Taxonomic Studies of Cardiochilinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) Focused on Specific Genera from Both the Old World and the New World

Taxonomy is a fundamental scientific study in biology, which defines, classifies, and names biological organisms. Braconidae Latreille, 1829 (Hymenoptera) is a megadiverse insect family in need of continuing taxonomic research. Among 45 braconid subfamilies, Cardiochilinae Ashmead, 1900 has had little attention by braconid taxonomists during the previous twenty years. In this dissertation, seven cardiochiline genera, Bohayella Belokobylskij, 1987, Heteropteron Brullé, 1846, Neocardiochiles Szépligeti, 1908, Orientocardiochiles Kang & Long, 2020, Retusigaster Dangerfield, Austin, & Whitfield, 1999, Schoenlandella Cameron, 1905 and Wesmaelella Spinola, 1851 are taxonomically reviewed and investigated. Orientocardiochiles was described as a new genus, the first new genus in the last twenty-three years. Neocardiochiles has been resurrected, and the relationships among Heteropteron, Neocardiochiles, and Wesmaelella were re-evaluated using a phylogeny based on morphological data. In the Neocardiochiles project, five new species of Neocardiochiles were described and five new combinations proposed. New distribution records of Bohayella from Costa Rica and Ecuador were reported, and three new species of the genus have been described. In addition, six species of Retusigaster and Schoenlandella have been newly described with information about potential food sources for R. arugosus (Mao, 1949) and R. pushi Kang, 2022 and potential host insect species of S. montserratensis Kang, 2021. Molecular data of some species have been obtained and deposited in GenBank, which can be utilized in future research. Traditional and interactive identification keys have been constructed and high-quality key images are provided. Eighteen genera and 237 species of Cardiochilinae have now been recorded. Taxonomic data obtained in the dissertation will be fundamental for future basic and applied agricultural and biological researc

ECOLOGICAL, MOLECULAR, AND MORPHOLOGICAL DATA: A SYNERGISTIC APPROACH TO RESOLVE SPECIES LIMITS OF \u3cem\u3eLYTOPYLUS\u3c/em\u3e FROM THE AREA DE CONSERVACIÓN GUANACASTE, COSTA RICA (HYMENOPTERA: BRACONIDAE: AGATHIDINAE)

Lytopylus is species-rich genus of Agathidinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Agathidinae), but limited information of the genus has been published. Morphological, molecular, and ecological data were compared to resolve the species limits of Lytopylus reared from caterpillars collected the Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) in Costa Rica. Molecular data were initially used to hypothesize species limits, and morphological and host use data were employed to make a final decision when molecular data was indecisive, e.g., when the genetic difference between species was slight. Thirty-two new species are described with image plates of each species. Phylogenetic analyses of the barcode region of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) mitochondrial gene was conducted using Neighbor-Joining (NJ) and the Maximum likelihood (ML) analysis. A concatenated COI+28S dataset was analyzed by ML analysis to elucidate evolutionary patterns in ecological characters

Natural enemies of Lemna minuta in its native range and their potential as biological control agents for Europe

Lemna minuta is native to North America but an invasive alien plant in Europe, where it poses significant threats to freshwater ecosystems. Explorations for biological control agents were conducted in two regions of the United States (Louisiana and California), revealing three candidate species. Subsequent laboratory investigations focused on the weevil Tanysphyrus lemnae and the fly Lemnaphila scotlandae as the most promising agents and confirmed that both the herbivorous insects attack L. minuta plants. To evaluate the host specificity of these two potential agents, insects were exposed to five species of duckweed commonly occurring in North America and Europe. Preliminary host-range testing indicated that T. lemnae develops on all evaluated duckweed species, including those from different genera (Lemna, Spirodela, Landoltia). Conversely, data revealed that feeding and development of the dipteran L. scotlandae are limited to species in the genus Lemna, but this includes L. minor, a native European species threatened in Europe due to the spread of L. minuta. No-choice and choice tests confirmed that neither larvae nor adults of L. scotlandae discriminate between the two Lemna species, except for pupation, which occurs more frequently in L. minor under choice conditions. We conclude that the broad host-range of T. lemnae and L. scotlandae render them unsuitable as biological control agents of L. minuta in Europe.[GRAPHICS]

Revision of the Species of \u3cem\u3eLytopylus\u3c/em\u3e from Area de Conservación Guanacaste, Northwestern Costa Rica (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Agathidinae)

Thirty two new species of Lytopylus (Agathidinae) are described with image plates for each species: Lytopylus alejandromasisi sp. n., Lytopylus alfredomainieri sp. n., Lytopylusanamariamongeae sp. n., Lytopylus angelagonzalezae sp. n., Lytopylus cesarmorai sp. n., Lytopylus eddysanchezi sp. n., Lytopylus eliethcantillanoae sp. n., Lytopylus ericchapmani sp. n., Lytopylus gahyunae sp. n., Lytopylus gisukae sp. n., Lytopylus guillermopereirai sp. n., Lytopylusgustavoindunii sp. n., Lytopylus hartmanguidoi sp. n., Lytopylus hernanbravoi sp. n., Lytopylushokwoni sp. n., Lytopylus ivanniasandovalae sp. n., Lytopylus johanvalerioi sp. n., Lytopylusjosecortesi sp. n., Lytopylus luisgaritai sp. n., Lytopylus mariamartachavarriae sp. n., Lytopylusmiguelviquezi sp. n., Lytopylus motohasegawai sp. n., Lytopylus okchunae sp. n., Lytopyluspablocobbi sp. n., Lytopylus robertofernandezi sp. n., Lytopylus rogerblancoi sp. n., Lytopylussalvadorlopezi sp. n., Lytopylus sangyeoni sp. n., Lytopylus sarahmeierottoae sp. n., Lytopylussergiobermudezi sp. n., Lytopylus sigifredomarini sp. n., and Lytopylus youngcheae sp. n. A dichotomous key and a link to an electronic, interactive key are included. All specimens were reared from Lepidoptera larvae collected in Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) and all are associated with ecological information including host caterpillar, collection date, eclosion date, caterpillar food plant, and locality. Neighbor-joining and maximum likelihood analyses of the barcode region of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI DNA barcode) were conducted to aid in species delimitation

