Molecular techniques elucidate cryptic relationships within the Sirex noctilio North American parasitoid guild

Sirex noctilio Fabricus (Hymenoptera: Siricidae) is an exotic woodwasp first discovered in North America in 2004. Significant economic damage to Pinus species has ensued in the southern hemisphere where S. noctilio is non-native. The system in North America is unique, however, in that native siricids are present as well as a suite of parasitoids that exploit siricid hosts. Interactions of these parasitoids with native and invasive siricid species are challenging to unravel because of their cryptic lifestyle and the fact that several native parasitoids are morphologically similar yet exhibit distinct emergence phenologies. Parasitoids include Rhyssa crevieri Provancher, Rhyssa lineolata Kirby, Rhyssa persuasoria Linnaeus (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), and Ibalia leucospoides ensiger Hockenwarth (Hymenoptera: Ibaliidae). The goal of this research is to use sequencing of mitochondrial DNA to determine whether cryptic speciation has occurred in some of these species. Results from this research will aid in answering crucial taxonomic and phenological questions for the siricid-parasitoid complex in North America and will provide tools necessary for quantifying parasitism and impacts of parasitism on both S. noctilio and native siricids.