Compsobracon

Cerrado savanna vegetation; observed in association with woody branches of host plants containing wood-boring larvae.

Southeastern Brazil (Minas Gerais state); specifically documented from Três Marias reservoir area (18°20'S–18°23'S, 45°17'W–45°20'W) at 560–630 m elevation. GBIF records suggest broader Neotropical distribution.

• Lepidoptera larvae - parasitoidwood-boring larvae inside branches; specific host species unidentified
• Alibertia concolor - incidentalhost plant containing the Lepidoptera larvae; Rubiaceae

Females fly around host plants and show preference for particular branches, landing on those with visible silk covering larval tunnels. They walk along branches and repeatedly insert their ovipositor directly through wood into the branch interior. After full ovipositor insertion, individuals display wing fanning behavior. Oviposition events last approximately ten minutes.

Parasitoid of wood-boring Lepidoptera larvae; potential biological control agent for wood-boring pests.

Potential utility as a biological control agent against wood-boring Lepidoptera.

• other Braconidae generaCompsobracon can be distinguished by its specific association with wood-boring hosts and the distinctive behavior of ovipositing directly through wood, though morphological diagnostic features require specialist examination.

• parasitoid
• Braconidae
• wood-borer
• cerrado
• Neotropical
• biological control

• BugGuide
• GBIF taxonomy match
• iNaturalist taxon
• NCBI Taxonomy
• Catalogue of Life
• Ovipositing behaviour of Compsobracon mirabilis (Szépligeti) (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) in a cerrado habitat, southeastern Brazil