DNA barcoding a highly diverse group of parasitoid wasps (Braconidae: Doryctinae) from a Mexican nature reserve

Background and aims. The preliminary results of a DNA barcoding study of the doryctine fauna of parasitoid wasps from the Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve in Mexico, a region dominated by tropical dry forest, are presented. So far, three field trips have been carried out to the reserve and 468 specimens have been collected, of which 407 cox1 sequences were obtained.Materials and methods. The general mixed Yule-coalescent model was applied to a phylogram to investigate the number of evolutionary units that can be detected from the DNA sequence data examined.Results. A total of 185 barcoding species assigned to 20 identified doryctine genera were discriminated using the above model, 115 of which belong to the speciose genus Heterospilus, pointing out the extraordinary species richness of this subfamily of insects in a Mexican tropical dry forest.Conclusion. On the basis of the DNA barcodes generated, Ptesimogastroides Braet & van Achterberg is proposed to be a junior synonym of Ptesimogaster Marsh syn. nov. Neoheterospilus was also found deeply nested within a large Heterospilus clade, suggesting the paraphyly of the latter genus.Fil: Zaldívar Riverón, Alejandro. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Martinez, Juan Jose. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”; ArgentinaFil: Ceccarelli, Fadia Sara. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; México. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: De Jesús Bonilla, Vladimir Salvador. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Rodríguez Pérez, Ana Cecilia. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Reséndiz Flores, Andrés. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Smith, M. Alex. University of Guelph; Canad