A new species of Andesipolis whitfield & choi from the eastern Andes of Ecuador with notes on biology and classification (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Rhysipolinae)

Abstract

A new species of braconid wasp, Andesipolisyanayacu, is described from the eastern Andes of Ecuador. Andesipolisyanayacu was reared as a gregarious koinobiont parasitoid of shelter building Pyralidae (Lepidoptera) larvae feeding on Urticaceae (Phenax rugosus and Boehmeria bullata). These are the first biological observations for the genus Andesipolis and the first species recorded from Ecuador. This is also the northern-most record for the genus as previously described species are from Chile. Based on morphological attributes and the newly discovered biology, Andesipolis is re-classified from the subfamily Mesostoinae into the subfamily Rhysipolinae.