Abstract
Phanerotoma conopomorphae sp. nov. (Cheloninae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is described and illustrated; a solitary parasitoid of the litchi fruit borer Conopomorpha sinensis Bradley (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) of Litchi chinensis Sonn. in Guangdong (South China). The new species is compared with related species from the Oriental region. Conopomorpha sinensis Bradley (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) is one of the major pests of litchi and longan trees (Qian, 1955; Yao, 1990). The larvae cause considerable yield losses and economic injury by penetrating the leaves, flowers and fruits (Feng et al, 2004; Li, 2005). Sometimes the fruit production is reduced by 60%-80% in Guangdong (China) (Huang et al, 2001). Because the larvae live inside the fruits, theyare very difficult to control by traditional methods. Three species of Braconidae are known to occur on this host (Yu et al, 2007): Chelonus chailini Walker & Huddleston, 1987; Parachremylus litchii Belokobylskij & Maeto, 2006 (both also on C. litchiella Bradley, 1986) and Protapanteles conopomorphae (Tsang & You, 2007).
NSTL