Phycitiplex doddi ( Cushman 1927 )

Porter, Charles C., 2008, New Phycitiplex Porter (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) from Subandean Desert in northwest Argentina, Insecta Mundi 2008 (56), pp. 1-13 : 3

Phycitiplex doddi ( Cushman 1927)

Relationships. Phycitiplex doddi ( Cushman 1927; Porter 1975, 1987) much resembles the partly sympatric P. obscurior Porter but has the malar space longer, the postpetiole rather dully shining with more conspicuous micro-reticulation, the ovipositor longer, the white orbital band complete across top of eye, humeral margin of pronotum broadly white throughout, the fore and mid coxae red and white, and the hind coxa red throughout.

Habitat and geographic distribution. Phycitiplex doddi ranges throughout northwest and northcentral Argentina fromTucumán, Salta, and La Rioja provinces south to Buenos Aires and adjacent Uruguay. It is recorded from semiarid habitats, mostly Subandean Desert, Chaco, and Pampa. It parasitizes larvae of Cactoblastis cactorum ( Lepidoptera , Phycitidae ) which live as gregarious borers in joints of prickly pear cacti of the genus Opuntia Mill.