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Eucharitidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) is group of wasps unique as the only insect family comprised solely of ant parasitoids. Parasitoids consume a single host, eventually killing it. The larval eucharitids eat the immature ants. Some eucharitids (genus Orasema) attack pestiferous ants such as the fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) and the little fire ant (Wasmannia auropunctata).
Eucharitids are found almost worldwide. There are currently over 500 species described. Particular groups of eucharitids are parasitoids of specific groups of ants -- typically exhibiting host specificity at the level of ant subfamily. |
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For my PhD, I used molecular (DNA) data to estimate the age and evolutionary relationships of Eucharitidae, with a focus on the New World Kapala clade, a group of 14 genera. There are a few rare genera of New World eucharitids that I could incorporate into phylogenetic analyses only by way of coding morphological characters using museum specimens, but otherwise I used a dataset of five genes for the majority of analyses. I also explored aspects of the ant host associations, historical biogeography, and lineage diversification of the eucharitids.
Main Findings:
- Eucharitidae originated after their ant hosts, though the eucharitids are still >72 million years old.
- Across the eucharitid family, there were several (probably 5) dispersal events from the Old World to the New World (North/Central/South America), all estimated to have occurred in the past 35 million years.
What next?
John Heraty at UCR is heading up a project (National Science Foundation grant) to use next-gen sequencing (anchored hybrid enrichment and transcriptomes) to produce a phylogeny on the superfamily Chalcidoidea -- and there will be plenty of eucharitids represented. The overall project is really cool in its emphasis on describing and incorporating hundreds of fossils, and in that a comprehensive book will be produced. I'll be collaborating on the Eucharitidae chapter.
John Heraty at UCR is heading up a project (National Science Foundation grant) to use next-gen sequencing (anchored hybrid enrichment and transcriptomes) to produce a phylogeny on the superfamily Chalcidoidea -- and there will be plenty of eucharitids represented. The overall project is really cool in its emphasis on describing and incorporating hundreds of fossils, and in that a comprehensive book will be produced. I'll be collaborating on the Eucharitidae chapter.
selected references:
Heraty, J.M. (2002) A revision of the genera of Eucharitidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) of the world. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute, 68, 1-359.
Heraty, J.M., et al, incl. Murray, E. (2013) A phylogenetic analysis of the megadiverse Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera). Cladistics, 29, 466-542.
Murray, E.A. & Heraty, J.M. (2016) Invading Africa: a novel transoceanic dispersal by a New World ant parasitoid. Journal of Biogeography, 43, 1750-1761.
Murray, E.A., Carmichael, A.E. & Heraty, J.M. (2013) Ancient host shifts followed by host conservatism in a group of ant parasitoids. Proc Roy Soc, B, 280, 20130495. [pdf; host associations and dated phylogeny]
also: John Heraty has a website with a list and PDFs of 100+ eucharitid publications here.
The image at top is a male Thoracantha, a genus from the Kapala clade. This species is from South America.
Heraty, J.M. (2002) A revision of the genera of Eucharitidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) of the world. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute, 68, 1-359.
Heraty, J.M., et al, incl. Murray, E. (2013) A phylogenetic analysis of the megadiverse Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera). Cladistics, 29, 466-542.
Murray, E.A. & Heraty, J.M. (2016) Invading Africa: a novel transoceanic dispersal by a New World ant parasitoid. Journal of Biogeography, 43, 1750-1761.
Murray, E.A., Carmichael, A.E. & Heraty, J.M. (2013) Ancient host shifts followed by host conservatism in a group of ant parasitoids. Proc Roy Soc, B, 280, 20130495. [pdf; host associations and dated phylogeny]
also: John Heraty has a website with a list and PDFs of 100+ eucharitid publications here.
The image at top is a male Thoracantha, a genus from the Kapala clade. This species is from South America.
Images copyright Andrew Murray (my brother). Solitary bees & a cuckoo wasp. You can find them on his Capture Minnesota webpage.