Abstract
This paper reports Blascoa ephedrae Askew, 1997, from Kashmir Himalaya, which is first record of this insect species from Asia. To validate this new record, a brief diagnosis, photographic illustrations and distributional map of the species are provided. In addition, the present study first time describes a novel interaction between B. ephedrae and a gymnosperm plant Ephedra intermedia, wherein the insect forages the female cones and completes life cycle by overwintering within the seeds of this plant species. Such a phytophagous behavior suggests the role of B. ephedrae in retarding the reproductive potential of E. intermedia in Kashmir Himalaya.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Askew RR, Blasco-Zumeta J (1997) Parasitic hymenoptera inhabiting seeds of Ephedra nebrodensis in Spain, with descriptions of a phytophagous pteromalid and four other new species of Chalcidoidea. J Nat Hist 31:965–982. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222939700770471
Narendran TC, Singh R, Sharma P (2006) On some interesting chalcidoid parasitoids associated with Ephedra foliata Boiss ex C.A. Meyer in India. Rec Zoolog Surv India l06:1–11
Bolinder K, Humphreys AM, Ehrlen J, Alexandersson R, Ickert-Bond SM, Rydin C (2016) From near extinction to diversification by means of a shift in pollination mechanism in the gymnosperm relict Ephedra (Ephedraceae, Gnetales). Bot J Linn Soc 180:461–477. https://doi.org/10.1111/boj.12380
Rather ZA, Wachkoo AA, Khuroo AA, Dar AR (2019) First record of Aspicera hartigi (Hymenoptera, Figitidae) from India, with observations on its foraging behavior on Ephedra plants. J Asia-Pacific Biodiv 12(3):473–476. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.japb.2019.03.007-
Rather ZA, Khuroo AA, Dar AR, Dar TUH (2020) Smartphone-integrated field microscopy (SPFM): a low-cost and portable tool to study live biological specimens in the wild. Plant Biosyst Int J Deal Aspects Plant Biol 154(5):757–765. https://doi.org/10.1080/11263504.2019.1686081
Stapf O (1889) Arten der Gattung Die Ephedra. Denkschr. Kaiserl Akad Wiss Math Naturwiss Kl 56:1–112
Xiao H, Huang DW, Heydon SL (2000) Preliminary study of pteromalid diversity in China: taxonomic and geographic variation. In: Hymenoptera: evolution, biodiversity and biological control. Fourth International Hymenoptera Conference, held in Canberra, Australia, in January 1999. (320–327). CSIRO Publishing.
Boućek Z, Subba Rao BR, Farooqi SI (1978) A preliminary review of Pteromalidae (Hymenoptera) of India and adjacent countries. Orient Insects 12:433–468. https://doi.org/10.1080/00305316.1978.10432529
Burks BD (1979) Family pteromalidae. Catalog Hymenopt Am North Mexico 1:768–835
Bouček Z, Rasplus JY (1991) Illustrated keys to West Palearctic genera of Pteromalidae (Hymenopteran, Chalcidoidae. Institut National de la RechercheAgronomique, Paris pp. 153
Jousselin E, Elias M (2019) Testing host-plant driven speciation in phytophagous insects: a phylogenetic perspective. Preprints 2019:020215. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints201902.0215.v1
Wachkoo AA, Van Steenis J, Rather ZA, Sengupta J, Banerjee D (2019) First record of the genus Spilomyia (Diptera, Syrphidae) from the Oriental region. Turkish J Zool 43:1811–1827
Acknowledgements
The authors are sincerely thankful to Department of Forest, Kashmir Division for their permission for field surveys. The financial support received from SERB-DST, Govt. of India, New Delhi, under the project “Taxonomic characterization and conservation assessment of Ephedra in India” (grant no: EMR/2015/000167) is highly acknowledged.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Significance statement: The present study reports Blascoa ephedrae Askew as first record from Asia with a brief diagnosis, photographic illustrations and distributional map. It also describes a novel interaction between B. ephedrae and a gymnosperm plant Ephedra intermedia for the first time. These findings have implications for taxonomy, biogeography, ecology, behaviour and plant-insect interactions of the investigated taxa.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Rather, Z.A., Buhroo, A.A., Parey, S.H. et al. First Record of Genus Blascoa (Pteromalidae) from Asia and Discovery of Its Novel Phytophagous Interaction with Ephedra. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., India, Sect. B Biol. Sci. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40011-024-01553-z
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40011-024-01553-z