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Vitreostigmus maculatus holotype, female A habitus, lateral view B head and mesosoma, dorsal view C head, frontal view D clypeus, frontal view E antenna, lateral view F propodeum, dorsal view (arrow indicates postspiracular furrow) G lower metepisternum, posteroventral view H fore wing, dorsal view I hypopygium, lateral view J posterior part of metatibia and metatarsi, lateroventral. Scale bars: 200 µm.
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Two new genera, Striastigmus , gen. nov. , and Vitreostigmus , gen. nov. , as well as three new species, S. bicoloratus , sp. nov. , V. maculatus , sp. nov. , and V. kangarooislandi , sp. nov. , are described from Australia. A key to species of Vitreostigmus is provided as well as new information on the biology of genus Bortesia . Potential hosts o...
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... Megastigmidae were formerly considered a subfamily (Megastigminae) within the Torymidae family, but a new status has been established for this group of chalcids by placing it at taxonomic rank of family (Janšta et al., 2018). Megastigmus comprises over 200 species, currently classified in 14 valid genera (Janšta et al., 2018;Böhmová et al., 2022;Popescu and Gostin, 2023). The most speciose genus is Megastigmus Dalman, 1820, with 156 species described to date (Noyes, 2023). ...
This study presents the first comprehensive catalogue of the Megastigmidae from Morocco. After sorting through the existing bibliography and visiting various museums, we identified two genera occurring in this country: Bootanomyia Girault, 1915 and Megastigmus Dalman, 1820 represented by one and ten species, respectively. Here we provide data on the known distribution and biology of each of the species in Morocco. Dataset published through GBIF (DOI: 10.15470/mr3xom)
... However, if we look at the distribution of the host plant, P. acidula, from East Africa to India, Southeast Asia, Japan, Australia, Micronesia, the Pacific Islands, and French Polynesia, we expect that future research will extend considerably the known area of M. irinae. Böhmová et al. [8] finished their paper with "apart from a few Megastigmus species with economic importance, most other Megastigmidae are rather poorly studied in terms of taxonomy but also of biology" and Bouček wrote in his monumental Australasian Chalcidoidea [9] about Megastigmus genus that a "careful examination of every particular case is much needed". We conclude that this research makes a little light on the Megastigmidae family and Megastigmus genus by discovering a surprising new species with interesting data on its morphology and biology, from the paradise of the Maldives Archipelago, with some perspectives on the islands' biodiversity and biogeography, climate change and habitat destruction. ...
Megastigmidae comprises more than 200 species in 12 genera. Megastigmus has a worldwide distribution with more than 150 species. Over 80% of these species are recorded from the Australian and Palearctic region, with a few from Afrotropical and Oriental regions, but none from the Neotropical region. We describe a new species of Megastigmus obtained from the seeds of Pemphis acidula in the Maldives Archipelago. This is the first mention of Megastigmidae having as a host plant a species from Lythraceae. It is also the first recorded association of Chalcidoidea with the genus Pemphis and the first mention of Megastigmidae and Megastigmus in the Maldives Archipelago. We provide a detailed description of the species, focusing on its morphology, using both light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Megastigmus irinae Popescu n. sp. is a strictly phytophagous species, with each larva consuming a single seed. Currently, M. irinae is an endemic species found only in the Maldives Archipelago. However, considering the distribution of its host plant, P. acidula, which ranges from East Africa to Southeast Asia, Australia, Micronesia, and French Polynesia, we anticipate that future research could significantly expand the known range of this interesting new species.
... The biology of gall inducers and the evolution of gall induction in Chalcidoidea have been reviewed recently (LaSalle 2005). Gall induction has evolved in seven different families of Chalcidoidea, with at least 16 independent origins both from entomophagous and phytophagous ancestors (LaSalle 2005;Böhmová et al. 2022). This includes the Eulophidae, the largest and most diverse chalcidoid family including over 4,300 species in 332 genera (Noyes 2019;Rasplus et al. 2020). ...
A new genus of a Neotropical gall inducing tetrastichine eulophid on Araceae is described and confirmed using Ultraconserved Elements (UCE) phylogenomic data. Arastichus Gates, Hanson, Jansen-González & Zhang, gen. nov. , includes two new species and one species transferred from Aprostocetus Westwood: A. capipunctata Gates, Hanson, Jansen-González & Zhang, sp. nov. , A. gallicola (Ferrière), comb. nov. , and A. gibernau , Gates, Hanson, Jansen-González & Zhang, sp. nov.
