Dacnusa Haliday, 1833

Godfray, Charles J. & Achterberg, Cornelis Van, 2024, Annotated Checklist of the European Dacnusini and the Dapsilarthra genus group of the Alysiini (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Alysiinae), Zootaxa 5513 (1), pp. 1-73 : 44-46

Dacnusa Haliday, 1833

Type species: areolaris Nees

AGONIA Förster, 1863 (type species: adducta Haliday )

APHANTA Förster, 1863 (type species: hospita Förster )

BRACHYSTROPHA Förster, 1863 (type species: monticola Förster )

LIPOSCIA Förster, 1863 (type species: discolor Förster )

PACHYSEMA Förster, 1863 (type species: macrospila Haliday )

RHIZARCHA Förster, 1863 (type species: areolaris Nees )

TANYSTROPHA Förster, 1863 (type species: haemorrhoa Förster ( = stramineipes Haliday ))

RADIOLARIA Provancher, 1886 (type species: clavata Provancher )

Literature: Griffiths I-860.

Notes: C.160 described species from throughout the world (Taxapad), about 73 in Europe. All species show sexual dimorphism with the male pterostigma darker than in the female.

Groupings within Dacnusa (after Griffiths)

1. Dacnusa s.s. (Griffith) ( Rhizarcha sensu Nixon )

a. areolaris species group

b. stramineipes species group

c. unassigned species

2. Pachysema group a. hospita species group ( Aphanta sensu Nixon )

b. adducta species group ( Agonia sensu Nixon )

c. discolor species group (part of Pachysema sensu Nixon )

d. unassigned species (part of Pachysema sensu Nixon )

abdita Haliday, 1838

Synonymy: incidens Thomson, 1895 ; lepida Marshall, 1896 .

Group: 2d.

Literature: Nixon 1937 -53; Nixon 1954 -263; Griffiths II-562 (K III-896); Tobias (99, 165).

Hosts: Hypothesis —Parasitoid of Agromyza spp. in blotch mines on Urticaceae and Boraginaceae . Evidence — Griffiths (17); NMS (56). Comment —Recorded hosts: A. anthracina , A. pseudoreptans , A. abiens , A. lithospermi , A. myosotidis .

DNA Barcode: Yes.

adducta (Haliday, 1839; Alysia )

Synonymy: abducta misspelling.

Group: 2b.

Literature: Nixon 1937 -48; Nixon 1954 -278; Griffiths V-22 (VI-70) (K III-895); Zheng and Chen (2017); Tobias (224).

Hosts: Hypothesis —Parasitoid of Agromyzidae leaf-mining Poaceae . Evidence— Griffiths (3); NMS (15). Comment —Recorded hosts: Liriomyza flaveola , Cerodontha pygmaea .

DNA Barcode: Yes; BIN shared with D. macrospila and an undescribed species near D. centaurea e.

Notes: Based on its unusual venation, adducta is sometimes placed in the monotypic genus Agonia but Griffiths (I-854) considered it a derived species of Dacnusa which is supported by DNA data.

alpestris Griffiths, 1967

Group: 2d.

Literature: Griffiths III-807 (VII-351) (K III-898); Tobias (132, 191).

Hosts: Hypothesis— Parasitoid of Phytomyza spp. on Asteraceae . Evidence— Griffiths (8); NMS (7). Comment— Recorded hosts: P. albiceps ( = rydeniana ), P. alpina , P. marginella , P. senecionis , P. tussilaginis . Griffiths noted that his sole UK specimen (from P. albiceps ) differed from his other continental material and might be distinct. The 7 NMS wasps (3 reared from P. albiceps , the others from unidentified Agromyzidae ) resemble this specimen but are not as distinct from the continental material. Pending further research all treated as D. alpestris .

DNA Barcode: Yes ( UK reared and Norwegian adult specimens).

alticeps Nixon, 1937

Group: 2d.

Literature: Nixon 1937 -65; Nixon 1948 -214; Tobias (13).

DNA Barcode: Yes.

angelicina Griffiths, 1967

Literature: Griffiths III-809 (K III-899), [VII-351]; Tobias (149, 188); Godfray and Bland (2023).

Group: 2d.

Hosts: Hypothesis— Parasitoid of Phytomyza angelicae leaf-mining Apiaceae . Evidence— Griffiths (6+), NMS (2). Comment— Recorded from P. aegopodii which is now considered a synonym of P. angelicae .

DNA Barcode: Cluster in BOLD but no BIN assigned.

[ annulata ( Nees, 1834; Alysia )]

Literature: Marshall (1891 -1896).

Notes: Known from a single damaged female; Marshall considers not definitely Dacnusa and imperfectly described, and we treat as a nomen dubium .

aquilegiae Marshall, 1896

Group: 2d.

Literature: Nixon 1937 -54; Nixon 1954 -263; Griffiths III-815 (K III-896); Tobias (95, 168).

