Nonnus niger ( Brullé, 1846 )

Marinho, Luana S., Onody, Helena C., Burla, Juan P., Castiglioni, Enrique & Fernandes, Daniell R. R., 2022, Nonnus niger (Brullé, 1846) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Nesomesochorinae) in eastern Uruguay: new records and comments about phenology, Revista Chilena de Entomología (Rev. Chil. Entomol.) 48 (3), pp. 605-613 : 608-611

Nonnus niger ( Brullé, 1846)

Atractodes albitarsis Brullé 1846: 166 [original designation]; Townes & Townes 1966: 141 [synonymy]. Holotype male, Brazil (MNHN).

Atractodes niger Brullé 1846: 168 [original designation]; Krieger 1903: 291 [synonymy]. Holotype female, Brazil (MNHN).

Nonnus biannulatus Cameron 1911: 178 [original designation]; Townes & Townes 1966: 141 [synonymy]. Holotype female, Guyana (BMNH).

Material examined. 13 females, 79 males. URUGUAY, Rocha, Castillos, Don Bosco – Bosque campo 34°05’1.07” S 53°45’43.08” W, Arm. Malaise 2, 29.XII.2014 E. Castiglioni e eq. cols. (11 males, INPA) ; same, except 1, 12.I.2015 (5 males, INPA) ; same, except 2, 12.I.2015 (9 males, INPA) ; same, except 1, 28.I.2015 (1 males, INPA) ; same, except 2, 28.I.2015 (8 males, INPA) ; same, except 1, 11.II.2015 (2 males, INPA) ; same, except 2, 11.II.2015 (10 males, INPA) ; same, except 1, 13.X.2015 (2 males, INPA) ; same, except 1, 27.X.2015 (1 female, INPA) ; same, except 2, 14.I.2016 (1 male, INPA) ; same, except 2, 28.I.2016 (2 males, INPA) ; same, except 2, 12.II.2015 (1 male, INPA) ; same, except Cardoso – campo natural 34°05’26.8”S 53°52’14.4”W, 2, 10.IV.2015 (1 female, INPA) ; same, except 1, 27.IV.2015 (1 female, INPA) ; same, except 2, 27.IV.2015 (1 female, INPA) ; same, except 1, 12.V.2015 (1 female, INPA) ; same, except 1, 10.VII.2015 (1 male, INPA) ; same, except 2, 28.IX.2015 (1 male, INPA) ; same, except Branaa – pasto agricultura 34°02’33.7”S, 53°50’02.7”W, 1, 13.XI.2015 (1 male, INPA) ; Cerro Largo, Sierra de Vaz, Rio Tacuari , 20 Km SE Melo, 23-26.III.1963, JK Bouseman collector (4 females, AMNH) ; Tacuarembó, 40 Km Nw Tacuarembó, 10-16.II.1963, JK Bouseman collector (4 males, AMNH) ; same data except 2-9.II.1963 (8 males, AMNH) .

Geographic distribution. Panama, Guiana, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil and Uruguay (new record) ( Fig. 2G ).

The 60 specimens of N. niger analyzed were collected in three phytophysiognomy of Uruguay, namely: NFA in Don Bosco with 53 specimens, PSA in Cardoso with six and IAA in Branaa with just one.

Males and females of this species have similar morphology, being easily recognized by the following characteristics: body completely black, robust and slightly leathery ( Figs. 2 A- B); mesoscutum punctuated ( Fig. 2C ); propodeum with transverse striations in the center and with a heavily raised posterior carina centrally and laterally ( Fig. 2F ); tarsal claws pectinate completely ( Fig. 2D ); notaulus weak present anteriorly ( Fig. 2E ).

As for the sex ratio, there was a significant sampling only in the Don Bosco area, with the presence of 52 males for 1 female (X² = 49,075, p <0.001). Due to the low abundance in the areas of Cardoso (PSA), Branaa (IAA) and Llambi (IAA), these were excluded from the analysis.

