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

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 (Williams, 1928; Lourenço, 1979; Minch, 1979; Simons, 1989; Sofia et al., 2011). 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 Abaíra municipality, State of Bahia, Brazil (13°17'15”S 41°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°C. Twelve days after the specimen was captured a larva was observed stuck on spider’s abdomen (Figure 1). The larva ate the spider ending it on January 31st of 2014, when it entered the pupal stage, which lasted 46 days. A female of N. tyrannicus emerged on March 18th of 2014.

Figure 1
Specimen of an undetermined species of Acanthoscurria Ausserer, 1871 (Teraphosidae: Teraphosinae) with a larva of Notocyphulus tyrannicus Smith, 1855 (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) stuck on the spider’s abdomen.

Williams (1928) recorded a female of N. tyrannicus hunting an arboreal theraphosid spider, probably of the genus Tapinauchenius Ausserer, 1871. Species of Acanthoscurria are nocturnal and live in tubular burrows under rocks, fallen trunks or in ravines close to the ground level, and sometimes, mainly in the reproductive season, they can be found during the day wandering outside their burrows (Gonzalez-Filho et al., 2012; Paula et al., 2014).

Basedonthe Williams' (1928) study, Evans (1953) classified species Notocyphus with the ethological sequence: Venari, Pungere, Ovum, Claudere (VPOC = hunting, paralysis, oviposition and nestclosing). However, no study has recorded species of Notocyphus closing its host in nest, indicating that species of this genus present the ethological sequence: hunting, paralysis and oviposition (VPO = Venari, Pungere, Ovum).

In conclusion this study expanded the knowledge on the host of Notocyphus and the parasitoids of species of the genus cf. Acanthoscurria. In addition, it shows that the biological knowledge on Notocyphus is still incomplete and more detailed studies could provide a better understanding on the natural history of this genus and its hosts.

Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) for the doctoral fellowship provided to A. L. Martins (CAPES – Proc.:1399791); to National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development of Brazil (CNPq) for the postdoctoral fellowships provided to E. F. dos Santos (CNPq – Proc.: 211689/2013-0) and for doctoral fellowship to J. E. Gallão (CNPq – Proc.: 142276/2013-8). We also thank Fapesp for the grant provided to M. E. Bichuette (Fapesp – Proc.: 2010/08459-4) and ICMBIO for the collection permit.

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References

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Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  03 May 2016
• Date of issue
  Jul-Sep 2016

History

• Received
  07 May 2015
• Accepted
  21 Sept 2015