Intraspecific variation in Trichogramma bruni Nagaraja, 1983 (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) associated with...

Trichogramma bruni is an insufficiently studied South American species whose limits are still not well defined. Thus, the objective of the present study was to characterize T. bruni taxonomically and to determine the association between morphological variations as well as host and habitat, based on morphological and biological studies. Specimens from the Escola Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de Queiroz" (ESALQ) collection, and from the University of California Riverside (UCR) and specimens collected from the vegetation of forest parks with native areas planted with eucalyptus in Piracicaba and Itatinga, State of São Paulo, were also analyzed. The holotype deposited at Univeridade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) collection was also examined. The variability in the genital capsule of T. bruni observed both among individuals of the same progeny and among specimens from different hosts is remarkable and is mainly related to the dorsal lamina. Therefore, an association of diagnostic characters rather than the dorsal lamina alone should be used for the identification of T. bruni and intraspecific variations should be considered. The intraspecific variation observed for T. bruni is a factor that should be considered for its identification, since the influence of the environment (habitat + host) and the variation among individuals itself is responsible for the plasticity observed in the genital capsule. Heliconius erato phyllis, Hamadryas feronia, Erosina hyberniata and Mechanitis lysiminia are new hosts of T. bruni.