Research Article |
Corresponding author: Jose Fernandez-Triana ( jftriana@uoguelph.ca ) Academic editor: Gavin Broad
© 2015 Jose Fernandez-Triana, John S. Noyes, Andrew Polaszek, Dicky S. K. Yu.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Fernandez-Triana J, Noyes JS, Polaszek A, Yu DSK (2015) Clarification of the author and year of publication of Cotesia chilonis, a species used widely for biological control of Chilo stem borers. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 45: 113-123. https://doi.org/10.3897/JHR.45.5274
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Cotesia chilonis (Munakata, 1912) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Microgastrinae) is a species used widely for biological control of several species of Chilo (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) stem borers. The genus name, species author and year of publication associated with this parasitoid wasp species have varied historically. Based on the available evidence, a complete account of the history and nomenclatural acts associated with C. chilonis is presented, the different alternatives are weighed and discussed, and what is considered as the best alternative is proposed. It is expected that this paper will contribute to clarity and stability in the use of this species name, author and year.
Cotesia chilonis , Microgastrinae , Chilo stem borers, biocontrol, taxonomy, Japan
Cotesia chilonis (Munakata, 1912) is a parasitoid wasp (Braconidae: Microgastrinae) originally described from Japan and widely used in biological control projects against caterpillar stem borers in the genus Chilo (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), pests of graminaceous crops in the Oriental and Afrotropical regions (Kfir et al. 1992,
Cotesia chilonis belongs to the Cotesia flavipes species complex, which includes four species parasitizing stemboring pests associated with sugarcane and cereal crops (
The correct genus of the species, as well as its author and publication year (= original description) have long been in a state of confusion. As a result, the considerable literature on C. chilonis is replete with errors. The species has been placed either in Apanteles or in Cotesia, the authorship has been attributed either to Tetsuzo Munakata or to Shonen Matsumura, and the year of the original description has been cited as either 1910 or 1912.
Because of the importance of this species in biological control, the generic placement, author and year of description of Cotesia chilonis must be clarified.
We carefully examined the scientific literature relating to this species, including the report in which the species was originally described (
We estimated the number of citations for the different variants of the species names, species author, and year of publication by performing searches on Zoological Record, Google Scholar, and Google.
Cotesia chilonis was originally described in Apanteles (the original description has ‘Apanteles’ misspelled as ‘Apantetus’, see Fig.
Cotesia has been universally recognized and accepted as a valid genus by the taxonomic and biological control research community (e.g.,
Searches performed with Zoological Record, Google Scholar, and Google revealed an equally confusing mix for the author and publication year of C. chilonis (Table
Searches performed in November 2014 on three different online databases or search engines, using two different strings of words: “Apanteles+Cotesia+chilonis+Matsumura” or “Apanteles+Cotesia+chilonis+Munakata”.
Online Database/Search Engine | Apanteles/Cotesia chilonis Matsumura (Total) | Apanteles/Cotesia chilonis Munakata (Total) |
---|---|---|
Zoological Record | 8 | 9 |
Google Scholar | 66 | 49 |
3180 | 256 |
From the above account, it seems evident that Matsumura was the one recognizing the new species, but Munakata was the one publishing it. This opinion from Watanabe agrees with that of other Japanese entomologists, e.g. the braconid specialist Kaoru Maeto (personal communication) and the ichneumonid specialist Jinhaku
Copy of pages 141 and 142 (partially) of
Because the author of the species is not clear from the contents of the 1912 report, the author of the report (Munakata) should also be considered as the author of the species, as explained in The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN). Article 50.1.1 states “However, if it is clear from the contents that some person other than an author of the work is alone responsible both for the name or act and for satisfying the criteria of availability other than actual publication, then that other person is the author of the name or act. “If the identity of that other person is not explicit in the work itself, then the author is deemed to be the person who publishes the work.” The last sentence (our italics) clearly applies here, and it should be used to recognize Munakata as the author of the species.
Watanabe, who should also be considered as the First Reviser, sensu Article 24.2 of the ICZN, unambiguously stated the authorship of the species in two papers:
Important published and/or web resources about Microgastrinae with differing accounts for the species Cotesia chilonis (Munakata, 1912). Comments in square brackets provide additional information when needed.
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Last but not least, the year of publication has, at times, been confused by some sources (Table
The unfortunate chain of omissions and confusion in publications on Cotesia chilonis has led to this important species to be referred to by several generic names, authors, and years of publication. For the sake of clarity and stability, it is useful to provide in a single paper a complete account of the history and nomenclatural acts associated with this species. Based on the revised evidence, the history of names associated with C. chilonis is presented below. It is hoped that the correct names and dates (as presently understood) are adopted by future researchers.
Apantetus chilonis Munakata, 1912: 69. Original description. Misspelling of the genus name.
Apanteles chilonis Matsumura in Munakata, 1912: 69.
Apanteles flavipes f. chilonis Watanabe, 1932: 84. Junior subjective synonym [In the References below, this paper is cited as ‘
Apanteles chilonis Munakata, 1912.
Cotesia chilonis (Matsumura, 1912).
Cotesia chilonis (Matsumura, 1912).
Cotesia chilonis Munakata, 1910.
Apanteles chilocida Viereck, 1912: 582. Watanabe 1932: 69. Junior subjective synonym. Incorrect date (1913) assigned to Viereck’s paper. [In the References below, this paper is cited as ‘
The decisions made in this paper about names, authors and dates related to Cotesia chilonis benefited considerably from fruitful discussion with several colleagues. Dr John Steel (University of Otago, New Zealand) helped in establishing contact with Japanese colleagues and kindly sent copies of some of the most important references used for this paper. Dr Katsuhiko Sayama (Hokkaido Research Center, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Japan) kindly provided useful comments and copies of some of the most important references used for this paper. Dr Kaoru Maeto (Kobe University, Japan) kindly shared his opinions on the names and authors historically associated with the species. Dr John Huber and Dr Gary Gibson (Canadian National Collection of Insects, Ottawa, Canada) revised earlier versions of the manuscript and helped to clarify contents.