An alternative host of Hymenoepimecis japi , with notes on behavioral manipulations

Polysphinctine wasps of the genus Hymenoepimecis act as koinobiont ectoparasitoids of orb-weaver spiders. Hymenoepimecis japi is already known to parasitize the tetragnathid spider Leucauge roseosignata. Here, we record the dome-weaver spider Mecynogea biggiba as a second host for H. japi , as well...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of Hymenoptera research no. 60; pp. 111 - 118
Main Authors Messas, Yuri F, Sobczak, Jober F, Vasconcellos-Neto, João
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Pensoft Publishers 30.10.2017
Subjects
Entomology
Host-parasite relationships
Parasitoids
Spiders
Wasps
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Summary:Polysphinctine wasps of the genus Hymenoepimecis act as koinobiont ectoparasitoids of orb-weaver spiders. Hymenoepimecis japi is already known to parasitize the tetragnathid spider Leucauge roseosignata. Here, we record the dome-weaver spider Mecynogea biggiba as a second host for H. japi , as well as the behavioral manipulations induced by the parasitoid. We found that H. japi alters the web construction behavior of M. biggiba , resulting in a complex three-dimensional cocoon web. This modified web differs from that of L. roseosignata , which is a simpler structure composed of a few support threads. Our finds add to the literature the first case of a Hymenoepimecis species parasitizing spiders of two distinct families.
ISSN:1070-9428
1314-2607
DOI:10.3897/jhr.60.14817