Novel-host-exploitation

Guides

• Phyllobaenus obscurus

  checkered beetle

  Phyllobaenus obscurus is a checkered beetle (family Cleridae) notable as the first documented case of a beetle acting as a parasitoid of ants. Larvae develop inside intact cocoons of two species in the Ectatomma ruidum species complex, feeding on ant prepupae or pupae and eventually killing the host. This parasitoid lifestyle represents a significant departure from typical clerid ecology, which centers on predation of wood-boring beetles. The species has been documented in Pacific coastal plains of Oaxaca, Mexico, where prevalence of parasitism is extremely low (<0.6% of available cocoons).

  parasitoidant-parasitoidcheckered-beetlenovel-host-exploitationsocial-insect-parasitismEctatommaMexicoCleridaecampodeiform-larvaelow-prevalence-parasitism