''Latina'' is a genus of South American

chalcid wasp Chalcid wasps (, , for their metallic colour) are insects within the superfamily Chalcidoidea, part of the order Hymenoptera. The superfamily contains some 22,500 known species, and an estimated total diversity of more than 500,000 species, me ...

s in the family

Eucharitidae The Eucharitidae are a family of parasitic wasps.Ayre, G.L. Pseudometagea schwarzii (Ashm.) (Eucharitidae: Hymenoptera), a parasite of Lasius neoniger Emery (Formicidae: Hymenoptera). Canadian Journal of Zoology 40 (1962) : 157-164. Eucharitid ...

. There are four known species of ''Latina'' with three known in Argentina and one from Venezuela. Originally the genus was named ''Laurella'' in 2002, but it turned out that the name had already been assigned to a genus of bee flies 30 years prior, and so the name ''Latina'' was adopted as a replacement, in honor of Latin America where the genus occurs.

Biology

Like all members of the Euchratidae, ''Latina'' wasps are ant

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 ...

s. The wasp lays eggs on the undersides of leaves near the nests of

Ponerine Ponerinae is a subfamily of ants in the Poneromorph subfamilies group, with about 1,600 species in 47 extant genera, including ''Dinoponera gigantea'' - one of the world's largest species of ant. Mated workers have replaced the queen as the ...

ants. Within a few days the eggs hatch into planidial larvae that are mobile and can leap. They enter the ant colony, most likely being carried by, or riding on, the ants. Once inside, they seek out ant larvae as hosts. There the planidia attach to ant host larvae or prepupae where they feed. On completing their development they emerge, leaving the remains of the ant larva.

Species

*''Latina bonariensis'' - Argentina *''Latina guriana'' - Venezuela *''Latina rugosa'' - Argentina *''Latina vianai'' - Argentina

References

Hymenoptera genera Hymenoptera of South America Chalcidoidea {{Chalcidoidea-stub