Pteromalus cassotis

Pteromalus cassotis is a species of parasitic wasp in the family Pteromalidae that parasitizes the chrysalides of monarch butterflies. They are gregarious parasitoids, meaning a single female lays many eggs in a single host. Research into this species has documented that up to 425 adult wasps can emerge from a single chrysalis. The wasps have a heavy female bias, averaging 90% female.[2][3][4] Maximum entropy models suggest that the natural habitat of this species encompasses the continental United States, southern Canada and parts of Mexico; areas inhabited by the caterpillars of monarch butterflies, which are the larvae's hosts.[5]

Pteromalus cassotis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Hymenoptera
Family:
Pteromalidae
Subfamily:
Pteromalinae
Genus:
Pteromalus
Species:
P. cassotis
Binomial name
Pteromalus cassotis
Walker, 1847[1]
Synonyms
  • Pteromalus archippi Howard, 1889

References
  1. "Pteromalus cassotis Walker, 1847". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  2. Stenoien, C., McCoshum, S., Caldwell, W., De Anda, A., & Oberhauser, K. S. (2015). "New Reports that Monarch Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae, Danaus plexippus Linnaeus) are Hosts for a Pupal Parasitoid (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidae, Pteromalus cassotis Walker)". Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society. 88(1), 16-26. doi:10.2317/JKES1402.22.1
  3. "Pteromalus cassotis maybe - Pteromalus cassotis". BugGuide. Retrieved 2019-02-22.
  4. Oberhauser, Karen; Anda, Alma De; Caldwell, Wendy; McCoshum, Shaun; Stenoien, Carl (January 2015). "New Reports that Monarch Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae, Danaus plexippus Linnaeus) are Hosts for a Pupal Parasitoid (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidae, Pteromalus cassotis Walker)". Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society. 88 (1): 16–26. doi:10.2317/JKES1402.22.1. ISSN 0022-8567.
  5. McCoshum, S. M., Andreoli, S. L., Stenoien, C. M., Oberhauser, K. S., & Baum, K. A. (2016). "Species distribution models for natural enemies of monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) larvae and pupae: distribution patterns and implications for conservation". Journal of Insect Conservation. 20(2), 223-237. doi:10.1007/s10841-016-9856-z


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