Table Of ContentANEW SPECIES OF AGAONID WASP (HYMENOPTERA, CHALCIDOIDEA)
POLLINATINGFICUSKRISHNAEC.DC. (MORACEAE
)1
D.R.Priyadarsanan2,3
(With sixteen text-figures)
Key words: Eupristina (E.) rehmani, Eupristina (E.) masoni, Eupristina (E.)
belgaumensis, Ficus krishnae, F. drupciceae var. pubescens, F. benghalensis.
Eupristina (Eupristina) rehmani sp. nov. pollinating Ficus krishnae C.DC. is described and a
short note on the taxonomic status ofthe host plant is given.
Introduction Head: (Fig. 1) almostas long as wide and
2.5 times the longitudinal diameter of the
The fruits of all species of Ficus are compound eye (5:2); eyes positioned a little
colonizedby a heterogenous group ofinsects of posteriorly; cheek almost equal to eye length,
the family Agaonidae (Hymenoptera, margins of the facial groove more divergent
Chalcidoidea), commonly called fig insects or anteriorly.
figwasps.FiginsectsofthesubfamilyAgaoninae Antenna (Fig. 2) 11 segmented, scape
aretheexclusivepollinatorsoftheirhosts.Genus almosttwiceitsownwidth;pedicelonethirdthe
Eupristina Saunders are the pollinators ofFicus lengthofscape andlessthantwice its maximum
spp. ofsectionConosycea(Miq.)towhichFicus width(10:6),bears22backwardlydirectedspines
krishnae C.DC. belongs. Ficus krishnae is a onthedorsalside;appendageofthe3rdsegment
smalltomediumsizedbanyan,commonlyknown blunt, bears a few spines andreaches the middle
as ‘Krishnabor’ or ‘buttercup ofKrishna’. This ofthe 5th; 4th segment less than twice its own
tree has a fair distribution in North and Central width (10:6); 5th segment almost equal to 4th,
India, but is rare in South India. as long as its own width, and bears 4 sensillae;
An agaonid pollinator of F. krishnae is 6th segment is the narrowest and it bears two
described here and the taxonomic status of its sensillae; 7th segment is the largest, twice the
host Ficus is evaluated. length of the 5th and 1.5 times its own width,
The type specimens are presently kept in andbears 16 sensillae in two rows; 8th segment
the collection ofthe Museum ofDepartment of two-thirdsthe lengthof7th andofits ownwidth
Zoology, UniversityofCalicut(ZDC). (21:15) andbears 16 sensillae; 9th segment half
the length of7th and its own width (12:21) and
Eupristina (Eupristina) rehmani sp. nov. provided with a distal row of 16 sensillae; 10th
segment as wide as long, and as long as the 9th
Female bearing 12 sensillae; 11thsegmentforms aclub,
Length 2.2 mm; colour generally black, andbears 16sensillaeandafewsetae. Mandible
antennal scape, femur and coxa yellowish on (Fig. 3) as long as wide, bidentate, two glands
ventral side. andwith5ventralridges;mandibularappendage
'AcceptedMay, 1997 twice the length of the mandible, thrice its
departmentofZoology,UniversityofCalicut, own width, 10 lamellae present, and first 6
Kerala,lndia-673635.
lamellae produced into lateral teeth; labio-
’Presentaddress:ATREE,No. 17,2ndCross,
AmaijyothiLayout,Chalanagar,Bangalore-560032, maxillary complex (Fig. 4), the labium bearing
E-mail:[email protected] two setae.
106 JOURNAL, BOMBAYNATURAL HISTORYSOCIETY, 96(1) APR. 1999
NEWDESCRIPTIONS
Figs. 1-9: Eupristina (Eupristina)rehmanisp. nov. Female:
1. Head; 2. Antenna; 3. Mandible; 4. Labio-maxillary complex; 5. Forewing; 6. Foretibia & tarsus;
7. Hind coxa; 8. Hindtibia& tarsus; 9. Pygostyle.
(Figs. 1 & 5 XI00, 2-4 & 6-9 X400)
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NEWDESCRIPTIONS
Figs. 10-16: Eupristina (Eupristina) rehmani sp. nov. Male:
10. Head; 1 1. Antenna 12. Mandible; 13. Thorax; 14. Foretibia & tarsus; 15. Midtibia & tarsus;
&
16. Hindtibia tarsus.
(Figs. 10 & 13X100, 11, 12 & 14-16 X400)
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NEWDESCRIPTIONS
Thorax:Pronotum 1.5timesitsownwidth, Thorax: (Fig. 13) Pronotum, mesonotum
slightly pubescent; pronotum, mesonotum and and metanotopropodeum in the ratio 3:1:2.
