Bracon is a genus of wasps in the Braconidae, a family of parasitoid wasps. There are several hundred described species but there are thousands still undescribed. The genus is cosmopolitan, distributed throughout the world, with most of the described species occurring in the Palearctic realm.
These wasps are mostly ectoparasitoids, with the larvae developing on the outside of the body of the host. Recorded hosts include the larvae of many species of lepidopterans, beetles, flies, hymenopterans, and true bugs. They are idiobionts, halting the development of the host when they lay eggs on its body. Some Bracon wasps are specific to one host species, and some are known to utilize many different hosts. The eggs of the wasp can be very hardy. In one report, Bracon wasps oviposited on tortrix moth larvae, which then entered privet seeds and were consumed by birds along with the fruit. The wasp eggs were later excreted and the larvae emerged.
This large genus has been divided into several subgenera, some of which are further divided into species-groups. A DNA analysis showed that the genus is paraphyletic, that its subgenera and other defined groups are not all valid on a molecular basis, and that revising it into informal groups would be more practical. Other authors still divide the genus into subgenera using morphological characters to make identification easier.
Most of the thousands of species that fit into this genus have not yet been described, but even the number of named species is unclear, with estimates ranging from 500 to 1000.
Species include:
Bracon acrobasidis
Bracon agathymi
Bracon americanus
Bracon analcidis
Bracon angelesius
Bracon apicatus
Bracon argutator
Bracon bembeciae
Bracon brachyurus
Bracon brevicornis
Bracon canadensis
Bracon caulicola
Bracon cephi
Bracon cinctus
Bracon connecticutorum
Bracon cuscutae
Bracon cushmani
Bracon erucarum
Bracon furtivus
Bracon gastroideae
Bracon gelechiae
Bracon gemmaecola
Bracon geraei
Bracon gossypii
Bracon gracilis
Bracon hebetor
Bracon helianthi
Bracon hemimenae
Bracon hobomok
Bracon hyslopi
Bracon jani
Bracon kirkpatricki
Bracon konkapoti
Bracon laemosacci
Bracon lineatellae
Bracon lissogaster
Bracon lutus
Bracon mellitor
Bracon metacomet
Bracon minutator
Bracon montowesi
Bracon nanus
Bracon nevadensis
Bracon niger
Bracon nuperus
Bracon oenotherae
Bracon palliventris
Bracon papaipemae
Bracon pascuensis
Bracon piceiceps
Bracon piger
Bracon pini
Bracon podunkorum
Bracon predatorius Ranjith & Quicke, 2022
Bracon quinnipiacorum
Bracon radicis
Bracon rhyssomati
Bracon rosaceani
Bracon rufomarginatus
Bracon sanninoideae
Bracon scanticorum
Bracon sesiae
Bracon sphenophori
Bracon sulcifrons
Bracon tachypteri
Bracon tenuiceps
Bracon tenuis
Bracon terebella
Bracon tychii
Bracon uncas
Bracon variabilis
Bracon vulgaris
Bracon wawequa
Bracon xanthonotus
References
External links
Ward, D. F. 2014. Bracon: Images and Factsheets. In: Braconidae of New Zealand. Landcare Research.