A new species of the non-pollinating fig wasp genus Ficobracon van Achterberg & Weiblen (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) associated with Ficus tinctoria subsp. gibbosa (Rosales: Moraceae) from the Western Ghats, India

Syconia of figs (Moraceae: Ficus spp.) are known to harbour diverse parasitoid communities; however, records of braconid wasps within these microhabitats remains limited. In this study, we describe a new species of Ficobracon van Achterberg & Weiblen (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), based on female and male specimens reared from syconia of Ficus tinctoria subsp. gibbosa (Blume) Corner (Rosales: Moraceae) in Kerala, India. The new species, morphologically similar to F. codonatus Huang & van Achterberg, 2013, is distinguished and illustrated herein.

It is the first record of the genus Ficobracon from southern India and the sixth known species globally. Additionally, this study documents the first association of a Ficobracon species with non-pollinating fig wasps in F. tinctoria subsp. gibbosa syconia from India, expanding our understanding of the ecological interactions within these specialized microhabitats.