Onody et al. (2021) carried out a study in different phytophysiognomies of the Estação Ecológica de JataÍ reserve, Luiz Antônio, São Paulo, Brazil, where a total of 219 specimens of N. niger were collected, and the sex ratio observed by them was five males for one female (X² = 72.924, p <0.0001) in the gallery forest and approximately nine males for one female (X² = 39.361, p <0.0001) in the “Cerradão”, this abundance of male in the study can be compared with the abundance of males that occurred in this research in the Don Bosco area .

previos, y los puntos azules los nuevos registros. Onody et al. (2021) also reported that females can spend most of their time looking for hosts in soils and foliage. However, other reasons associated with the biology and behavior of the species cannot be rejected. Fox et al. (1990) studied the interaction between the cabbage plant ( Brassica oleracea var. acephala ), cruciferous moths ( DBM, Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus, 1758)) ( Yponomeutidae ) and its parasitoid wasp Diadegma insulare (Cresson, 1865) ( Ichneumonidae ), in addition, a rate of parasitism and sex ratio of D. insulare was observed, which concluded that the parasitoids are sensitive to the quality of the plant and the host, thus understanding that the higher proportion of females is a direct response to the high quality of the hosts.

Regarding the time of occurrence, we verified that the peak of abundance occurred from October to February, with the rest of the months without the capture of individuals ( Fig. 3 ). This may have occurred due to factors that can affect the timing of the reconciliation of insect populations, such as the temporal availability of their resources ( Dixon 2003; Freire et al. 2014), in addition to environmental heterogeneity ( Sutcliffe et al. 1996), variation climate and the presence of natural enemies and predators ( Wallner 1987; Wolda 1988). This is because parasitoid insects are specialized and operate at higher trophic levels ( Shaw 2006).

For a more robust sampling, long-term studies and successive samplings can be an effective strategy for collecting insects that have a well-defined temporal occurrence, as in this case of N. niger . In Malaise trap surveys, some long-term sampling in the same sampling area has been shown to be effective in capturing species of unusual families of parasitoid Hymenoptera such as Chrysididae , Dryinidae , Monomachidae , Pelecinidae and Sclerogibbidae ( Lucena et al. 2012; Lara & Perioto 2014; Versuti et al. 2014; Perioto et al. 2016; Fernandes et al. 2017).

Thus, in the area of Don Bosco (NFA), it was possible to observe a significant sampling for the abundance of males, this may have occurred by the collection method used, the Malaise trap, this result corroborates the studies of Aguiar & Santos (2010) and Onody et al. (2021). Aguiar & Santos (2010) reported in their study that some groups of Ichneumonidae can be collected with Malaise traps in a different way, being able to collect individuals of a certain sex, in addition to being effective in intercepting flight, thus, explaining the greater capture of males. This report was repeated in the work by Onody et al. (2021) in which the abundance of males was significant, in addition, they carried out a long-term work using the Malaise trap collection method, which was active without interruption, where it was possible to obtain a large sample of individuals collected in the phytophysiognomy localities of the Cerrado biome in São Paulo ( Brazil).

Therefore, the present research showed that a long-term study in different phytophysiognomies of Uruguay was important to know more about the N. niger fauna in the locality because it was possible to observe that there was a deviation in the sex ratio of males that were significant in the natural field area of Don Bosco and that there was a sampling void of collections in the period from March to September, this may have occurred due to climatic variation of the place or food resource.

Figures

Figure 2. Nonnus niger (Brullé, 1846). A. Habitus female.B. Habitus male.C. Mesoscutum, lateral view. D. Tarsal claws, ventral view.E. Mesoscutum, dorsal view.F. Propodeum, dorsalview.G. Distribution map, where the red dots are the previous records, and the blue dot are the new records. / A. Habitus hembra. B. Habitus macho. C. Mesoscuto, vista lateral. D. Garra tarsal, vista ventral. E. Mesoscuto, vista dorsal.F. Propodeo, vista dorsal. G. Mapa de distribución, donde los puntos rojos son registros

Figure 3. Total number of individuals of Nonnus niger (Brullé) collected per month in a natural field area in Don Bosco, Uruguay, in the years 2014 to 2016. / Número total de individuos de Nonnus niger (Brullé) recolectados por mes en el área de campo natural Don Bosco, Uruguay, años 2014 a 2016.