2026-04-17T06:23:27Zhttps://recercat.cat/oai/requestoai:recercat.cat:20.500.12327/48642025-11-27T06:13:58Zcom_2072_4428com_2072_4427col_2072_487898
RECERCAT
author
Levi-Mourao, Alexandre
author
Lazarevic, Maja
author
Parés-Casanova, Pere Miquel
author
Meseguer, Roberto
author
Pons, Xavier
author
Zikic, Vladimir
other
Producció Vegetal
group
Protecció Vegetal Sostenible
2025-11-27T06:13:58Z
2025-11-27T06:13:58Z
2025-07-24
0007-4853
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12327/4864
https://doi.org/10.1017/s000748532510028x
The alfalfa weevil Hypera postica Gyllenhal (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is one of the most destructive alfalfa pests in the world, resulting in substantial economic losses. However, the amount of damage can be reduced by larval parasitoids of the genus Bathyplectes Förster (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) as a conservation biological control strategy. Parasitoids are currently identified by morphological body characteristics, cocoon morphology, and/or DNA analysis, but geometric morphometrics (GM) applied to the wing vein arrangement may also reveal differences between specimens. We distinguished 61 B. anurus (Thomson) and 41 B. curculionis (Thomson) specimens, based on the appearance of the cocoon. GM revealed statistically significant differences in wing vein patterns and fore wing shapes between species, but not between sexes within the same species. The 1 M + 1R1 cell, also known as the horsehead cell, was revealed to be an easy and reliable morphological character for species differentiation. Despite the New World literature, this is the first European report providing a visual method to differentiate B. anurus from B. curculionis. This study highlights the importance of precise species identification methods, such as geometric morphometry. It can contribute to a better implementation of biological control strategies against the alfalfa weevil in Spain and other Mediterranean countries.
eng
Attribution 4.0 International
Differentiation of two Bathyplectes species, B. anurus and B. curculionis, parasitoids of the Alfalfa weevil (Hypera postica) in Spain
info:eu-repo/semantics/article