Diachasma alloeum

Diachasma alloeum
Diachasma alloeum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Superfamily: Ichneumonoidea
Family: Braconidae
Subfamily: Opiinae
Genus: Diachasma
Species: D. alloeum
Binomial name
Diachasma alloeum
(Muesebeck, 1956)

Diachasma alloeum is a small wasp in the family Braconidae. It is a parasitoid of Rhagoletis pomonella, the apple maggot. The wasp lays its eggs into third instar larvae of the fly, which then develop after the larvae have pupated. The immature wasps then eat the fly larvae and overwinter inside the fly puparia.

Diachasma alloeum wasps attacking Rhagoletis pomonella in apples appear to be undergoing a speciation event in concert with their hosts.[1] This is an example of sequential sympatric speciation.

References

  1. ^ Forbes, A.A., L.L. Stelinski, T.H.Q. Powell, J.J. Smith and J.L. Feder. 2009. Sequential sympatric speciation across trophic levels. Science 323: 776-779.