''Cotesia'' is a genus of
braconid wasps
first described by
Peter Cameron Peter Cameron is the name of:
* Peter Cameron (entomologist) (1847–1912), English entomologist who specialised in Hymenoptera
* Peter Cameron (minister) (born 1945), Scottish-born Church of Scotland minister convicted of heresy by the Presbyteria ...
in 1891. Some species parasitize caterpillars of species considered
pest
Pest or The Pest may refer to:
Science and medicine
* Pest (organism), an animal or plant deemed to be detrimental to humans or human concerns
** Weed, a plant considered undesirable
* Infectious disease, an illness resulting from an infection
** ...
s, and are used as
biocontrol agents. ''
Cotesia congregata'' parasitizes the
tomato and the
tobacco hornworms. ''
C. glomerata'' and ''
C. rubecula'' feed on the
cabbage white Cabbage white or cabbage butterfly may refer to:
* ''Pieris brassicae'', a Palearctic butterfly
* ''Pieris rapae
''Pieris rapae'' is a small- to medium-sized butterfly species of the whites-and-yellows family Pieridae. It is known in Europe as ...
and other
white butterfly White butterfly may refer to:
;Biology:
* ''Pierinae'', a subfamily of butterflies commonly called the whites
* ''Pieris'', a genus of Pierinae commonly called the whites or garden whites
* ''Appias'', another genus of Pierinae sometimes called the ...
caterpillars. ''
C. gonopterygis'' and ''
C. risilis'' are host-specific and parasitize the
common brimstone
''Gonepteryx rhamni'' (known as the common brimstone) is a butterfly of the family Pieridae. It lives throughout the Palearctic realm, Palearctic zone and is commonly found across Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Across much of its range, it is ...
.
[Lozan, Aurel; Spitzer, Karel; Jaroš, Josef (2012-06-01)]
"Isolated peat bog habitats and their food connections: parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonoidea) and their lepidopteran hosts"
''Journal of Insect Conservation''. 16 (3): 391–397. ISSNbr>1366-638X
doibr>10.1007/s10841-011-9425-4
The wasp ''
C. melanoscelus'' parasitizes the
caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths).
As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...
of the
spongy moth. It, and the spongy moth, are native to Europe. The spongy moth is an invasive species in North America, and ''C. melanoscelus'' has been imported as a biocontrol of the moth.
''
Cotesia icipe'' is a
parasitoid
In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionarily stable str ...
of ''
Spodoptera littoralis'' and
beet armyworm (''Spodoptera exigua'') which are pests of
amaranth
''Amaranthus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of annual or short-lived perennial plants collectively known as amaranths. Some amaranth species are cultivated as leaf vegetables, pseudocereals, and ornamental plants. Catkin-like cymes of densely pack ...
crops.
Species
List of ''Cotesia'' species
File:HYME Braconidae Cotesia ruficrus.png, ''Cotesia ruficrus'' illustrated by Des Helmore
File:Braconidae - Cotesia glomerata - Cocoons.JPG, ''Cotesia'' sp. cocoons
File:Cotesia cocoons.jpg, ''Cotesia'' sp. cocoons
See also
*
List of Cotesia species
References
External links
Preliminary evolutionary relationships within the parasitoid wasp genus ''Cotesia''*
Microgastrinae
Braconidae genera
Articles containing video clips
{{Ichneumonoidea-stub