Biodiversity data platforms including databases, websites and data repositories underpin conservation efforts by collecting spatiotemporal data of discovered native and alien species and maps of their distributions. Chalcid wasps (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea) are one of the most diverse insect groups estimated to include half a million species. Being mostly parasitoids of other arthropods, they have been successfully used as biological control agents against serious agricultural pests worldwide. In Cyprus, only 124 species of chalcid wasps have been recorded, with 53 species being alien to the island. Their true biodiversity is predicted to be much larger because the island is both under-sampled and under-researched. A number of biodiversity data platforms focusing on the biodiversity of Cyprus are currently online; however, an online platform dedicated on the chalcid wasps of Cyprus is lacking. In the framework of the Darwin Plus Fellowship (DPLUS202) “Species richness and biological invasions of Chalcid wasps in Akrotiri Peninsula”, the “Chalcid wasps of Cyprus” website (https://sites.google.com/view/chalcidwaspscyprus) is presented. This online, dynamic database aims to: (1) raise public awareness regarding a rather neglected and yet ecologically important insect group, (2) provide data on the morphology, ecology and biodiversity of Chalcidoidea on Cyprus, as well as (3) promote conservation needs by setting a baseline for the future assessment of both native and alien chalcid wasp species. This online platform will be regularly revised in order to provide an up-to-date, user-friendly digital environment to the scientific community, policy-makers and citizens.
Chalcidoidea are mostly parasitoid wasps that include as many as 500 000 estimated species. Capturing phylogenetic signal from such a massive radiation can be daunting. Chalcidoidea is an excellent example of a hyperdiverse group that has remained recalcitrant to phylogenetic resolution. We combined 1007 exons obtained with Anchored Hybrid Enrichment with 1048 ultra-conserved elements (UCEs) for 433 taxa including all extant families, >95% of all subfamilies, and 356 genera chosen to represent the vast diversity of the superfamily. Going back and forth between the molecular results and our collective knowledge of morphology and biology, we detected bias in the analyses that was driven by the saturation of nucleotide data. Our final results are based on a concatenated analysis of the least saturated exons and UCE datasets (2054 loci, 284 106 sites). Our analyses support an expected sister relationship with Mymarommatoidea. Seven previously recognized families were not monophy-letic, so support for a new classification is discussed. Natural history in some cases would appear to be more informative than morphology, as illustrated by the elucidation of a clade of plant gall associates and a clade of taxa with planidial first-instar lar-vae. The phylogeny suggests a transition from smaller soft-bodied wasps to larger and more heavily sclerotized wasps, with egg parasitism as potentially ancestral for the entire superfamily. Deep divergences in Chalcidoidea coincide with an increase in insect families in the fossil record, and an early shift to phytophagy corresponds with the beginning of the "Angiosperm Terrestrial Revolution". Our dating analyses suggest a middle Jurassic origin of 174 Ma (167.3-180.5 Ma) and a crown age of 162.2 Ma (153.9-169.8 Ma) for Chalcidoidea. During the Cretaceous, Chalcidoidea may have undergone a rapid radiation in southern Gondwana with subsequent dispersals to the Northern Hemisphere. This scenario is discussed with regard to knowledge about the host taxa of chalcid wasps, their fossil record and Earth's palaeogeographic history.
Most species of Megastigmus are considered important economic pests that grow in seeds, especially of conifers. Accurate identification of species is a crucial step for the biological research of parasitic pests and the further application of biological control. However, their large variety, small size, similar morphology and different growth and development stages have brought great challenges to taxonomic research. Traditional morphological identification often takes a long time and this requires us to seek a new method for rapid and accurate identification. Therefore, the better identification of Megastigmus urgently needs to be combined with molecular methods to help taxonomic development.
