Checklist of British and Irish Hymenoptera - Platygastroidea

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The attached file is the published version of the article.NHM Repositor

A morphological, biological and molecular approach reveals four cryptic species of Trissolcus Ashmead (Hymenoptera, Scelionidae), egg parasitoids of Pentatomidae (Hemiptera)

Accurate identification of parasitoids is crucial for biological control of the invasive brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomrpha halys (Stål). A recent work by Talamas et al. (2017) revised the Palearctic fauna of Trissolcus Ashmead, egg-parasitoids of stink bugs, and treated numerous species as junior synonyms of T. semistriatus (Nees von Esenbeck). In the present paper, we provide a detailed taxonomic history and treatment of T. semistriatus and the species treated as its synonyms by Talamas et al. (2017) based on examination of primary types, molecular analyses and mating experiments. Trissolcus semistriatus, T. belenus (Walker), T. colemani (Crawford), and T. manteroi (Kieffer) are here recognized as valid and a key to species is provided. The identification tools provided here will facilitate the use of Trissolcus wasps as biological control agents and as the subject of ecological studies

Telenomus nizwaensis (Hymenoptera : Scelionidae), an important egg parasitoid of the pomegranate butterfly Deudorix livia Klug (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) in Oman

The pomegranate butterfly Deudorix (= Virachola) livia is the major pest of pomegranate, a crop of economic importance, in Oman. A species of parasitoid wasp in the hymenopteran family Scelionidae is responsible for high levels of mortality of its eggs. This wasp is described herein as Telenomus nizwaensis Polaszek sp. n., based on morphology and DNA sequence data. T. nizwaensis is currently known only from D. livia, which is also a pest of economic importance on other crops in North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Mediterranean. We summarise current knowledge of T. nizwaensis life-history and its potential to provide biological pest control.Peer reviewe

The ecology, genitalia and larval morphology of Polythrena coloraria Herrich-Schäffer, 1855 (Lepidoptera: Geometridae), with records of its egg parasitoid Telenomus acarnas Kozlov & Kononova, 1977 (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae)

Investigations were made upon the biology and habitat demands of the larvae and adults of Polythrena coloraria in the Kivach nature reserve in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, close to the eastern border of Finland. In the laboratory females laid eggs only on Ribes nigrum, although other plants were also available. Eggs were found in the field under the leaves of this plant, too. Instead larvae were not found in the field. In the laboratory they did not eat any other plants offered. In addition, the male and female genitalia and larval morphology are described. Based on these characteristics, the systematic position of the species is discussed. A parasitoid wasp Telenomus acarnas (Hymenoptera, Scelionidae, Telenominae) is reported fromthe eggs of P. coloraria. It seems to be the first host record for this parasitoid wasp

Five new species of Platygastroidea from Norway (Hymenoptera)

Five new species are described from Southern Norway, viz. Telenomus ciliatus sp. n. (♂), Synopeas brevis sp. n. (♀) (also from the United Kingdom), S. bohemani sp. n. (♀, ♂), Platygaster litoralis sp. n. (♀, ♂), and Prosactogaster damokles sp. n. (♀)