metanotopropodeumintheratio8:4:3.Propodeal Foreleg coxa (4:3) proximally tapering; femur
spiracles elongate, flask-shaped. Forewing (Fig. (2:1) as long as coxa; tibia (Fig. 14) has a deep
5) twice its own width, 1.2 mm long, hyaline, invagination onthe axialplate which is lined on
onlypremarginalveindeveloped,whichreaches its ventral margin by a row oflong setae; tibial
two fifths the length of the wing and bears 3 armatureconsistsofa dorsalcombofthreeblunt
pustules at its distal end. Hindwing 0.82 mm, teeth,onemoreapicad, abifurcatedventraltooth
venationnotdistinct,fringelongandmiddorsally and a row ofspines on the dorsal comb; tarsus
there is a tuft ofa few hairs. Foreleg coxa with bimerous, 1st tarsomere with three backwardly
comb and corbicula; femur bears 6 setae at the directedspines.Midlegcoxawiderthanlong5:8;
basal ventral comer, arranged in a semicircle; femur 8:7; tibia (Fig. 15) with 6-10 spines on
tibia (Fig. 6) ventrally curved and with a deep theplatedorsallyand 10spinesaroundtheapex;
apical invagination; tibial armature consists ofa tarsus pentamerous, tarsomeres with a row of5
dorso-apical comb of3 claws, ventral tooth and to 6 spines at their apices and in the lengthratio
a few long setae; tarsus pentamerous, each 11:7:7:6:15. Hindleg coxa 6:5; femur broad at
tarsomere with two prominent subapical setae, the base; tibia (Fig. 16) with 4 blunt teeth atthe
tarsomeres in ratio 2:1:1:1:2. Midleg coxa 4:3, apex, 3 on the antiaxial plate and the remaining
femur with a tapering apex, length width ratio axially, and 12-14 spines on the dorsal plate;
4:1, tibia with shortest width at the base and tarsuspentamerous; 1sttarsomerehastwospines
maximum at the apex bearing long curved claw onitsplateandalltarsomereshavearowoflong
ventrally anda few setae atthe apex; tarsomeres spines at their apex; tarsal ratio 10:7:6:6:10.
intheratio 8:5:5:4:6. Hindleg coxa(Fig. 7) with Gaster: Normal
a circlet of spines proximally; tibial armature Host: Ficus krishnae C.DC.
(Fig. 8) consists ofa tricuspid tooth antiaxially Material Examined: Female holotype,
andalongcurvedbifidtoothattheventralapex; India: Kerala, Trichur (Museum Compound),
tarsomeres in the ratio 12:7:6:4:7. coll. D.R. Priyadarsanan, 10.xii.1993, 2 female
Gaster: Normal; pygostyle (Fig. 9) with 4 paratype and allotype 2 males. Slide mounted
setae, 2 apical(only one visible dorsally) andtwo (Nos. ZDC A-XII/1 la, lb, A-XII/2, 2a
,
subapical;protrudingpailoftheovipositor1.4mm. respectively).
Note: This species is relatedto Eupristina
Male (E.) belgaumensis Joseph (1954), the pollinator
Vermiform, length 1.9 mm; colour dark of Ficus glomeratci Thunb. var. pubescens
brown,legspaleyellowexceptdorsalhalfofhind (Roth.) Comer. However, these species differ in
coxa. the following characters: In the female, E.
