Opiine Parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) of Tropical Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) of the Australian and South Pacific Region

Opiine wasps are well known larval and egg-larval parasitoids of dacine fruit flies, one of the most important insect pest groups of the South Pacific. For Australia, Papua New Guinea and other South Pacific island countries and territories, no regional synopsis is available for the opiines attacking fruit flies, despite their use in classical, inundative and manipulative biological control. We present a taxonomic synopsis and distribution and host records (44% of which are new) for each of the 15 species of dacine-parasitising opiine braconids found in the South Pacific. Species dealt with are Diachasmimorpha hageni (Fullaway), D. kraussii (Fullaway), D. longicaudata (Ashmead), D. tryoni (Cameron), Fopius arisanus (Sonan), F. deeralensis (Fullaway), F. ferrari Carmichael & Wharton, sp. n., F. illusorius (Fischer) , comb. n., F. schlingeri Wharton, Opius froggatti Fullaway, Psyttalia fijiensis (Fullaway), P. muesebecki (Fischer), P. novaguineensis (Szépligeti) and Utetes perkinsi (Fullaway). A potentially undescribed species, which may be a colour morph of F. vandenboschi (Fullaway), is diagnosed but not formally described. Fopius vandenboschi sensu stricto, Diachasmimorpha fullawayi Silvestri, Psyttalia concolor Szépligeti and P. incisi Silvestri have been liberated into the region but are not considered to have established: a brief diagnosis of each is included in event that undetected, low level populations do occur and are sampled. Biosteres illusorius Fischer is formally transferred to the genus Fopius. A single opiine specimen reared from a species of Bactrocera (Bulladacus) appears to be Utetes albimanus (Szépligeti), but damage to this specimen and to the holotype (the only previously known specimen) means that we can not confirm this species as a fruit fly parasite: a diagnosis of U. cf. albimanus is provided. Psyttalia novaguineensis could not be adequately separated from P. fijiensis using previously published characterisations and further work to resolve this complex is recommended. A key is provided to all taxa reared from fruit-infesting tephritids in the South Pacific region.