Find in Library
Search millions of books, articles, and more
Indexed Open Access Databases
An alternative host of Hymenoepimecis japi (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) on a novel family (Araneae, Araneidae), with notes on behavioral manipulations
oleh: Yuri F. Messas, Jober F. Sobczak, João Vasconcellos-Neto
| Format: | Article |
|---|---|
| Diterbitkan: | Pensoft Publishers 2017-10-01 |
Deskripsi
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.