Leptopilina (genus - parasitoids)

Figitidae • Cynipoidea (parasitoids) • Hymenoptera parasitoids • Beneficials/natural enemies

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female Leptopilina heterotoma ovipositing (click on image to enlarge it)
Authors: Bertanne Visser et al.
Source: Ecology & Evolution (2018) vol. 8, 7355-7364

Leptopilina (parasitoids) Förster, 1869

The genus Leptopilina is widely distributed and includes around 30 species of small wasps, typically below 2 mm in length. The hosts are larval stages of vinegar flies (mainly the genus Drosophila). The parasitized host larva continues to grow and the adult parasitoid emerges from the Drosophila pupa. Some hosts are resistant to the parasitoid and encapsulate the parasitoid larva. The adults wasps are mainly black with a compact body and a smooth and shiny cuticular surface.

Currently, the following species have been entered into the system:

• Leptopilina boulardi (parasitoid)
• Leptopilina heterotoma (parasitoid)
• Leptopilina japonica (parasitoid)