Gryon ancinla Kozlov & Lê (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae): host association, expanded distribution, redescription and a new synonymy

Authors: CHEN, HUAYAN - Sun Yat-Sen University; TALAMAS, ELIJAH - Florida Department Of Agriculture; BON, MARIE-CLAUDE - European Biological Control Laboratory (EBCL); MOORE, MATTHEW - Florida Department Of Agriculture

Submitted to: Biodiversity Data Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/8/2020
Publication Date: 10/26/2020
Citation: Chen, H., Talamas, E., Bon, M., Moore, M. 2020. Gryon ancinla Kozlov & Lê (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae): host association, expanded distribution, redescription and a new synonymy. Biodiversity Data Journal. 8: e47687. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.8.e47687.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.8.e47687

Interpretive Summary: The leaf-footed bug (Acanthocoris scaber) is a pest that feeds on many economically important vegetables in China where it has become a serious pest to chili production. A recent survey conducted in China to assess the parasitism of eggs of this pest yielded numerous specimens of Gryon, a genus of egg parasitoid wasps primarily associated with certain invasive pests detrimental to agriculture. Gryon contains widespread species, many lacking of comprehensive morphological and molecular description. Therefore its taxonomy is in urgent need of thorough revision in many regions in the world. In this study, the egg parasitoid wasp of the leaf-footed bug, Gryon ancinla, is redescribed based on a large sampling and an extensive comparison with closely related species in the region and in Africa. This study is a step forward in advancing the taxonomy of Gryon which contains potential biocontrol agents of invasive pests in the USA, such as the painted bug.

Technical Abstract: Gryon ancinla Kozlov & Lê (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) is reported for the first time outside Vietnam and as an egg parasitoid of the leaf-footed bug, Acanthocoris scaber (Hemiptera: Coreidae), a pest that feeds on many economically important vegetables in China. This species is redescribed based on morphological characters and molecular barcoding and compared to a large number of closely related species of Gryon in the region but also in Africa. The description of the species was generated using vSysLab, an online matrix-based tool for generating species description and all specimen and barcode records are deposited in Hymenoptera online and Genbank respectively. The results suggest that Gryon ancinla has a wide geographical distribution in South East Asia and comprised a least two mitochondrial haplogroups which can be found in sympatry in China. This study represent one of the steps forward in the advancement of the global taxonomy of Gryon.