1871 (Teraphosidae: Teraphosinae)

• Published in: Brazilian journal of biology Vol. 76; no. 3; pp. 806 - 807
• Main Authors: Martins, A L, Gallão, J E, Bichuette, M E, Santos, E F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Brazil Instituto Internacional de Ecologia 01.07.2016
• Subjects: Araneae; BIOLOGY; Hymenoptera; Pompilidae; Studies; Theraphosidae; Brazil
• ISSN: 1519-6984; 1678-4375; 1678-4375
• DOI: 10.1590/1519-6984.07515

Notocyphus Smith, 1855 is a diverse genus of Pompilidae represented by around 49 species and subspecies in the New World, and like most other pompilids, species of this genus are parasitoid of spiders (Wasbauer, 1995).Biological studies on Notocyphus have recorded species of Theraphosidae as its hosts. Theraphosidae is one of 15 families of Mygalomorphae, including around 975 species in the world, and 179 in Brazil (Platnick, 2015). Herein, a new host of N. tyrannicus Smith, 1855 is presented, aiming to contribute to the biological knowledge of this parasitoid. A juvenile spider of the genus cf. Acanthoscurria was collected in the wild, in Abaira municipality, State of Bahia, Brazil (13 degrees 17'15"S 41 degrees 50'48"W), on January 13th of 2014, and it was carried to the Subterranean Studies Laboratory, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UFSCAR. The spider was kept alive with food and water at 23 degrees Celsius. Twelve days after the specimen was captured a larva was observed stuck on spider's abdomen.