Can Semaeomyia sp. (Hymenoptera: Evaniidae) function as a parasitoid of the Spider Teudis sp. (Araneae: Anyphaenidae)?

Abstract

This study reports possible parasitism of the spider Teudis sp. Pickard- Cambridge (Araneae: Anyphaenidae) by the parasitoid Semaeomyia sp. Bradley (Hymenoptera: Evaniidae) as a parasitoid. In Oct 2016, we collected fruits of the Senegalia tenuifolia (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) that previously were bagged with voile fabric, at the campus of the Federal University of Lavras, at Lavras, Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. In 1 of the fruits, we observed an anyphaenid spider, Teudis sp., from which an individual of Semaeomyia sp. apparently had emerged. We suggest that this may be the first record of a host species for Semaeomyia and the first parasitism record of spiders by the family Evaniidae, which is widely known to parasitize cockroach egg sacs. Additional research is needed on this poorly known group of parasitoids.