Lysiphlebus
Genus of wasps
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lysiphlebus is a genus of parasitoid wasps belonging to the family Braconidae.[1]
| Lysiphlebus | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Braconidae |
| Subfamily: | Aphidiinae |
| Genus: | Lysiphlebus Förster, 1862 |
The genus has a near cosmopolitan distribution.[1]
Species:[1]
- Lysiphlebus alpinus Stary, 1971
- Lysiphlebus balcanicus Stary, 1998
- Lysiphlebus cardui Marshall, 1896
- Lysiphlebus confusus Tremblay & Eady, 1978
- Lysiphlebus fabarum Marshall, 1896
- Lysiphlebus testaceipes Cresson, 1880
Reproduction
Most Lysiphlebus species are haplodiploid, like other Hymenoptera.[2] However, all-female lineages are common in some Lysiphlebus-taxa including L. fabarum, L. cardui and L. confusus.[3]
In these asexual lineages, females can reproduce by a parthenogenetic mechanism, i.e. thelytoky, that involves automixis with central fusion.[4]
The genetic system underlying sex determination in Lysiphlebus is "complementary sex determination", similar to the cape honey bee (see Haplodiploidy § Sex determination in honey bees).[5] Unlike honey bees, however, the Lysiphlebus complementary sex determiner gene is thought to be present in multiple copies.[6]
Asexual females may occasionally produce diploid males, which when mated with sexual females, can convert sexual into asexual lineages, a process which has been dubbed "contagious parthenogenesis".[7]
Ecology
Like other Aphidiinae, Lysiphlebus are endoparasitoids of aphids. They lay their eggs inside the body of aphids, where their larvae develop, eventually spinning a mummy-like cocoon inside its remains.[8]
Most Lysiphlebus species specialize in attacking ant-defended aphid colonies.[8] They avoid attack by the ants through chemical mimicry of the aphid cuticular hydrocarbons.[9]