Larra (wasp)


Larra, also known as mole cricket wasps or mole cricket hunters, is a genus of wasps that prey on various species of mole crickets. They have gained prominence as integrated pest management agents.

Distribution

Members of this genus are found worldwide, particularly in the tropics.

Life cycle

Larra wasps feed on nectar as adults. Female wasps hunt adult or late-instar mole crickets and lay their eggs upon them, first temporarily paralyzing them by stinging them on the underside. The larva, upon hatching, gradually consumes the host, eventually killing it. It then pupates in or near the remains. The adults are solitary and do not form colonies. Incubation and development are highly variable in length and dependent upon temperature; in winter, the larvae may enter diapause. Each Larra species preferentially hunts a particular set of prey species, even when related prey is available.
The temporary paralysis of the host is a distinctive feature of the genus out of its close allies. Other related wasps generally paralyze the host permanently and bury it so that the larva can consume it undisturbed.

Human importance

Larra polita, which is endemic to the Philippines, was successfully introduced to Hawaii in 1925 to help control Gryllotalpa orientalis, the oriental mole cricket.
A related species, L. bicolor, was introduced to Puerto Rico in 1928 to control the accidentally introduced Neoscapteriscus didactylus, the Changa mole cricket. Subsequent efforts were made to introduce L. bicolor to Florida for the same reason, and a population was established by 1993.

Species

There are 64 described species of Larra.Larra abdominalis Guérin-Méneville in Lefebvre, 1849Larra alecto Larra altamazonica F. Williams, 1928Larra amplipennis Larra analis Fabricius, 1804Larra anathema Larra angustifrons Kohl, 1892Larra apicipennis Cameron, 1904Larra aponis Tsuneki, 1983Larra arabica Schmid-Egger, 2014Larra betsilea de Saussure, 1887Larra bicolor Fabricius, 1804Larra bicolorata Cameron, 1904Larra bulawayoensis Bischoff, 1913Larra burmeisterii  Larra carbonaria  Larra cassandra Schrottky, 1902Larra coelestina  Larra corrugata R. Turner, 1912Larra diversa  Larra dorsalis Tsuneki, 1982Larra dux  Larra erratica Bingham, 1897Larra erythropyga R. Turner, 1916Larra extrema Dahlbom, 1845Larra femorata  Larra fenchihuensis Tsuneki, 1967Larra fuscinerva Cameron, 1900Larra glabrata  Larra godmani Cameron, 1889Larra heydenii  Larra iliensis Kazenas, 1978Larra impressifrons Arnold, 1923Larra madecassa de Saussure, 1887Larra mansueta  Larra maura  Larra mediterranea Gistel, 1857Larra melania Tsuneki, 1982Larra melanocnemis R. Turner, 1916Larra melanoptera Kohl, 1884Larra mendax  Larra mundula Kohl, 1894Larra neaera Nurse, 1903Larra nigripes  Larra obscurior Dalla Torre, 1894Larra outeniqua Arnold, 1923Larra polita  
  • :Larra polita luzonensis Rohwer, 1919Larra praedatrix  Larra princeps  Larra psilocera Kohl, 1884Larra pusilla Arnold, 1932Larra pygidialis Cameron, 1904Larra rufa Arnold, 1929Larra saussurei Kohl, 1892Larra similis  Larra simillima  Larra sinensis  Larra stangei Menke, 1992Larra tarsata  Larra tawitawiensis Tsuneki, 1976Larra transcaspica F. Morawitz, 1894Larra variipes de Saussure, 1892Larra vechti Sudheendrakumar and Narendran, 1985Larra zarudniana Gussakovskij, 1933