Microgastrine wasps are among the most species-rich and numerous parasitoids of caterpillars (Lepidoptera). They are often host-specific and thus are extensively used in biological control efforts and figure prominently in trophic webs. However, their extraordinary diversity coupled with the occurrence of many cryptic species produces a significant taxonomic impediment. We present and release the results of 8 years (2004–2011) of DNA barcoding microgastrine wasps. Currently they are the best represented group of parasitoid Hymenoptera in the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD), a massive barcode storage and analysis data management site for the International Barcoding of Life (iBOL) program. There are records from more than 20 000 specimens from 75 countries, including 50 genera (90% of the known total) and more than 1700 species (as indicated by Barcode Index Numbers and 2% MOTU). We briefly discuss the importance of this DNA data set and its collateral information for future research in: (1) discovery of cryptic species and description of new taxa; (2) estimating species numbers in biodiversity inventories; (3) clarification of generic boundaries; (4) biological control programmes; (5) molecular studies of host-parasitoid biology and ecology; (6) evaluation of shifts in species distribution and phenology; and (7) fostering collaboration at national, regional and world levels. The integration of DNA barcoding with traditional morphology-based taxonomy, host records, and other data has substantially improved the accuracy of microgastrine wasp identifications and will significantly accelerate further studies on this group of parasitoids.

DNA barcoding and the taxonomy of Microgastrinae wasps (Hymenoptera, Braconidae): impacts after 8 years and nearly 20 000 sequences.

I revise the subfamily Diplazontinae to include 99 Western Palaearctic species, review morphological characters useful for species delimitation and identification, and clarify the status of some morphologically similar taxa using molecular approaches. Illustrated, dichotomous keys to the Western Palaearctic genera and species of the subfamily are presented, and the utility of the molecular markers CO1 and ITS2 for species delimitation in Diplazontinae is discussed. Seven new species are described, Diplazon flixi sp. nov., Diplazon nordicus sp. nov., Diplazon parvus sp. nov., Diplazon zetteli sp. nov., Eurytyloides umbrinus sp. nov., Sussaba roberti sp. nov., and Woldstedtius bauri sp. nov. The Nearctic Sussaba cultriformis (Ashmead), formerly a subspecies of Sussaba dorsalis (Holmgren), is raised to species rank. The following taxa are valid species and hereby removed from synonymy: Episemura ensata (Bauer), stat. rev.; Homotropus frontorius (Thunberg), stat. rev.; Syrphoctonus desvignesii (Marshall), stat. rev.; Syrphophilus scabriculus (Holmgren), stat. rev.; and Tymmophorus suspiciosus (Brischke), stat. rev. Nineteen new synonyms are established: Bioblapsis mallochi Rotheray of Bioblapsis cultiformis (Davis), syn. nov.; Bioblapsis tricincta Ashmead of Syrphophilus scabriculus (Holmgren), syn. nov.; Diplazon bachmaieri Diller of Diplazon angustus Dasch, syn. nov.; Diplazon fechteri Diller of Diplazon cascadensis Dasch, syn. nov.; Homocidus brevis Hedwig of Homotropus pictus (Gravenhorst); Homocidus rubiginosum Schmiedeknecht of Enizemum scutellare (Lange), syn. nov.; Homocidus simulans Stelfox of Homotropus collinus (Stelfox), syn. nov.; Homotropus crassicrus Thomson and Homotropus nudus Dasch of Homotropus dimidiatus (Schrank), syn. nov.; Homocidus asyntactus Schmiedeknecht of Homotropus crassicornis Thomson, syn. nov.; Homocidus subopacus Stelfox and Homotropus quadrangularis Dasch of Homotropus frontorius (Thunberg), syn. nov.; Homocidus impolitus Stelfox of Homotropus pallipes (Gravenhorst), syn. nov.; Homotropus incisus Thomson and Homotropus reflexus Morley of Homotropus pectoralis (Provancher), syn. nov.; Tryphon nigricornis Zetterstedt, a former synonym of H. dimidiatus Schrank, is a synonym of Homotropus pictus (Gravenhorst), syn. nov.; Homotropus fraudulentus Dasch and Homotropus neopulcher Horstmann of Syrphoctonus desvignesii (Marshall), syn. nov.; Homotropus eximius Habermehl of Syrphoctonus tarsatorius (Panzer), syn. nov. The following new combinations are established: Bioblapsis cultiformis (Davis), comb. nov.; Homotropus collinus (Stelfox), comb. nov.; Homotropus dimidiatus (Schrank), comb. nov.; Homotropus frontorius (Thunberg), comb. nov.; Homotropus pectoralis (Provancher), comb. nov.; Homotropus strigator (Fabricius), comb. nov.; Homotropus sundevalli (Holmgren), comb. nov. The present revision is the first comprehensive treatment of the Western Palaearctic Diplazontinae, provides the basis for taxonomic, faunistic, ecological and evolutionary studies in these hoverfly parasitoids, and exemplifies an integrative approach to systematics and taxonomy.

