Family BRACONIDAE

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Family BRACONIDAE

Compiler and date details

1 December 2011 - Danielle N. Stringer, John T. Jennings & Andrew D. Austin, Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, and the School of Earth and Environmental Science, The University of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

N.B. Stevens, M. Iqbal, A.D. Austin & J.T. Jennings, Centre for Evolutionary Biology & Biodiversity (CEBB), Waite Institute, Adelaide, South Australia

Introduction

The Braconidae is one of the largest families of parasitic Hymenoptera and to date, nearly 696 species have been described from Australia, but this may represent less than 20% of the true size of the fauna. Biologically, the vast majority of braconids are endo- or ectoparasitoids of insect larvae, particularly of the Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, and more rarely of a number of other insect orders (see Shaw & Huddleston 1991, Wharton 1993, and Wharton et al. 1997 for reviews).

Some groups oviposit into host eggs and development is delayed until the host larval stage (e.g. Cheloninae), while pupal and adult parasitism is very rare. Braconids are extensively used as biological control agents worldwide, particularly of Lepidoptera, and numerous species have been imported into most countries including Australia. Compared with the Ichneumonidae, hyperparasitoids are virtually absent in the Braconidae.

Until recently, the family was also thought to be solely parasitic, but a few instances of phytophagy have been recorded in recent years (see Infante et al. 1995; Austin & Dangerfield 1998; Marsh et al. 2000).

Braconids can best be identified by their wing venation (Wharton et al. 1997), and wingless and brachypterous species by the presence of exodont mandibles (see Alysiinae) or a cyclostome (circular) depression above the mandibles comprising the labrum and part of the clypeus (see Doryctinae).

Thirty-six subfamilies are known to occur in Australia. Two unusual subfamilies, Mesostoinae and Trachypetinae, are endemic to Australia. The relationships among the subfamilies have been examined in detail using morphological and molecular data (e.g. Quicke & van Achterberg 1990; Wharton et al. 1992; Dowton et al. 1998; Belshaw et al. 2000). General accounts of the classification and identification of the family are provided by van Achterberg (1993), Marsh et al. (1987), Wharton (1993) and Wharton et al. (1997).