Vol. 96. No. 3 May & June. 1985 93 OBSERVATIONS ON ANACHARIS MELANONEURA (HYMENOPTERA: FIGITIDAE), A PARASITE OF HEMEROBIUS STIGMA (NEUROPTERA: HEMEROBIIDAE) 1 Gary L. Miller^, Paris L. Lambdin^ ABSTRACT: Hymenoptera of the figitid genus Anacharis Dalman are frequently recorded as parasites of hemerobiids, but little is known about their biology. Figitid wasps, tentatively identified as Anacharis melanoneura Ashmead, were reared from field-collected larvae of Hemerobius stigma Stephens at Knoxville, TN. Wasps were allowed to parasitize H. stigma larvae from a laboratory colony. Developmental time from oviposition until adult emergence was20days(19-21,n=5). Adult longevity was 15.5 days (6 and 25. n=2) for field-collected specimens and 10.5 days (4-23. n=5) for laboratory-reared specimens. Oviposition behavior was noted and illustrations of the lateral habitus of the parasite female, last instar larva, and pupa are provided. Literature pertaining to larval parasites of the Hemerobiidae is not extensive. Killington (1936) summarized much of the early work relating to the species in Great Britain. In the Nearctic region, most references to parasites of hemerobiids (Muesebeck et al. 1951, Krombein et al. 1 979 a, b) lack specific identification of either the parasite or both parasite and host. Wegenek (1950) reared figitid wasps (Anacharis spp.) from Hemerobius neadelphus Gurney, H. ovalis Carpenter, and H. pacificus Banks. Anacharis sp. has also been reared from Micromus posticus Walker and M. subanticus Walker (Selhime and Kanavel 1968). Deyrup and Deyrup (1978) reared Charitopes spp., Anacharis sp., Aegilips spp., and an unidentified ceraphronid from Hemerobius cocoons. Despite the records of parasites reared from hosts, it is not always possible to distinguish a parasite as a primary or hyperparasite (Killington 1936). In the few references to biologies of these parasites, Deyrup and Deyrup (1978) noted that Charitopes spp. oviposited on mature hemerobiid larvae (prepupal) within the cocoon. Wegenek (1950) provided general observations on Anacharis spp. host, pupation, and emergence of the adult. Later, Selhime and Kanavel (1968) recorded the developmental time and host preference for Anacharis sp. on M. subanticus and M. posticus. They 1 Received July 17, 1984. Accepted December 4, 1984. ^Department of Zoology-Entomology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849. 3 Department of Entomology-PI ant Pathology, The University of Tennessee. Knoxville. TN 36901. ENT. NEWS 96(3): 93-97, May & June 1985
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