/pdf/revision-of-the-western-palaearctic-diplazontinae-5caryf5n1y.pdf

Revision of the Western Palaearctic Diplazontinae (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae).

Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura), commonly known as Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD), is a worldwide serious economic threat to the production of berries and stone fruits. The chemical control widely used against this pest is often not able to preventing yield losses because wild flora offers an abundance of fruits to D. suzukii where the pest is able to reproduce and from where it recolonizes neighbouring cultivated fields. Alternatively, within Integrated Pest Management protocols for D. suzukii, biological control could play a key role by reducing its populations particularly in non-cultivated habitats, thus increasing the effectiveness and reducing the side negative effects of other management strategies. Because of the scarcity and of the low efficiency of autochthonous parasitoids in the new invaded territories, in the last few years, a number of surveys started in the native area of D. suzukii to find parasitoid species to be evaluated in quarantine structures and eventually released in the field, following a classical biological control approach. This paper reports the results of these surveys carried out in South Korea and for the first time in China. Among the parasitoids collected, those belonging to the genus Asobara Foerster resulted dominant both by number and species diversity. By combining morphological characters and the mitochondrial COI gene as a molecular marker, we identified seven species of Asobara, of which two associated with D. suzukii, namely A. japonica and A leveri, and five new to science, namely Asobara brevicauda, A. elongata, A mesocauda, A unicolorata, A. triangulata. Our findings offer new opportunity to find effective parasitoids to be introduced in classical biological control programmes in the territories recently invaded by D. suzukii.

/pdf/species-diversity-in-the-parasitoid-genus-asobara-2x7xw168z1.pdf

Species Diversity in the Parasitoid Genus Asobara (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from the Native Area of the Fruit Fly Pest Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae).

The first comprehensive phylogenetic study of the wasp tribe Cryptini (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Cryptinae) is presented, based on 109 morphological characters and molecular data from seven loci The dataset includes 370 species, 308 of which are from Cryptini, covering 182 of its 250 genera Results from parsimony and likelihood analyses are generally congruent The topology has several implications for ichneumonid higher-level classification Previous definitions of the Ichneumoniformes clade are supported, though newly including the Microleptinae The cryptine subtribe Ateleutina is consistently recovered outside of the Cryptini clade and should be treated as a separate subfamily, Ateleutinae statn The tribe Phygadeuontini is shown to be polyphyletic: while most of the sampled taxa were recovered in a single clade, many of its members are more closely related to the Ichneumoninae, Ateleutinae or Cryptini Pending a more detailed study, the group should be treated as a separate subfamily, Phygadeuontinae stat rev The former Hemigastrini are recovered as largely monophyletic but with important exceptions Hemigaster Brulle is recovered as part of the Phygadeuontini and is transferred to that group Echthrus Gravenhorst is consistently recovered as part of Cryptini, rendering Aptesini as the correct name for the tribe The subfamily Cryptinae should be restricted to the tribes Aptesini and Cryptini Within Cryptini, the results show little support for the current subtribal classification, with most subtribes recovered as polyphyletic A number of relatively stable clades are identified and discussed, but the relationships among them are weakly supported Most of these clades are morphologically heterogeneous and building a subtribal classification based on them would be ineffectual; they are therefore treated under the informal designation of genus groups The results highlight the ubiquity of morphological homoplasy in Cryptini, and provide a framework from which to address further systematic and evolutionary questions on this hyperdiverse group of parasitic wasps

K. Horstmann

Papers

Taxapad 2012, Ichneumonoidea 2011. Database on flash-drive.

World Ichneumonoidea 2011. Taxapad 2012. Database on flash-drive