Anagrus Haliday

Triapitsyn, Serguei V., Rugman-Jones, Paul F., Jeong, Gilsang, Morse, Joseph G. & Stouthamer, Richard, 2010, Morphological and molecular differentiation of the Anagrus epos species complex (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae), egg parasitoids of leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) in North America, Zootaxa 2428, pp. 1-21 : 4

Anagrus Haliday

Chiappini et al. (1996) provided a key to the Holarctic species of Anagrus , redescribed the Nearctic species, and diagnosed the genus and its three subgenera (i.e., Anagrella Bakkendorf , Anagrus Haliday s. str., and Paranagrus Perkins ). All species treated below belong to the subgenus Anagrus (Anagrus) and its two species-groups, which were diagnosed by Chiappini (1989) and Chiappini et al. (1996). Triapitsyn (1998) reviewed the Anagrus species found in North American vineyards and orchards. All species of Anagrus in the A. epos complex belong to the incarnatus species group, recognized by the female clava bearing 5 mps, whereas A. erythroneurae , used as an outgroup in the molecular analyses only, belongs to the atomus species group, recognized by the female clava bearing 3 mps ( Trjapitzin & Chiappini 1994). Within the incarnatus species group in North America, species in the Anagrus epos complex are distinguished by the combination of their minute size (body length usually less than 0.6 mm, often less than 0.5 mm), F2 of the female antenna lacking mps, F3 with or without mps, and F4−F6 bearing mps, mesoscutum with a pair of submedian adnotaular setae, forewing usually with a distinct bare area in the broadest part of disc near its posterior margin, external plate of ovipositor with 2 or 3 distal setae, and also by generally light body color of the females (mostly yellow or light brown). Morphologically, species in the Anagrus epos complex, particularly A. epos as treated by Triapitsyn (1998), are somewhat similar to the mainly Neotropical species A. empoascae Dozier , which is also known from the Nearctic part of Mexico as well as from Delaware, Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina in the USA ( Triapitsyn 1997, 2002). Anagrus empoascae shares some of the morphological features with the named members of the Anagrus epos complex but differs from all of them (except for A. epos as treated here) by F3 of the female antenna always bearing a mps on both antennae ( Triapitsyn 1997). It differs from A. epos by the relatively shorter ovipositor (2.2–2.4x as long as protibia in A. empoascae , 2.8–3.1x as long as protibia in A. epos ). Ecologically, however, A. empoascae seems to be outside of the Anagrus epos complex as it is known primarily as an egg parasitoid of Empoasca spp. ( Cicadellidae ) on weeds and other low vegetation and crops, and also of Halticus bractatus (Say) (Miridae) on alfalfa ( Triapitsyn 1997, 2002), whereas members of the Anagrus epos complex mainly parasitize eggs of Erasmoneura spp. and Erythroneura spp. on trees, vines, and shrubs, while the natural host of A. epos in Minnesota is a proconiine sharpshooter, Cuerna fenestella .