Primer registro en la Península Ibérica de Oobius rudnevi (Nowicki, 1928) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), un parasitoide oófago poco conocido de Cerambyx sp. (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)

Oobius rudnevi (Nowicki, 1928) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) is first reported from Iberia and southern Europe using sentinel eggs. The parasitoid was detected in July 2016 in three oak open woodlands in Extremadura (SW Spain), located in Almendral (La Jara) and Mérida (La Serrana and Cornalvo Natural Park). O. rudnevi para-sitized both the eggs of Cerambyx cerdo Linnaeus, 1758 (its only known host to date) and C. welensii (Küster, 1845), which constitutes a new host-parasitoid association (C. welensii-O. rudnevi). Parasitism rate was quite variable among sites and dates (range 0–93%), with a higher prevalence in C. cerdo than in C. welensii. New studies are conducted in the field and laboratory to explore the ecology, behaviour and parasitic potential of O. rudnevi in Mediterranean oak open woodlands.Se cita por primera vez a Oobius rudnevi (Nowicki, 1928) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) de la Península Ibérica y el sur de Europa usando huevos centinela. El parasitoide se detectó en julio de 2016 en tres dehesas en Extremadura (SO de España), localizadas en Almendral (La Jara) y Mérida (La Serrana y Parque Natural de Cornalvo). O. rudnevi parasitó tanto los huevos de Cerambyx cerdo Linnaeus, 1758 (su único hospedador conocido hasta la fecha) como los de C. welensii (Küster, 1845), lo que supone una nueva asociación hospedador-parasitoide (C. welensii-O. rudnevi). El porcentaje de parasitismo se mostró bastante variable entre sitios y fechas (rango 0–93%), con mayor prevalencia en C. cerdo que en C. welensii. Nuevos estudios se desarrollan en campo y laboratorio para explorar la ecología, comportamiento y potencial parasitario de O. rudnevi en las dehesas mediterráneas de quercíneas

First record of Inonotus tamaricis in Romania with comments on its cultural characteristics

Inonotus tamaricis is a lignicolous basidiomycete associated exclusively with Tamarixspecies. The first Romanian record of this species is reported from Constanta city, near the Black Sea coast, where it was detected on Tamarix tetrandra. We noticed that in pure culture it forms swollen hyphae in the aerial mycelium, which have not been reported so far for I. tamaricis

Multilocus phylogeny and ecological differentiation of the "Eupelmus urozonus species group" (Hymenoptera, Eupelmidae) in the West-Palaearctic

Background: The ecological differentiation of insects with parasitic life-style is a complex process that may involve phylogenetic constraints as well as morphological and/ or behavioural adaptations. In most cases, the relative importance of these driving forces remains unexplored. We investigate here this question for the “ Eupelmus urozonus species group ” which encompasses parasitoid wasps of potential interest in biological control. This was achieved using seven molecular markers, re liable records on 91 host species and a proxy of the ovipositor length. Results: After using an adequate partitioning scheme, Maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches provide a well-resolved phylogeny supporting the monophyly of this species group and highlighting its subdivision into three sub-groups. Great variations of both the ovipositor length and the host range (specialist versus generalist) were observed at this scale, with these two features being not significantly constrained by the phylogeny. Ovipositor length was not shown as a significant predictor of the parasitoid host range. Conclusions: This study provides firstly the first evidence for the strong lability of both the ovipositor's length and the realised host range in a set of phylogeneticall y related and sympatric species. In both cases, strong contrasts were observed between sister species. Moreover, no significant correlation was found between these two features. Alternative drivers of the ecological differentiation such as interspecific interactions are proposed and the consequences on the recruitment of these parasitoids on native and exotic pests are discussed

Torymus sinensis and its close relatives in Europe: a multilocus phylogeny, detailed morphological analysis, and identification key

The introduction of the biological control agent Torymus sinensis Kamijo (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea, Torymidae) to control the populations of the chestnut gall wasp Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu (Hymenoptera, Cynipidae) is considered one of the successful programs in biological control. The species was involved in interspecific hybridisation in Japan and the specimens imported into Europe were derived from this hybrid lineage, showing signs of introgression. The discovery of mitochondrial haplotypes or possible Enolase haplotypes from T. beneficus or of specimens with shorter ovipositor does not necessarily imply that T. beneficus is present in Europe, only that the European specimens are of hybrid origin. Of the native European Torymus species associated with D. kuriphilus, the molecular and morphometric results indicate Torymus notatus (Walker) as the closest species to T. sinensis. The two are part of the same species-group (cyaneus group), are nested together in the multivariate ratio analysis and are the closest genetically based on all three nuclear markers: Enolase (1.5% divergence), Wingless (2%) and ITS2 (13%). However, on the mitochondrial marker COI the closest species is Torymus rubi (Schrank) at 9.9% divergence. As such, T. notatus is the most likely candidate for accidental interspecific hybridisation if this is to happen in Europe. We provide an illustrated identification key for the European species of Torymus associated with D. kuriphilus, an important but lacking tool for biological control programs

The Chalcidoidea bush of life: evolutionary history of a massive radiation of minute wasps.

