Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #363400
Research Project: Systematics of Parasitic and Herbivorous Wasps of Agricultural Importance

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: Leaf mining insects and their parasitoids in the old-growth forest of the Huron Mountains

Author
item PRIEST, R. - Michigan State University
item Kula, Robert
item Gates, Michael

Submitted to: Great Lakes Entomologist
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/25/2019
Publication Date: 2/27/2020
Citation: Priest, R.J., Kula, R.R., Gates, M.W. 2020. Leaf mining insects and their parasitoids in the old-growth forest of the Huron Mountains. Great Lakes Entomologist. 52(3-4):117-160.

Interpretive Summary: Parasitic wasps attack agricultural and forest pests that cause billions of dollars of damage annually. The wasps treated in this paper attack leaf-mining insects that feed primarily on hardwood trees. Determining the spatiotemporal occurrence and host range of these wasps is critical for understanding how they impact host populations and in turn forest ecosystems. We report 67 leaf-mining taxa collected from 38 plant species resulting in 15 new host-host plant associations. We also report 42 wasp taxa reared from leaf-miner hosts, including 32 new wasp-host associations. Six wasp species are reported from the Western Hemisphere for the first time. This paper will be useful to scientists conducting research on these wasps, hosts, and host plants, as well as personnel in ecology, conservation biology, and insect pest management.

Technical Abstract: Leaf mining insects in an old-growth forest along the south central shore of Lake Superior in Michigan are documented. We present the results of a 13-year survey of leaf mining species, larval hosts, seasonal occurrence, and parasitoids, as well as report biological observations. Representative larvae, mines, adults, and parasitoids were preserved. Among the larval host associations, 15 are reported as new. Additionally, 42 parasitoid taxa were identified resulting in six first reports from the New World and 32 new host associations. Two undescribed species (Gelechiidae and Figitidae) discovered through this research were described in earlier publications.