Hosts: Hypothesis —Parasitoid of Phytomyza spp. forming blotch mines on Ranunculaceae and occasionally other families. Evidence— Griffiths (115); NMS (68). Comment —Recorded hosts: P. aquilegiae , P. albimargo , P. rydeni , P. thalictricola , P. heracleana , P. medicaginis ( = symphyti ).

DNA Barcode: Yes.

arctica Griffiths, 1984

Group: 1a.

Literature: Griffiths VII-348, (K VII-352).

Hosts: Hypothesis— Parasitoid of Agromyzidae leafminers. Evidence —Griffiths (5). Comment —3 Swedish specimens from a Phytomza sp. (probably aquilonia ) on Rancunculus nivalis ( Ranunculaceae ) and two further specimens from a Liriomya sp. and a Calycomyza sp. on Asteraceae in the Yukon, Canada. Appears to be a high-latitude circumpolar species,

Similar species: D. lugens .

areolaris (Nees, 1811; Bracon )

Synonymy: lysias Goureau, 1851 .

Group: 1a.

Literature: Nixon 1937 -66; Nixon 1948 -215; Griffiths III-837 (K III-894); Tobias (43, 75).

Hosts: Hypothesis —Parasitoid of Phytomyza syngenesiae on Asteraceae , P. asteris on Tripolium pannonicum (= Aster tripolium ) ( Asteraceae ) and P. nigra on Poaceae . Evidence— Griffiths (many); NMS (818); literature. Comment— Probably also attacks P. horticola & P. fuscula ; does not seem to attack P. milii . Records from Chloropidae ( Alekseev et al. 2019) very likely incorrect.

DNA Barcode: Yes (BIN contains specimens reared from both P. syngenesiae and P. nigra ).

Notes: In many localities the commonest Dacnusini ; has been used as a biological control agent against P. syngenesiae in greenhouses. Introduced and common in New Zealand (from at least 1902) & Australia ( Wharton & Austin 1991) . Haviland (1922) provides a detailed description of the larval development of a species she calls Dacnusa areolaris but which from the host association is almost certainly D. laevipectus .

astarte ( Nixon, 1948; Rhizarcha )

Group: 1b.

Literature: Nixon 1948 -215; Tobias (8).

aterrima Thomson, 1895

Group: 2d.

Literature: Griffiths (I-886) (K III-895); Tobias (85).

austriaca ( Fischer, 1961; Pachysema )

Group: 2d.

Literature: Fischer (1961); Griffiths V-21 (K III-899); Tobias (159, 214).

Hosts: Hypothesis— Parasitoid of Liriomyza spp. on Artemisia . Evidence— Griffths (12), Michalska (1987). Comment —Recorded hosts: L. artemesicola , L. demeijerei , L. dracunculi .

Similar species: D. rodriguezi , D. cicerina .

brevistigma ( Tobias, 1962; Pachysema )

Group: 2d.

Literature: Griffiths III-812 (K III-899); Tobias (118, 201).

Hosts: Hypothesis— Parasitoid of Phytomyza spp. mining Ranunculaceae . Evidence— Griffiths (27), NMS (1). Comment —Recorded hosts: P. anemones , P. fallaciosa ( = auricomi ), P. hellebori .

campanariae Griffiths, 1967

Group: 2d.

Literature: Griffiths III-814 (K III-897); Tobias (184).

Hosts: Hypothesis —Parasitoid of Phytomyza socia ( = campanariae ) on Pulsatilla sp. ( Ranunculaceae ). Evidence —Griffiths (1).

centaureae Griffiths, 1967

Group: 2d.

Literature: Griffiths III-805 (K III-907); Tobias (153).

Hosts: Hypothesis— Parasitoid of Phytomyza montana leafmining Centaurea montana ( Asteraceae ). Evidence — Griffiths (5).

DNA Barcode: No; an undescribed species near D. centaureae shares a BIN with D. macrospila and D. adducta .

cerpheres ( Nixon, 1948; Rhizarcha )

Group: 1b.

Literature: Nixon 1948 -214; Griffiths VII-349; Tobias (10, 77).

Notes: Three wasps reared from Phytomyza rostrata in seedheads of Melampyrum nemorosum ( Orobanchaceae ) might be this species (Griffiths VII-349).

DNA Barcode: Yes.

[ chereas Goureau, 1851 ]

Literature: Griffiths III-930.

Notes: Reared from Phytomyza minuscula from which there have been no further rearings of Dacnusini . The description is very short, and the type is lost, and hence we consider a nomen dubium .

[ cingulator ( Nees, 1834) ]

Literature: Marshall (1896).

Notes: discussed by Marshall (1891 -1896), who considers it imperfectly described; type lost and we consider a nomen dubium .

clematidis Griffiths, 1967

Group: 1d.

Literature: Griffiths III-814 (K III-899); Tobias (157, 200).

Hosts: Hypothesis —Parasitoid of Phytomyza kaltenbachi ( = atragenis ) on Clematis alpina ( Ranunculaceae ). Evidence —Griffiths (6).