Head: (Fig. 10) Slightly wider than long, rehmani has 5 ventral ridges on the mandibles,
longitudinal diameter ofeye one fifth the length appendagehas 10 lamellae, dorso-axial comb of
of the head; compound eyes and the antennae foretibia has 3 claws, the hindcoxa has a circlet
placed just behind the mandibles; shortest ofsetae around and ovipositor valves are twice
distance between the antennal toruli and the the gaster, while E. belgaumensis has 6 ventral
distance from the antennal toruli to the ridges to the mandible, appendage with 8
compoundeyesareintheratio5:1.Antenna(Fig. lamellae, 5 teeth to the dorso-axial comb of
11) 4 segmented; scape length: width ratio 2:1; foretibia; hindcoxa is devoid ofcirclet ofsetae
scape, pedicel and club in the ratio 2:1:2. and ovipositor valves are only 1.7 times the
Mandible (Fig. 12) 5:4, bidentate, two glands. gaster. In the males ofE. rehmani, head is 1.33
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.
NEWDESCRIPTIONS
times its width and foretibia has 3 teeth on the and Abdurahiman 1980). So no wasp can
dorsal comb, while inE. belgaumensis the head propagate its kind or effect pollination in any
is as long aswide andforetibiahas 6 teethonits plant except its specific host.
dorsal comb. Ficus benghalensis is pollinated by E.
Taxonomic position of Ficus krishnae masoni Saunders (1883). The presence of a
C.DC. pollinatorspecies ofits own, i.e. Eupristina (E.)
Prain (1906) pointed out that F. krishnae rehmani, preventsthechances ofFicuskrishnae
sharesmanyfeatureswithF. benghalensisL.and beingcrosspollinatedwithF. benghalensis. This
Corner (1965) treated it as a variety of F. favoursthe view thatindependent species status
benghalensis L. Studying the unique features of mustbe accorded to Ficus krishnae.
the development of its back-pocketed leaf, Etymology: The new species is named
Unnikrishnan and Hema (1990) recommended after Dr. U.C. Abdurahiman, Professor of
revision ofPrain’s opinion. Zoology, University ofCalicut, inhonour ofhis
In a mutualistic co-evolution, the contribution to ourknowledge offig insects.
phylogenic relationship ofeach partnermustbe
congruentwiththerelativephylogenyoftheother Acknowledgements
(Brooks 1985).Acomparisonoftheclassification
ofFicus and the fig insects reveals that barring I thank the Head of the Department of
a fewexceptions (Wiebes 1968, Compton 1990, Zoology, University of Calicut, Kerala for
Berg and Wiebes 1992) fig insects are species- providing necessary facilities and Dr. U.C.
specific, and related Ficus spp. have related Abdurahiman, ProfessorofZoology, University
pollinator wasps (Wiebes 1963, 1994; Wiebes ofCalicut, for inspiration.
ReferENCES
Berg,C.C.&J.T.Wiebes(1992):Africanfigtreesandfig Calcutta,AustraliaandMadagascarwithnoteson
wasps. Verh.Kon. Ned.Akad. Wet.Afd.Natk. 2de theirparasitesandontheaffinitiesoftherespective
reeks89,pp298. races. Trans, ent. Soc. Lond. 6-7, PI. 1.
Brooks,D.R.(1985):Historicalecology:Anewapproach Unnikrishnan,K. & K.S. Hema(1990): Developmentof
tostudyingtheevolutionofecologicalassociations. back-pocketed leaf in Ficus krishnae C.DC.
Ann. No. Bot. Gard. 74: 660-680. Phytomorphology40(1&2): \5\-\51
Compton, S.G. (1990): A collapse of host specificity Wiebes,J.T. (1963): Taxonomy and hostpreferencesof
insomeAfricanfigwasps.Sth.Afr.J. Sci. 86:39- Indo-AustralianfigwaspsofthegenusCeratosolen
49. (Agaonidae). Tijdschr. Ent. 106: 1-112.
Corner, E.J.H. (1965): Checklist ofFicus in Asia and Wiebes,J.T.(1968):FigwaspsfromIsraelFicussycomorus
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Singapore21: 1-186. Chalcidoidea).Zool.Meded.Leiden. 42:307-320.
Joseph,K.J.(1954):Contributionstoourknowledgeoffig Wiebes, J.T. (1994): The Indo-Australian Agaoninae
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Prain, D.(1906): Ficuskrishnae. Bot. Maq. Ser.4. on Platyscapa Motschoulsky (Hymenoptera:
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