Dusona Lat. “Dusona“
Dusona is a genus of parasitoid wasps belonging to the family Ichneumonidae. It is the most species rich genus of the subfamily Campopleginae with 442 known species.
Description
Dusona is an easily recognized genus among other Campopleginae due to a number of clear diagnostic characteristics which include: elongated, oval or slit-shaped propodeal spiracles; a very strongly compressed metasoma; closed areolets and petiolar sutures that are often obliterated or positioned very low anteriorly. Additionally many species reach unusually large body sizes, some exceeding 20 mm (see Dusona falcator). The thorax and head of most species are uniformly black, with the abdomen varying between black, red, brown, orange and yellow, with the fist tergit and the outer most tergites most usually black.
Ecology
All species of Dusona are parasitoids, with the main hosts being the larvae of Lepidopterans. The host is usually killed as a prepupa, in a few cases as a pupa. Only one species, Dusona minor, has been reported as a parasitoid of larva outside of Lepidoptera, parasitoidizing the sawfly Monoctenus juniperi.
Species
Ancestry Graph
Further Information
„Dusona“ on iNaturalist.org
Copyright
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Dusona the free encyclopedia Wikipedia which is released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License). On Wikipedia a list of authors is available.
Little beings in print
Order our calendars and books today!
Compiled with love. Printed sustainably. Experience our little beings even more vividly in print. All our publications are available for a small donation.
