First Nearctic record of Diolcogaster claritibia (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Microgastrinae), with notes on taxonomic status and natural history

Abstract

• The Microgastrinae wasp Diolcogaster claritibia (Papp, 1959) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a parasitoid of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), is recorded from the Nearctic region (Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario, Canada) for the first time. In spite of some minor morphological and molecular (DNA barcoding) differences, the available data indicate that the European and New World specimens should be considered one species, but more specimens and loci need to be sampled to conclusively determine the phylogeographic history of the species. Diolcogaster claritibia seems to be widely distributed within the Holarctic, and the molecular data suggest that it was recently introduced to North America from Europe.