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 monophyletic, 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 larvae. 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

A revision of the Palaearctic species of Reikosiella (Hirticauda) (Hymenoptera, Eupelmidae)

Fusu, Lucian (2013): A revision of the Palaearctic species of Reikosiella (Hirticauda) (Hymenoptera, Eupelmidae). Zootaxa 3636 (1): 1-34, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3636.1.

An integrative taxonomic study of European Eupelmus (Macroneura) (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Eupelmidae), with a molecular and cytogenetic analysis of Eupelmus (Macroneura) vesicularis: several species hiding under one name for 240 years

The European species of Eupelmus (Macroneura Walker), including the cosmopolitan and extremely polyphagous species Eupelmus vesicularis (Retzius), are revised using an integrative approach. DNA sequences of the D2 expansion region of the 28S ribosomal subunit (28S-D2) and the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase c subunit I (COI), karyological, and new morphological evidence are used to demonstrate that several cryptic species have been included under the name E. vesicularis in Europe and the species Eupelmus impennis Nikol’skaya was misinterpreted in the past. Eupelmus messene Walker, described from a specimen collected in New Zealand by Charles Darwin, is removed from synonymy under E. vesicularis and treated as a cosmopolitan valid species. The biological attributes that promoted the successful colonization of new territories by this species are discussed. Neotypes are designated for Eupelmus messene and Ichneumon vesicularis, and lectotypes for Eupelmus degeeri Dalman, Eupelmella maculata Ferrière, and Eupelminus coleopterophagus Girault. Four new species are described: Eupelmus (Macroneura) balcanicus sp. nov. and E. (Macroneura) rameli sp. nov. from the Balkan Peninsula, E. (Macroneura) barai sp. nov. from throughout Europe except from the north and Eupelmus (Macroneura) vladimiri sp. nov. from the Balkan Peninsula and Middle East. The first three species and E. messene were previously included under E. vesicularis introducing a lot of uncertainty into the extensive literature under this name. Morphological limits of the species are discussed. Males of five species are recognized and diagnosed for the first time. A key to females of 12 species and known males of European Eupelmus (Macroneura) is provided. The key illustrations and differential diagnoses provided will help in the confident identification of this species in the future and benefit ecologists and researchers involved in the biological control of insect pests.Author’s visits to BMNH, HNHM, MNCN, and MNHN were supported by the SYNTHESYS Project (http://www.synthesys.info/), financed by European Community Research Infrastructure Action under the FP7 ‘Capacities’ Program (GB-TAF-490, HU-TAF-2949, ES-TAF-1816, and FR-TAF-1155), and his research is currently sustained by the internal grant GI-2015-02 awarded by the Al. I. Cuza University of Iaşi.Peer reviewe

Chromosomes of two podagrion species (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea, Torymidae) and the evolution of high chromosome numbers in Chalcidoidea

Karyotypes of two species of Podagrion are studied for the first time. Chromosome numbers with n = 10 found in this species are the highest records for the family Torymidae. This unique karyotypes are supposed to be derived by centric fission from the ancestral karyotype of the family with n = 6. This finding allows the analysis of some aspects of karyotype evolution in Chalcidoidea, a superfamily of Hymenoptera characterized by low chromosome numbers (usually n = 5 - 6)

Chromosomes of Aprostocetus eurytomae (NEES, 1834) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae)

The chromosomes of Aprostocetus eurytomae (Nees, 1834) are studied for the first time. The karyotype of this species has five pairs of metacentric chromosomes of gradually decreasing length. Chromosome morphology and number in Aprostocetus eurytomae is very similar to that of Aprostocetus (s.str.) sp. (group epicharmus) as reported by Gokhman (2004)

Description of the first Palaearctic species of Tineobius Ashmead, 1896 with DNA data, a checklist of world species, and nomenclatural changes in Eupelmidae (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea)

Tineobius (Tineobius) tamaricis Ribes & Fusu sp. nov. is newly described from Parapodia sinaica (Frauenfeld, 1859) (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae) galls from Catalonia in Spain. This is the first record of the so far Palaeotropical genus Tineobius Ashmead, 1896 in the Palaearctic region. Basic biological data and a DNA barcode are provided for the new species. Parapodia sinaica (the host of T. tamaricis sp. nov.) is reported for the first time to form galls on Tamarix canariensis (Willd). A checklist of described world Tineobius species is provided, with nine species formally transferred to Tineobius from Anastatoidea Gahan, 1927 and thirteen species newly assigned to T. (Tineobius). Metapelma seyrigi (Risbec, 1952) is transferred to Tineobius and the replacement name Tineobius (Tineobius) madagascariensis nom. nov. is proposed, as the name is preoccupied by Tineobius (Tineobius) seyrigi (Ferrière, 1938) comb. nov.; Tineobius (Tineobius) albopalpalis (Brues, 1907) comb. nov. is transferred from Charitopus Förster, 1856 (a genus in Encyrtidae). One species is transferred from Anastatoidea to Eupelmus Dalman, 1820 as Eupelmus (Episolindelia) ambatomangae (Risbec, 1958) comb. nov