Conura baturitei sp. nov. (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae): a hyperparasitoid of spiders through Zatypota riverai (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae)

Abstract

Conura, the largest genus of Chalcididae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea), is mostly distributed in the New World where 295 of the 301 described species occur. Chalcididae are in some cases hyperparasitoids of insects. In this study, we report the unusual association of the hyperparasitoid Conura baturitei sp. nov. with spider species of the genus Theridion Walckenaer (Theridiidae) through Zatypota riverai Gauld (Ichneumonidae, Pimplinae, Polysphincta genus-group), a primary ectoparasitoid of spiders. The new species is described and illustrated, and the host-parasitoid-hyperparasitoid interaction is discussed.