Kuldherilaste (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae) Chrysis ignita liigirühma fülogeneetiline revisjon rõhuasetusega Põhja-Euroopa faunal

Väitekirja elektrooniline versioon ei sisalda publikatsioone.Eluslooduse mitmekesisuse kirjeldamine ja analüüsimine on loodusteaduste vanimaid ja olulisemaid ülesandeid, kuna vaid adekvaatsele teadmisele sellest saab toetuda edasine bioloogia alane uurimistöö või tõhus elurikkuse kaitse. Olgu uurimisteemaks loomade käitumine või taimede levik on tulemuste väärtus väike, kui puudub selgus selles osas millist organismi õigupoolest uuriti – vigu selles vallas esineb sagedamini kui võiks arvata. Kuldherilased on küll kaunid herilastega suguluses olevad putukad, kuid oma väheldase kasvu tõttu ei ole nad pälvinud piisavalt tähelepanu. Enamgi veel, nende liikide uurimine on osutunud keerukaks tänu äravahetamiseni sarnasele välimusele. Kuna senised katsed kuldherilasi klassifitseerida on osutunud vaid osaliselt edukaks võtsin oma doktoritöös kasutusse tunnused, mida nende uurimisel ei ole varem rakendatud. Nimelt kasutan nende süstemaatika, st üksikisendite vaheliste sugulussidemete, kindlaks tegemisel erinevusi isendite pärilikkusaine ehk DNA järjestustes. Kuigi kuldherilased on laia levikuga, keskendun ennekõike Põhja-Euroopa ja vähemal määral Euraasia liikidele. Seda ennekõike huvi tõttu meie loomastiku vastu. Et kindlaks teha nende liigiline koosseis P-Euroopas tuli üle kontrollida senised teadmised piirkonna kuldherilaste kohta ning ühtlasi läbi vaadata muuseumite kogud. Mul õnnestus kindlaks teha ühe raskemini eristatavate kuldherilaste rühma põlvnemine ning eeskätt Põhja-Euroopa osas ka liigiline koosseis. Seejuures ilmnes, et mitmed liigid kas ei olnud varem omaette liikidena määratletud või olid sootuks tuvastamata jäänud. Kasutatav meetod osutus sobilikuks ka muidu raskesti eristatavate liikide tuvastamisel. Taani, Fennoskandia ja Baltimaade kuldherilaste liigilise koosseisu osas tuli samuti olulisi korrektuure teha. Oli juhuseid, kus varem teatud liigi leidumine piirkonnas osutus veaks, samas kui mõne liigi leidumist sel alal ei olnud tuvastatudki. Minu doktoritöö lahendas mitmed senised probleemid kõige raskemini eristatavate liikide käsitlustes meetodi abil, mida nende putukate süstemaatika uurimisel pole varem kasutatud. Koos Taani, Fennoskandia ja Baltimaade kuldherilaste liigilise koosseisu ülekontrollimise ja kaasajastamisega annab minu doktoritöö hea aluse kuldherilaste edasiseks uurimiseks.Description and analysis of the diversity of wildlife is one of the oldest and most important tasks in natural sciences since any biological study or effective nature conservation can only rely on adequate knowledge of it. Weather one studies animal behavior or plant dispersal, the results have little meaning if there is no clear understanding which organism was actually studied: such mistakes are unfortunately not very rare. Although cuckoo wasps are beautiful relatives of yellowjackets, they have received insufficient attention due to their small size. Moreover, study of their species composition has proven difficult due to their highly similar appearance. As former attempts to classify them have turned out only partially successful I used in my thesis characters, which haven’t been used in systematic studies of these insects: differences in DNA sequences are used for determining relationships between individual specimens. Although the studied insects are widespread, I focus in my thesis on Eurasian, especially northern European species, due to high interest in fauna of this region. In order to examine the cuckoo wasp fauna in Denmark, Fennoscandia and Baltic countries, all existing faunistic knowledge as well as the collections in museums had to be revised. As a result of analysis the phylogeny and species composition, primarily in northern Europe, was determined for the cuckoo wasps group which species are most difficult to distinguish. It appeared that several species were earlier not treated as distinct species or had remained completely unrecognized. The used method was also suitable for identifying species, which are otherwise difficult to identify. Revision of cuckoo wasp fauna of Denmark, Fennoscandia and Baltic countries also revealed several deficiencies. In some occasions known occurrence of a species in this region proved to be erroneous while occurrence of few species in the region had not been discovered jet. My thesis resolved numerous problems in treatments of most complicated cuckoo wasp species with the help of method, which hadn’t been used in systematic studies of these insects. Together with the revision and update of the knowledge about cuckoo wasp fauna of Denmark, Fennoscandia and Baltic countries, my thesis generates solid basis for future studies of cuckoo wasps

