Rhabdepyris

Waichert, Cecilia & Azevedo, Celso O., 2009, Phylogenetic analysis of Rhabdepyris (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae) and redefinition of generic limits based on morphological characters, Zootaxa 2284, pp. 1-29 : 2

Biology of Rhabdepyris

While detailed life-history of Rhabdepyris is unknown, some of their hosts are known, and some species have been collected in association with other insects. For example, the holotypes of R. myrmecophilus Kieffer and R. pallidinervis Kieffer were collected in colonies of the ants Tetramorium caespitum (Linnaeus) and Formica sanguinea Latreille. These bethylids are small and similar in appearance to the associated ants. Rhabdepyris erythrogaster Dodd was described from a female also collected with the ant Ectatomma sp. in Australia ( Dodd 1916). Other Epyrinae are parasitoids of coleopteran larvae and, therefore, it is probable that Rhabdepyris species are parasitoids of beetles associated with ant colonies ( Evans 1979). Some species of Bethylidae have been reared from ant larvae in the laboratory ( Evans 1964), but no records have yet been published of ants as hosts of the Bethylidae in natural conditions ( Azevedo 1999b).

Rhabdepyris multilineatus Evans was found with the dermestid beetle Cryptorhopalum septemsignatum Sharp as indicated in the specimen label. Evans (1965b) saw this as a logical association because many species of Laelius have dermestid beetles as hosts. Thus, he considered the genus Laelius near to Rhabdepyris . Also, R. zeae Turner & Waterson has been collected in wheat, suggesting that it might be a parasitoid of the tenebrionid beetle Tribolium confusum du Val ( Richards 1939).