Revision of the Species of \u3cem\u3eLytopylus\u3c/em\u3e from Area de Conservación Guanacaste, Northwestern Costa Rica (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Agathidinae)

Thirty two new species of Lytopylus (Agathidinae) are described with image plates for each species: Lytopylus alejandromasisi sp. n., Lytopylus alfredomainieri sp. n., Lytopylusanamariamongeae sp. n., Lytopylus angelagonzalezae sp. n., Lytopylus cesarmorai sp. n., Lytopylus eddysanchezi sp. n., Lytopylus eliethcantillanoae sp. n., Lytopylus ericchapmani sp. n., Lytopylus gahyunae sp. n., Lytopylus gisukae sp. n., Lytopylus guillermopereirai sp. n., Lytopylusgustavoindunii sp. n., Lytopylus hartmanguidoi sp. n., Lytopylus hernanbravoi sp. n., Lytopylushokwoni sp. n., Lytopylus ivanniasandovalae sp. n., Lytopylus johanvalerioi sp. n., Lytopylusjosecortesi sp. n., Lytopylus luisgaritai sp. n., Lytopylus mariamartachavarriae sp. n., Lytopylusmiguelviquezi sp. n., Lytopylus motohasegawai sp. n., Lytopylus okchunae sp. n., Lytopyluspablocobbi sp. n., Lytopylus robertofernandezi sp. n., Lytopylus rogerblancoi sp. n., Lytopylussalvadorlopezi sp. n., Lytopylus sangyeoni sp. n., Lytopylus sarahmeierottoae sp. n., Lytopylussergiobermudezi sp. n., Lytopylus sigifredomarini sp. n., and Lytopylus youngcheae sp. n. A dichotomous key and a link to an electronic, interactive key are included. All specimens were reared from Lepidoptera larvae collected in Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) and all are associated with ecological information including host caterpillar, collection date, eclosion date, caterpillar food plant, and locality. Neighbor-joining and maximum likelihood analyses of the barcode region of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI DNA barcode) were conducted to aid in species delimitation

Ophiclypeus, a new genus of Cardiochilinae Ashmead (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) from the Oriental region with descriptions of three new species

A new genus of the braconid subfamily Cardiochilinae, Ophiclypeus gen. nov., is described and illustrated based on three new species: O. chiangmaiensis Kang, sp. nov. type species (type locality: Chiang Mai, Thailand), O. dvaravati Ghafouri Moghaddam, Quicke & Butcher, sp. nov. (type locality: Saraburi, Thailand), and O. junyani Kang, sp. nov. (type locality: Dalin, Taiwan). We provide morphological diagnostic characters to separate the new genus from other cardiochiline genera. A modified key couplet (couplet 5) and a new key couplet (couplet 16) are provided with detailed images for Dangerfield’s key to the world cardiochiline genera to facilitate recognition of Ophiclypeus gen. nov

Three new species of Retusigaster Dangerfield, Austin & Whitfield, 1999 (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Cardiochilinae) with an illustrated key to the New World species

Retusigaster Dangerfield, Austin & Whitfield, 1999 is a genus of the subfamily Cardiochilinae Ashmead, 1900 and exhibits high species richness in the New World. Eight species of the genus were recorded before this work: five species from the Nearctic region, two species from the Neotropical region, and one species from the Palearctic region. In this article, three new species of New World Retusigaster are described based on morphological characters: R. pulawskii sp. nov.; R. purshi sp. nov.; R. vanduzeei sp. nov. In addition, potential food sources of the members of R. arugosus (Mao, 1949) and R. purshi sp. nov. are reported, and an illustrated key to the New World species of Retusigaster is provided. The number of species of Retusigaster in the New World is increased from seven to ten

Three new species of Retusigaster Dangerfield, Austin & Whitfield, 1999 (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Cardiochilinae) with an illustrated key to the New World species

Retusigaster Dangerfield, Austin & Whitfield, 1999 is a genus of the subfamily Cardiochilinae Ashmead, 1900 and exhibits high species richness in the New World. Eight species of the genus were recorded before this work: five species from the Nearctic region, two species from the Neotropical region, and one species from the Palearctic region. In this article, three new species of New World Retusigaster are described based on morphological characters: R. pulawskii sp. nov.; R. purshi sp. nov.; R. vanduzeei sp. nov. In addition, potential food sources of the members of R. arugosus (Mao, 1949) and R. purshi sp. nov. are reported, and an illustrated key to the New World species of Retusigaster is provided. The number of species of Retusigaster in the New World is increased from seven to ten

Bohayella rodrigodiazi sp. nov.: a new species from Ecuador with an updated key to the New World species of Bohayella Belokobylskij (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Cardiochilinae)

The New World species of Bohayella Belokobylskij, 1987 are revised based on morphological data, and a new species of the genus from Ecuador is described: Bohayella rodrigodiazi Kang, sp. nov. This work includes an updated identification key to species of Bohayella in the New World along with images of diagnostic characters. The number of recorded Bohayella species in the New World is increased from two to three