EGG STRUCTURE AND LIFE-HISTORY OF 2 SPECI ES GROUPS OF GRYPOCENTRUS (HYMENOPTERA, ICHNEUMONIDAE), MONOPHAGOUS PARASITOIDS OF SPRING LEAF-MINING ERIOCRANIA-MOTHS ON BIRCH (LEPIDOPTERA, ERIOCRANIIDAE)

Species of the genus Grypocentrus Ruthe 1855 (Ichneumonidae: Tryphonin ae) are generally known to be koinobiont ectoparasitoids of leaf minin g sawflies (Fenusini). Only one species, Grypocentrus basalis (Ruthe 1 855), is recorded from birch leaf mining larvae of the moth genus Erio crania Zeller 1851. An analysis of the parasitoid community of the bir ch leaf miners, Eriocrania cicatricella (Zetterstedt 1839), E sangii ( Wood 1891), E semipurpurella (Stephens 1835) and E unimaculella (Zette rstedt 1840), in Central Europe revealed a complex of 8 different Gryp ocentrus egg-types. Based on egg morphology and host specificity, 2 sp ecies groups each comprising four sibling-species of Grypocentrus basa lis are proposed. Field data on parasitism and different oviposition p atterns on host larvae support the hypothesis of the occurrence of 8 h ighly specific new parasitoid-species upon this primitive group of Lep idoptera.