| Wroughtonia | |
|---|---|
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| Wroughtonia ligator | |
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| Wroughtonia spinator | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Braconidae |
| Subfamily: | Helconinae |
| Genus: | Wroughtonia Cameron, 1899 |
| Species | |
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50+ (See text) | |
| Synonyms | |
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Wroughtonia is a genus of Braconid wasps that belongs to the subfamily Helconinae. It is a medium-sized genus.
Although this genus has a wide distribution, most species have mainly been found to inhabit the Eastern Palaearctic and northeastern Oriental regions. There are few species that have been reported from the Western Palaearctic, Nearctic, northern Neotropical regions and the remainder of the Oriental region.
Several species have been reported on the island of Borneo. They include Wroughtonia belalongensis, Wroughtonia variivena and Wroughtonia vermiculata. The biology of all known Bornean species are poorly known.
It is classified as a koinobiont endoparasitoid meaning that they are able to develop inside a moving and feeding organism for a significant period during the development of the parasitoid. They parasitize beetle larvae in wood or cones, especially beetles that belongs to the families Cerambycidae (longhorn beetles) and Buprestidae (jewel beetles).
Some species of parasitoid wasps such as those of this family and Platygastroidea are able to inject eggs that have specialized membranes that differentiates into autonomous cells known as teratocytes. They are released into the host haemolymph when the parasitoid egg hatches. Teratocytes are able to products proteins and miRNAs that interfere with host hormones such as juvenile hormones or ecdysteroids that arrests the hosts growth and control their growth and metamorphosis. They are also able to inhibit protein synthesis.
Similarly to many parasitoid wasps, this species harbours endogenous viruses that are from the family of the Polydnaviridae. The virus lineage that associated with Brancoid wasps are known as Bracoviruses. They will infect the wasps host cells by discharging their DNA into the nuclei which, as a consequence, integrates segments of viral DNA into the into the wasps genome which makes them start to produce viral gene products such as tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs).
These viral products both have a strong effect on the immune system of the wasp and are important to the regulation of the hosts growth. Regulation of growth is mainly achieved by altering hormone levels such as juvenile hormones and ecdysteroids or neuropeptides. These hormones effect the hosts metamorphosis, pupation and feeding behaviour. They will also induce changes in metabolic processes which will result in hyperglycemia, reduction of weight and the stopping of feeding behavior. While less documented and studied, these viruses may prolong the host development time and increase its final weight as seen in Manduca.
The family which this genus is within, Braconidae, is an extremely diverse family being the second species-rich family in the order Hymenoptera with approximately 17,000 recognized species. The genus Wroughtonia is also a diverse with over 50 species described belonging to this genus:
These 56 species belong to the genus Wroughtonia:
Data sources: c = Catalogue of Life, g = GBIF,
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Media related to Wroughtonia at Wikimedia Commons