Strepsiptera species in Estonia

Data on Strepsiptera species in Estonia are presented for the first time. Four species from three families – Elenchus tenuicornis (Kirby, 1815), Halictophagus silwoodensis Waloff, 1981, Halictoxenos tumulorum Perkins, 1918 and Stylops melittae Kirby, 1802 – have been recorded. Collection data and colour photographs for each species are presented and their known distribution and biology briefly discussed. A key to species in Baltic countries and Fennoscandia is provided

Occurrence and biology of Pseudogonalos hahnii (Spinola, 1840) (Hymenoptera: Trigonalidae) in Fennoscandia and the Baltic states

Pseudogonalos hahniiis the only known species of Trigonalidae in Europe. It is a hyperparasitoid of lepidopteran larvae via ichneumonid primary parasitoids. Possibly, it has also been reared from a symphytan larva. We report the species for the first time from Estonia, Lithuania and Russian Fennoscandia, and list all known observations from Finland and Latvia. An overview of the biology of the species is presented with a list of all known host records

Cleptes pallipes Lepeletier synonym of Cleptes semiauratus (Linnaeus) and description of Cleptes striatipleuris sp. nov. (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae, Cleptinae)

The interpretation of Linnaeus’ name Sphex semiaurata Linnaeus, 1761 has been controversial. After type examinations, we conclude that it is identical with the common Cleptes pallipes Lepeletier, 1806 and thus re-establish the old synonymy: Cleptes semiauratus (Linnaeus, 1761) (=Cleptes pallipes Lepeletier, 1806, syn. reinst.). We have been unable to find an available name for the species with which it has been confused. In order to be able to designate a suitable type specimen, we prefer to describe it as a new species rather than suggest a replacement name: Cleptes striatipleuris Rosa, Forshage, Paukkunen & Soon sp. nov. (=Cleptes semiauratus sensu Lepeletier, 1806, nec Linnaeus, 1761; =C. splendens sensu Linsenmaier 1959, nec Fabricius, 1798).The interpretation of Linnaeus’ name Sphex semiaurata Linnaeus, 1761 has been controversial. After type examinations, we conclude that it is identical with the common Cleptes pallipes Lepeletier, 1806 and thus re-establish the old synonymy: Cleptes semiauratus (Linnaeus, 1761) (=Cleptes pallipes Lepeletier, 1806, syn. reinst.). We have been unable to find an available name for the species with which it has been confused. In order to be able to designate a suitable type specimen, we prefer to describe it as a new species rather than suggest a replacement name: Cleptes striatipleuris Rosa, Forshage, Paukkunen & Soon sp. nov. (=Cleptes semiauratus sensu Lepeletier, 1806, nec Linnaeus, 1761; =C. splendens sensu Linsenmaier 1959, nec Fabricius, 1798).Peer reviewe

Cuticular hydrocarbons on old museum specimens of the spiny mason wasp, Odynerus spinipes (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae), shed light on the distribution and on regional frequencies of distinct chemotypes

The mason wasp Odynerus spinipes shows an exceptional case of intrasexual cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profile dimorphism. Females of this species display one of two CHC profiles (chemotypes) that differ qualitatively and quantitatively from each other. The ratio of the two chemotypes was previously shown to be close to 1:1 at three sites in Southern Germany, which might not be representative given the Palearctic distribution of the species. To infer the frequency of the two chemotypes across the entire distributional range of the species, we analyzed with GC–MS the CHC profile of 1042 dry-mounted specimens stored in private and museum collections. We complemented our sampling by including 324 samples collected and preserved specifically for studying their CHCs. We were capable of reliably identifying the chemotypes in 91% of drymounted samples, some of which collected almost 200 years ago. We found both chemotypes to occur in the Far East, the presumed glacial refuge of the species, and their frequency to differ considerably between sites and geographic regions. The geographic structure in the chemotype frequencies could be the result of differential selection regimes and/or different dispersal routes during the colonization of the Western Palearctic. The presented data pave the route for disentangling these factors by providing information where to geographically sample O. spinipes for population genetic analyses. They also form the much-needed basis for future studies aiming to understand the evolutionary and geographic origin as well as the genetics of the astounding CHC profile dimorphism that O. spinipes females exhibit

Data from: Mitochondrial phylogeny of the Chrysis ignita (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae) species group based on simultaneous Bayesian alignment and phylogeny reconstruction

No description availabl

MAP_alignment_of_complete_dataset

MAP_alignment_of_complete_datase

highly_supported_positions_only

highly_supported_positions_onl