The unknown followers: Discovery of a new species of Sycobia Walker (Hymenoptera: Epichrysomallinae) associated with Ficus benjamina L. (Moraceae) in ...
The unknown followers: Discovery of a new species of Sycobia Walker (Hymenoptera: Epichrysomallinae) associated with Ficus benjamina L. (Moraceae) in the Neotropical region
Biotic invasion in mutualistic communities is of particular interest due to the possible establishment of new relationships with native species.Ficusspecies are widely cultivated as ornamental plants, and they host specific communities of chalcid wasps that are strictly associated with the fig inflorescences. Some introduced fig species are capable of establishing new relationships with the local fig wasps, and fig wasp species may also be concomitantly introduced with their host plants.FicusbenjaminaL. is widely cultivated across the world, but the associated fig wasps are not reported outside of the species native range. We describe for the first time a non-pollinating fig wasp associated withF.benjaminainflorescences outside its native distribution.SycobiahoditesFarache & Rasplus,sp. n.is the third known species of the genus and was recorded in populations ofF.benjaminaintroduced in the Neotropical region throughout several localities in Argentina, Brazil and Colombia.Sycobiais a gall-inducing non-pollinating fig wasp genus associated with fig trees in the Oriental and Australasian regions. This species competes with pollinators for oviposition sites and may hinder the future establishment of the native pollinator ofF.benjamina,EupristinakoningsbergeriGrandi, 1916 in the New World. However, the occurrence of a gall inducing species in this host plant may open ecological opportunities for the establishment of species belonging to other trophic levels such as cleptoparasite and parasitoid wasps.
bhl virtual titleid
210919
bhl virtual volume
v.67 (2018)
call number
10_3897_jhr_67_29733
genre
article
identifier doi
10.3897/jhr.67.29733
page range
85-102
rights holder
Copyright held by individual article author(s).
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The unknown followers: Discovery of a new species of Sycobia Walker (Hymenoptera: Epichrysomallinae) associated with Ficus benjamina L. (Moraceae) in the Neotropical region by Fernando Henrique Antoniolli Farache - Free PDF Download & Read Online | eBookmela
