Species discovery, host associations and genetic characterization of North American Coptera (Hymenoptera: Diapriidae)

While it is estimated that there are 80 - 100 North American species in the parasitoid genus Coptera Say (Hymenoptera: Diapriidae), less than half of these have been described, and hosts are known for just nine. The taxonomy of Coptera is confounded by its cryptic morphology and a life history that includes parasitism of pupae beneath the surface of soils.  In North America, Coptera are most frequently associated with flies in the agriculturally important fruit fly genus Rhagoletis (Loew) (Diptera: Tephritidae). We employed yellow pan trapping to collect adult Coptera beneath host plants of seven different species of Rhagoletis.  In addition, we reared Coptera adults from pupae isolated from soil beneath host plants of two Rhagoletis species.  The Coptera collected thus far suggest a high degree of host specificity.  While more than one Coptera species has been found within a single habitat via yellow pan trapping, pupae isolated from within a single habitat have yielded only a single Coptera species.  Pupal infestation by Coptera was found to be 24.1% in one hawthorn habitat (Rhagoletis pomonella host), indicating promise for the use of Coptera as a biological control agent in Rhagoletis.  Analyses of morphology, ecology, and molecular phylogenies have exposed at least one new Coptera species in our collections (Coptera n. sp. 1), as well as two new host associations.  Future goals include documenting the diversity of North American Coptera and evaluating historical patterns of coevolution with their Rhagoletis fly hosts.