Biosystematics Studies On The Cotesia Flavipes Complex (Hymenopter: Braconidae: Microgastrinae)

The Cotesia flavipes complex is currently considered to include five species: Cotesia flavipes (Cammeron) which occurs in the Indo-Australian region, C.sesamiae (Cammeron) in Africa, C.chilonis [Munakata] in Japan and China, C.chiloluteelli (You et Xiong) in China and C.hanshouensis (You et Xiong) in China. The species of the complex are all gregarious endoparasitoids of lepidopteran stemborers of gramineous plants, and they are very important in classical biological control programs against various cereal stemborers.In the present paper, historical review, morphology, biology and applications of the Cotesia flavipes complex in classical biological control programmes are introduced briefly and systematically. Based on morphological studies (include male genitalia), 25 character transformation series of 5 species of the complex (as ingroup) and 1 species of Microplitis and Dilolcogaster (as outgroup) respectively or 24 character transformation series of 5 species of this complex (as ingroup) and 3 species of the same genera (as outgroup) were selected. Through analysis of character polarity using the method of outgroup analysis, two character data matrixes were obtained. Then through analysis of Hennig86 software based on the method of cladistics, two consensus cladograms were constructed at last. The results of the cladograms indicated that the Cotesia flavipes complex is a monophyletic group and that C.sesamiae and C.chilonis are more closely related, C.chiloluteelli and C.hanshouensis are more closely related, too, C.flavipes is a species to be independed upon above 4 species. It was also founded that among the 5 species of Cotesia flavipes complex, C.flavipes is primitive, C.sesamiae and C.chilonis are primitive secondly, C.chiloluteelli and C.hanshouensis are the relatively evolutive species. In conclution, wo do whatever the relative genus as outgroup or the relative species as outgoup, the results can correctly reflect the relationships among the species of Cotesia flavipes complex.