The family Agaonidae is a group of pollinating and nonpollinating fig wasps. They spend their larval stage inside the fruits of figs. The pollinating wasps (Agaoninae, Kradibiinae, and Tetrapusiinae) are the mutualistic partners of the fig trees. The non-pollinating fig wasps are parasitoids. Extinct forms from the Eocene and Miocene are nearly identical to modern forms, suggesting that the niche has been stable over geologic time.[1]
The family has changed several times since its taxonomic appearance after the work of Francis Walker in 1846[2] described from the wasp genus Agaon. Previously the subfamilies Epichrysomallinae, Otitesellinae, Sycoecinae, Sycoryctinae, Sycophaginae, and Agaoninae were the subdivisions of the family.[3] Recent works building strong molecular phylogenies with an extended sampling size have changed the composition of Agaonidae. First, the paraphyletic groups have been excluded (Epichrysomallinae, Otitesellinae, Sycoecinae, and Sycoryctinae) and new subfamilies have been instated (Kradibiinae and Tetrapusiinae).[4] Then the subfamily Sycophaginae have been placed within the family Agaonidae.[5] Within the Sycophaginae, some changes were made after the molecular phylogeny of the subfamily:[6] the genus Apocryptophagus has been synonymed under the genus Sycophaga.
Ecology
Wasps from the three subfamilies Agaoninae, Kradibiinae and Tetrapusiinae are pollinating fig wasps. On the other hand, Sycophaginae are parasites of the Ficus, developing in the fruits after other wasps have pollinated them. Nevertheless, some species in the genus Sycophaga have a controversial status; as they enter the fig by its ostiole, they possibly bring pollen inside the fig and might pollinate it.
Morphological adaptations
The pollinating female fig wasps are winged and in general dark, while the males are mostly wingless and whitish. This difference of color is probably due to a clear split in the gender role. Once they have mated, male and female fig wasps have different fates. In some fig species, such as Ficus subpisocarpa or Ficus tinctoria, the males have to chew a hole for the females to leave their natal fig. The winged female wasps can fly over long distances before finding another fig to oviposit in it, while the male dies after chewing a hole. As the fig is closed by a tight ostiole, the female wasps have developed adaptations to enter. First, the mandibles of the female wasps have developed specialized mandibular appendages to help them crawl into the figs. These appendages are adapted to the host fig species, with for instance spiraled ostioles matched by spiral mandibular appendages.[7] The nonpollinating wasps also have developed impressive morphological adaptations to deposit eggs inside the fig from the outside, in the form of an extremely long ovipositor.
^Compton SG, Ball AD, Collinson ME, Hayes P, Rasnitsyn AP, Ross AJ (December 2010). "Ancient fig wasps indicate at least 34 Myr of stasis in their mutualism with fig trees". Biology Letters. 6 (6): 838–42. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2010.0389. PMC3001375. PMID 20554563.
^Walker F (1846). List of the specimens of Hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part 1 Chalcidites. pp. vii+100pp.
^Bouček Z (1988). Australasian Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera). A biosystematic revision of genera of fourteen families with a reclassification of species. pp. 832pp.
^Cruaud A, Jabbour-Zahab R, Genson G, Cruaud C (August 2010). "Laying the foundations for a new classification of Agaonidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea), a multilocus phylogenetic approach". Cladistics. 26 (4): 359–87. doi:10.1111/j.1096-0031.2009.00291.x. PMID 34875808. S2CID 85436401.
^Heraty JM, Burks RA, Cruaud A, Gibson GA, Liljeblad J, Munro J, Rasplus JY, Delvare G, Janšta P, Gumovsky A, Huber J (January 2013). "A phylogenetic analysis of the megadiverse Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera)". Cladistics. 29 (5): 466–542. doi:10.1111/cla.12006. PMID 34798768. S2CID 86061702.
^Cruaud A, Jabbour-Zahab R, Genson G, Kjellberg F, Kobmoo N, van Noort S, et al. (June 2011). "Phylogeny and evolution of life-history strategies in the Sycophaginae non-pollinating fig wasps (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea)". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 11: 178. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-11-178. PMC3145598. PMID 21696591.
^van Noort S, Compton SG (July 1996). "Convergent evolution of agaonine and sycoecine (Agaonidae, Chalcidoidea) head shape in response to the constraints of host fig morphology". Journal of Biogeography. 23 (4): 415–24. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.1996.tb00003.x.
