Braconidae

Remarks
There are three different groups of Braconidae that attack fruit-infesting Tephritidae. The most frequently encountered braconids are members of the subfamily Opiinae. They are koinobiont endoparasitoids ovipositing in the host egg or larval stage and emerging as adult wasps from the host puparium. Additional details are provided under Diachasma , Diachasmimorpha , Doryctobracon , Fopius , Opius , Psyttalia , Sternaulopius , and Utetes.

The second group belongs to the subfamily Alysiinae. They are closely related to the Opiinae (Opiinae and Alysiinae are sister groups within the Braconidae) and have similar biologies. Most of the alysiines reared from fruits attack flies other than members of the family Tephritidae, but there are a few species routinely reared from fruit-infesting tephritids. Additional details are provided under Asobara and Microcrasis.

The third group belongs to the subfamily Braconinae. Several species of Bracon have been reared from fruit-infesting Tephritidae, and additional details are provided in a separate page for Bracon. Nearly all of the Braconinae reared from fruit (and all of the ones attacking Tephritidae) are idiobiont ectoparasitoids of the larval stages of their hosts.

Several other groups of Braconidae are commonly reared from insect-infested fruit, but these attack either lepidopteran or coleopteran larvae. Among these are members of the subfamilies Agathidinae, Cheloninae, and Microgastrinae (all parasitoids of lepidopteran larvae) and the Helconinae (parasitoids of coleopteran larvae). There are some records of Helconinae (Nealiolus sp. and Triaspis) from fruit-infesting tephritids, but I regard these as doubtful and in need of confirmation. The species that Silvestri (1914) recorded as Sigalphus daci from olives in Transvaal, for example, is a member of the genus Triaspis. All other species of Triaspis are parasitoids of Coleoptera. For example, Triaspis eugenii has been reared from the pepper weevil, Anthonomus eugenii, in Mexico and has been studied for use as a biological control agent in Florida (Wharton and López-Martínez 2000).

Distribution
No referenced distribution records have been added to the database for this OTU.