Here, Megastigmus daduheensis sp. n. (Chalcidoidea: Megastigmidae) was identified, based on morphology and molecular markers, such as COI and Cytb . M. daduheensis sp. n. is distinct from other known species of the same genus in the morphology. The results of the molecular phylogenetic tree, similarity alignment and genetic distance indicate that the COI and Cytb sequences of M. daduheensis sp. n. are highly similar to M. sobinae and M. duclouxiana , but there are some genetic differences. The genetic distances of M. daduheensis sp. nov. with M. duclouxiana and M. sabinae were 0.34 and 0.33 and the percentages of shared base pairs were 76.3% and 76.8%, respectively. Both morphological and molecular data classified M. daduheensis sp. n. as a new species. The obtained COI and Cytb sequences of M. daduheensis sp. n. can be used as DNA barcodes, providing molecular data for rapid and accurate identification of this species in the future.
The family Pteromalidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) is reviewed with the goal of providing nomenclatural changes and morphological diagnoses in preparation for a new molecular phylogeny and a book on world fauna that will contain keys to identification. Most subfamilies and some tribes of Pteromalidae are elevated to family level or transferred elsewhere in the superfamily. The resulting classification is a compromise, with the aim of preserving the validity and diagnosability of other, well-established families of Chalcidoidea. The following former subfamilies and tribes of Pteromalidae are elevated to family rank: Boucekiidae, Ceidae, Cerocephalidae, Chalcedectidae, Cleonymidae, Coelocybidae, Diparidae, Epichrysomallidae, Eunotidae, Herbertiidae, Hetreulophidae, Heydeniidae, Idioporidae, Lyciscidae, Macromesidae, Melanosomellidae, Moranilidae, Neodiparidae, Ooderidae, Pelecinellidae (senior synonym of Leptofoeninae), Pirenidae, Spalangiidae, and Systasidae. The following subfamilies are transferred from Pteromalidae: Chromeurytominae and Keiraninae to Megastigmidae, Elatoidinae to Neodiparidae, Nefoeninae to Pelecinellidae, and Erotolepsiinae to Spalangiidae. The subfamily Sycophaginae is transferred to Pteromalidae. The formerly incertae sedis tribe Lieparini is abolished and its single genus Liepara is transferred to Coelocybidae. The former tribe Tomocerodini is transferred to Moranilidae and elevated to subfamily status. The former synonym Tridyminae (Pirenidae) is treated as valid. The following former Pteromalidae are removed from the family and, due to phylogenetic uncertainty, placed as incertae sedis subfamilies or genera within Chalcidoidea: Austrosystasinae, Ditropinotellinae, Keryinae, Louriciinae, Micradelinae, Parasaphodinae, Rivasia , and Storeyinae. Within the remaining Pteromalidae, Miscogastrinae and Ormocerinae are confirmed as separate from Pteromalinae, the former tribe Trigonoderini is elevated to subfamily status, the former synonym Pachyneurinae is recognized as a distinct subfamily, and as the senior synonym of Austroterobiinae. The tribe Termolampini is synonymized under Pteromalini, and the tribe Uzkini is synonymized under Colotrechnini. Most former Otitesellinae, Sycoecinae, and Sycoryctinae are retained in the tribe Otitesellini, which is transferred to Pteromalinae, and all other genera of Pteromalinae are treated as Pteromalini. Eriaporidae is synonymized with Pirenidae, with Eriaporinae and Euryischiinae retained as subfamilies. Other nomenclatural acts performed here outside of Pteromalidae are as follows: Calesidae: elevation to family rank. Eulophidae: transfer of Boucekelimini and Platytetracampini to Opheliminae, and abolishment of the tribes Elasmini and Gyrolasomyiini. Baeomorphidae is recognized as the senior synonym of Rotoitidae. Khutelchalcididae is formally excluded from Chalcidoidea and placed as incertae sedis within Apocrita. Metapelmatidae and Neanastatidae are removed from Eupelmidae and treated as distinct families. Eopelma is removed from Eupelmidae and treated as an incertae sedis genus in Chalcidoidea. The following subfamilies and tribes are described as new: Cecidellinae (in Pirenidae), Enoggerinae ( incertae sedis in Chalcidoidea), Erixestinae (in Pteromalidae), Eusandalinae (in Eupelmidae), Neapterolelapinae ( incertae sedis in Chalcidoidea), Solenurinae (in Lyciscidae), Trisecodinae (in Systasidae), Diconocarini (in Pteromalidae: Miscogastrinae), and Trigonoderopsini (in Pteromalidae: Colotrechninae). A complete generic classification for discussed taxa is provided.
