Ichneumonid wasps from Madagascar. VI. The genus Pristomerus (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Cremastinae)

Pristomerus species of Madagascar are revised. We report 15 species, of which 12 are newly described: P. guinness sp. nov., P. hansoni sp. nov., P. kelikely sp. nov., P. keyka sp. nov., P. moramora sp. nov., P. melissa sp. nov., P. patator sp. nov., P. ranomafana sp. nov., P. roberti sp. nov., P. vahaza sp. nov., P. veloma sp. nov. and P. yago sp. nov. Pristomerus albescens (Morley) and P. cunctator Tosquinet are newly recorded from Madagascar and new host and/or distribution records are provided for this species. A dichotomous key to all species is provided. The zoogeographical relation of the Malagasy fauna of Pristomerus with respect to mainland Africa is discussed: only three of the 15 species are reported to occur outside of Madagascar, suggesting a high level of endemism in Madagascar which was not unexpected

Ichneumonidae of Reunion: redescriptions of three species of Brullé (Insecta : Hymenoptera)

Reunion houses a large variety of ichneumon wasps (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae). Three of them were first described in 1846 by G.A. Brullé: Eriborus pallipes (Campopleginae), Netelia melanopus (Tryphoninae) and Xanthophenax xanthomelas (Pimplinae). The first two are both common and variable in coloration, though their original French written description is too laconic to depict this intra-specific variability. Here are therefore proposed their redescription in order to help further identifications

Afrotropical Ophioninae (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae): an update of Gauld and Mitchell’s revision, including two new species and an interactive matrix identification key

The revision of the Afrotropical Ophioninae is updated, based on the examination of about 800–900 individuals in the South African and European museum collections. A robust interactive matrix key was built to provide quick and reliable identifications. The key is available online at http://www.waspweb.org. Two new species are described: Dicamptus maxipol sp. n. and Enicospilus gauldetmitchellorum sp. n. Numerous new distribution and biological records are provided, and noticeable morphological intra-specific variations are detailed. Enicospilus batus Gauld & Mitchell, syn. n. is considered as a junior synonym of E. luebberti (Enderlein)

Saproxylic and parasitoïd insects of wood from fruit trees. Report of an emergence sequence (Manosque - Alpes-de-Haute-Provence)

Les auteurs présentent les résultats de la mise en émergence de différents bois d’arbres fruitiers pour l’étude des insectes s’y développant. Ces données complètent la connaissance de la biologie de certaines de ces espèces.The authors present the results of the emergence from wood of different species of fruit trees to the study of insects developing in it. This data complements the knowledge of the biology of some of these species

A DNA barcode-based survey of terrestrial arthropods in the Society Islands of French Polynesia : host diversity within the SymbioCode Project

We report here on the taxonomic and molecular diversity of 10 929 terrestrial arthropod specimens, collected on four islands of the Society Archipelago, French Polynesia. The survey was part of the 'SymbioCode Project' that aims to establish the Society Islands as a natural laboratory in which to investigate the flux of bacterial symbionts (e.g., Wolbachia) and other genetic material among branches of the arthropod tree. The sample includes an estimated 1127 species, of which 1098 included at least one DNA-barcoded specimen and 29 were identified to species level using morphological traits only. Species counts based on molecular data emphasize that some groups have been understudied in this region and deserve more focused taxonomic effort, notably Diptera, Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera. Some taxa that were also subjected to morphological scrutiny reveal a consistent match between DNA and morphology-based species boundaries in 90% of the cases, with a larger than expected genetic diversity in the remaining 10%. Many species from this sample are new to this region or are undescribed. Some are under description, but many await inspection by motivated experts, who can use the online images or request access to ethanol-stored specimens.Peer reviewe