Egg Structure and Life-history of two Species Groups of Grypocentrus (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), Monophagous Parasitoids of Spring Leaf-mining Eriocrania-moths on Birch (Lepidoptera: Eriocra niidae)

Species of the genus Grypocentrus Ruthe 1855 (Ichneumonidae: Tryphoninae) are generally known to be koinobiont ectoparasitoids of leaf mining sawflies (Fenusini). Only one species, Grypocentrus basalis (Ruthe 1855), is recorded from birch leaf mining larvae of the moth genus Eriocrania Zeller 1851. An analysis of the parasitoid community of the birch leaf miners, Eriocrania cicatricella (Zetterstedt 1839), E sangii (Wood 1891), E semipurpurella (Stephens 1835) and E unimaculella (Zetterstedt 1840), in Central Europe revealed a complex of 8 different Grypocentrus egg-types. Based on egg morphology and host specificity, 2 species groups each comprising four sibling-species of Grypocentrus basalis are proposed. Field data on parasitism and different oviposition patterns on host larvae support the hypothesis of the occurrence of 8 highly specific new parasitoid-species upon this primitive group of Lepidoptera.