FIG WASPS BLASTOPHAGA PSENES (L.) (CHALCIDOIDEA: AGAONIDAE) AND PHILOTRYPESIS CARICAE (L.) (CHALCIDOIDEA: PTEROMALIDAE): ADDITIONS TO THE FAUNA OF SERBIA

Abstract

In Serbia, the presence of two species of fig wasps, Blastophaga psenes (L.) (Chalcidoidea: Agaonidae), and Philotrypesis caricae (L.) (Chalcidoidea: Pteromalidae: Otitesellini) was recorded for the first time. Both are trophically associated with wild figs (caprifig), Ficus carica L. In Europe, B. psenes has been documented in countries with a Mediterranean climate and, in recent years, has also been recorded in southern Hungary and southern Germany. This finding represents the third record from a European with a continental climate. It was recorded in the Belgrade area in 2025 at the following locations: Kumodraž, Beli Potok, and Jajinci. B. psenes is a fig pollinator and, under local climatic conditions, produces three generations per year. Philotrypesis caricae is not a fig pollinator but a kleptoparasitoid of B. psenes. In Europe, it has previously been reported only from the Mediterranean climate zone, including the Pyrenees, the Apennine Peninsula, Malta, and Crimea. Our finding represents the first record from a European with a continental climate and the first from the Balkan Peninsula. The species also has three generations per year and a life cycle similar to that of B. psenes.