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Revision of mimallonid hosts (Lepidoptera: Mimallonidae) of tachinid flies (Diptera: Tachinidae), including a new host record in the Amazon rainforest

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Abstract

Mimallonid moths, also known as sack-bearer moths, are a small family of Lepidoptera restricted to the New World. Although there have been recent improvements and clarifications in the taxonomy of Mimallonidae species, little is known about their life history and the parasitoids associated with them. Here, we record for the first time the mimallonid species Psychocampa concolor Grote and Robinson as the host of the tachinid Archytas araujoi Guimarães, in the Amazon rainforest of Macapá, state of Amapá, Brazil. The taxonomy of A. araujoi is discussed and notes and illustrations of the immature stages and adults of P. concolor are provided. Additionally, we present a revision of mimallonid hosts of Tachinidae in an annotated host catalog, including an overview of the host use and oviposition strategies of their respective parasitoids.

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Acknowledgements

We are indebted to the Instituto de Biociências da Universidade de São Paulo (IBUSP) and Silvio Nihei (IBUSP) for their research support and to the library staff of IBUSP for their help with references. We are also grateful to Ryan St. Laurent (USNM) for the identification of Psychocampa concolor; to Luciano Margalho of the Instituto Federal do Pará (IFPA) for the identification of Cecropia peltate; and to Elaine Rego for allowing us access to the study field, indicating the plants infested by the larvae of P. concolor. We thank Sérgio Rodrigues Filho for his valuable assistance during the conception of this study and two anonymous reviewers for valuable comments and suggestions on an earlier version of the manuscript.

Funding

FMG thanks Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for financial support (proc. 140113/2016-9 and proc. 152937/2022-6).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Filipe Macedo Gudin

  2. Universidade do Estado do Amapá, Macapá, AP, Brazil

    Paulo Pacheco Junior

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Contributions

FMG identified the parasitoid species, described and discussed the taxonomy of the specimens, and wrote the first draft. PPJ collected the data, photographed the specimens, and edited the images. Both authors contributed to the conception and design of the study, and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Filipe Macedo Gudin.

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Gudin, F.M., Pacheco Junior, P. Revision of mimallonid hosts (Lepidoptera: Mimallonidae) of tachinid flies (Diptera: Tachinidae), including a new host record in the Amazon rainforest. Int J Trop Insect Sci 43, 2057–2066 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42690-023-01108-1

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