^Researchers Sequence Genomes of Two Fig Species and Pollinator Wasp, sci-news; Oct. 14, 2020
^Kradibia Saunders 2020-08-01 at the Wayback Machine, figweb.org
^Universal Chalcidoidea Database – Archaeagaon , Natural History Museum, London
February 06, 2023
agaonidae, family, group, pollinating, nonpollinating, wasps, they, spend, their, larval, stage, inside, fruits, figs, pollinating, wasps, agaoninae, kradibiinae, tetrapusiinae, mutualistic, partners, trees, pollinating, wasps, parasitoids, extinct, forms, fro. The family Agaonidae is a group of pollinating and nonpollinating fig wasps They spend their larval stage inside the fruits of figs The pollinating wasps Agaoninae Kradibiinae and Tetrapusiinae are the mutualistic partners of the fig trees The non pollinating fig wasps are parasitoids Extinct forms from the Eocene and Miocene are nearly identical to modern forms suggesting that the niche has been stable over geologic time 1 AgaonidaeTemporal range Priabonian Present PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg NBlastophaga psenesScientific classificationKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ArthropodaClass InsectaOrder HymenopteraSuperfamily ChalcidoideaFamily AgaonidaeWalker 1848SubfamiliesAgaoninaeKradibiinaeSycophaginaeTetrapusiinae Contents 1 Taxonomy 2 Ecology 3 Morphological adaptations 4 Subfamilies and genera 4 1 Agaoninae 4 2 Kradibiinae 4 3 Sycophaginae 4 4 Tetrapusiinae 4 5 Extinct genera 5 ReferencesTaxonomy EditThe family has changed several times since its taxonomic appearance after the work of Francis Walker in 1846 2 described from the wasp genus Agaon Previously the subfamilies Epichrysomallinae Otitesellinae Sycoecinae Sycoryctinae Sycophaginae and Agaoninae were the subdivisions of the family 3 Recent works building strong molecular phylogenies with an extended sampling size have changed the composition of Agaonidae First the paraphyletic groups have been excluded Epichrysomallinae Otitesellinae Sycoecinae and Sycoryctinae and new subfamilies have been instated Kradibiinae and Tetrapusiinae 4 Then the subfamily Sycophaginae have been placed within the family Agaonidae 5 Within the Sycophaginae some changes were made after the molecular phylogeny of the subfamily 6 the genus Apocryptophagus has been synonymed under the genus Sycophaga Ecology EditWasps from the three subfamilies Agaoninae Kradibiinae and Tetrapusiinae are pollinating fig wasps On the other hand Sycophaginae are parasites of the Ficus developing in the fruits after other wasps have pollinated them Nevertheless some species in the genus Sycophaga have a controversial status as they enter the fig by its ostiole they possibly bring pollen inside the fig and might pollinate it Morphological adaptations EditThe pollinating female fig wasps are winged and in general dark while the males are mostly wingless and whitish This difference of color is probably due to a clear split in the gender role Once they have mated male and female fig wasps have different fates In some fig species such as Ficus subpisocarpa or Ficus tinctoria the males have to chew a hole for the females to leave their natal fig The winged female wasps can fly over long distances before finding another fig to oviposit in it while the male dies after chewing a hole As the fig is closed by a tight ostiole the female wasps have developed adaptations to enter First the mandibles of the female wasps have developed specialized mandibular appendages to help them crawl into the figs These appendages are adapted to the host fig species with for instance spiraled ostioles matched by spiral mandibular appendages 7 The nonpollinating wasps also have developed impressive morphological adaptations to deposit eggs inside the fig from the outside in the form of an extremely long ovipositor Subfamilies and genera EditAgaoninae Edit Agaon Dalman 1818 Alfonsiella Waterston 1920 Allotriozoon Grandi 1916 Blastophaga Gravenhorst 1829 Blastophaga psenes Linnaeus syn Cynips psenes Linnaeus 1758 8 Courtella Kieffer 1911 Deilagaon Wiebes 1977 Dolichoris Hill 1967 Elisabethiella Grandi 1928 Eupristina Saunders 1882 Eupristina verticillata Waterston 1921 9 10 Nigeriella Wiebes 1974 Paragaon Joseph 1959 Pegoscapus Cameron 1906 Platyscapa Motschoulsky 1863 Pleistodontes Saunders 1882 Waterstoniella Wiebesia Boucek 1988Kradibiinae Edit Ceratosolen Mayr 1885 Kradibia Saunders 1883 syn Liporrhopalum Waterston 1920 11 Sycophaginae Edit Anidarnes Eukoebelea Idarnes Pseudidarnes SycophagaTetrapusiinae Edit TetrapusExtinct genera Edit Archaeagaon Insect Limestone United Kingdom Eocene Priabonian Archaeagaon minutum Donisthorpe 12 References Edit Compton SG Ball AD Collinson ME Hayes P Rasnitsyn AP Ross AJ December 2010 Ancient fig wasps indicate at least 34 Myr of stasis in their mutualism with fig trees Biology Letters 6 6 838 42 doi 10 1098 rsbl 2010 0389 PMC 3001375 PMID 20554563 Walker F 1846 List of the specimens of Hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum Part 1 Chalcidites pp vii 100pp Boucek Z 1988 Australasian Chalcidoidea Hymenoptera A biosystematic revision of genera of fourteen families with a reclassification of species pp 832pp Cruaud A Jabbour Zahab R Genson G Cruaud C August 2010 Laying the foundations for a new classification of Agaonidae Hymenoptera Chalcidoidea a multilocus phylogenetic approach Cladistics 26 4 359 87 doi 10 1111 j 1096 0031 2009 00291 x PMID 34875808 S2CID 85436401 Heraty JM Burks RA Cruaud A Gibson GA Liljeblad J Munro J Rasplus JY Delvare G Jansta P Gumovsky A Huber J January 2013 A phylogenetic analysis of the megadiverse Chalcidoidea Hymenoptera Cladistics 29 5 466 542 doi 10 1111 cla 12006 PMID 34798768 S2CID 86061702 Cruaud A Jabbour Zahab R Genson G Kjellberg F Kobmoo N van Noort S et al June 2011 Phylogeny and evolution of life history strategies in the Sycophaginae non pollinating fig wasps Hymenoptera Chalcidoidea BMC Evolutionary Biology 11 178 doi 10 1186 1471 2148 11 178 PMC 3145598 PMID 21696591 van Noort S Compton SG July 1996 Convergent evolution of agaonine and sycoecine Agaonidae Chalcidoidea head shape in response to the constraints of host fig morphology Journal of Biogeography 23 4 415 24 doi 10 1111 j 1365 2699 1996 tb00003 x Blastophaga psenes Linnaeus figweb org Eupristina verticillata Waterston figweb org Researchers Sequence Genomes of Two Fig Species and Pollinator Wasp sci news Oct 14 2020 Kradibia Saunders Archived 2020 08 01 at the Wayback Machine figweb org Universal Chalcidoidea Database Archaeagaon Natural History Museum London Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Agaonidae amp oldid 1132255257, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
