Saproxylic Hymenoptera in dead wood retained on clear cuts, relation to wood parameters and their degree of specialisation

Intensive forestry is a threat to biodiversity, and therefore actions are made to mitigate this loss. The actions are, however, designed based on available knowledge about the requirements of species, and for saproxylic insects this concerns mainly Coleoptera, while the diverse but poorly known Hymenoptera has contributed less. In this paper we therefore asked whether the substrate requirements of Hymenoptera (divided as parasitoids and non-parasitoids) are similar to those of Coleoptera and Diptera. We used an insect material reared from logging residue wood for the comparison. Theoretically parasitoid Hymenoptera should be less specialised than Coleoptera and other host species as they belong to a higher trophic level. However, we found no such diference and even an opposite trend, that parasitoids were more specialised than beetles. Parasitoids had signifcantly more species in newly dead wood of fne diameter (1–4 cm, compared to coarse wood of 8–15 cm) compared to other groups. This is probably due to that many of them have bark beetles as hosts. The non-parasitoids were less specialised than the other groups and more confned to old wood (4–5 years), which is in line with that many of them are aculeate wasps building nests in emergence holes from other insects

Completing Linnaeus's inventory of the Swedish insect fauna: Only 5,000 species left?

Despite more than 250 years of taxonomic research, we still have only a vague idea about the true size and composition of the faunas and floras of the planet. Many biodiversity inventories provide limited insight because they focus on a small taxonomic subsample or a tiny geographic area. Here, we report on the size and composition of the Swedish insect fauna, thought to represent roughly half of the diversity of multicellular life in one of the largest European countries. Our results are based on more than a decade of data from the Swedish Taxonomy Initiative and its massive inventory of the country's insect fauna, the Swedish Malaise Trap Project The fauna is considered one of the best known in the world, but the initiative has nevertheless revealed a surprising amount of hidden diversity: more than 3,000 new species (301 new to science) have been documented so far. Here, we use three independent methods to analyze the true size and composition of the fauna at the family or subfamily level: (1) assessments by experts who have been working on the most poorly known groups in the fauna; (2) estimates based on the proportion of new species discovered in the Malaise trap inventory; and (3) extrapolations based on species abundance and incidence data from the inventory. For the last method, we develop a new estimator, the combined non-parametric estimator, which we show is less sensitive to poor coverage of the species pool than other popular estimators. The three methods converge on similar estimates of the size and composition of the fauna, suggesting that it comprises around 33,000 species. Of those, 8,600 (26%) were unknown at the start of the inventory and 5,000 (15%) still await discovery. We analyze the taxonomic and ecological composition of the estimated fauna, and show that most of the new species belong to Hymenoptera and Diptera groups that are decomposers or parasitoids. Thus, current knowledge of the Swedish insect fauna is strongly biased taxonomically and ecologically, and we show that similar but even stronger biases have distorted our understanding of the fauna in the past. We analyze latitudinal gradients in the size and composition of known European insect faunas and show that several of the patterns contradict the Swedish data, presumably due to similar knowledge biases. Addressing these biases is critical in understanding insect biomes and the ecosystem services they provide. Our results emphasize the need to broaden the taxonomic scope of current insect monitoring efforts, a task that is all the more urgent as recent studies indicate a possible worldwide decline in insect faunas

Revision of the Western Palearctic Meteorini (Hymenoptera, Braconidae), with a molecular characterization of hidden Fennoscandian species diversity

The tribe Meteorini includes two genera, Meteorus and Zele, which are koinobiont endoparasitoids of larval Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. More than 300 species are known, about one fifth of which occur in the Western Palearctic. Here, we revise the Western Palearctic species, based partly on traditional approaches and partly on molecular analysis of recent Swedish and Finnish material. For the analyses of phylogenetic relationships and cryptic species diversity, we coded 17 morphological characters and sequenced two markers, 28S D2 (649 bp) and CO1 (665 bp). More than 1 970 specimens representing 54 species of Meteorus Haliday and 5 species of Zele Curtis were studied; of these, 177 specimens represent- ing 41 species were sequenced. Seven new species are described, all from the Fennoscandian material: Meteorus artocercus sp. nov., M. densipilosus sp. nov., M. eklundi sp. nov., M. longipilosus sp. nov., M. sibyllae sp. nov., M. stenomastax sp. nov., and M. subtilisulcus sp. nov. Four new synonyms are introduced: Z. chlorophthalmus (Spinola 1808), syn. nov. for M. pallidus (Nees 1812), M. punctifrons Thomson 1895, syn. nov. for M. varinervis (Tobias 1986), M. melanostictus Capron 1887, syn. nov for M. monachae (Tobias 1986), and M. tenellus Marshall 1887, syn. nov. for M. boreus (Tobias 1986). Meteorus tenellus is removed from synonymy with M. cinctellus. Sequence analysis indicated the presence of at least 12 additional cryptic species but these cannot be separated morphologically at this point and, therefore, we do not describe them here. The phylogenetic results suggest that Zele should be included within Meteorus but we refrain from formal changes of the generic classification until more comprehensive phylogenetic analyses of the tribe can be completed. A key to the known Western Palearctic species is presented.

Spathicopis van Achterberg, 1977 (Braconidae, Euphorinae) a new wasp genus for Sweden, with a spoon shaped ovipositor

In Sweden, the parasitic wasp family Braconidae belongs to the top-three species-richest insect families, together with Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera) and Staphylinidae (Coleoptera). Currently 1089 species are reported from Sweden. The world species of Braconidae are divided into 31 subfamilies and 172 genera. Several new species has been discovered in Sweden within the subfamily Euphoriane (Stigenberg & Ronquist 2011) and there is material enough to increase the Braconidae records up to at least 1500 species in Sweden. Here I present a new genus to Sweden with a distribution covering Sweden from the North to the South. So far 52 specimens of the species Spathicopis flavocephala have been found in Sweden.

Revision of the Western Palearctic Meteorini (Hymenoptera, Braconidae), with a molecular characterization of hidden Fennoscandian species diversity

The tribe Meteorini includes two genera, Meteorus and Zele, which are koinobiont endoparasitoids of larval Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. More than 300 species are known, about one fifth of which occur in the Western Palearctic. Here, we revise the Western Palearctic species, based partly on traditional approaches and partly on molecular analysis of recent Swedish and Finnish material. For the analyses of phylogenetic relationships and cryptic species diversity, we coded 17 morphological characters and sequenced two markers, 28S D2 (649 bp) and CO1 (665 bp). More than 1 970 specimens representing 54 species of Meteorus Haliday and 5 species of Zele Curtis were studied; of these, 177 specimens represent- ing 41 species were sequenced. Seven new species are described, all from the Fennoscandian material: Meteorus artocercus sp. nov., M. densipilosus sp. nov., M. eklundi sp. nov., M. longipilosus sp. nov., M. sibyllae sp. nov., M. stenomastax sp. nov., and M. subtilisulcus sp. nov. Four new synonyms are introduced: Z. chlorophthalmus (Spinola 1808), syn. nov. for M. pallidus (Nees 1812), M. punctifrons Thomson 1895, syn. nov. for M. varinervis (Tobias 1986), M. melanostictus Capron 1887, syn. nov for M. monachae (Tobias 1986), and M. tenellus Marshall 1887, syn. nov. for M. boreus (Tobias 1986). Meteorus tenellus is removed from synonymy with M. cinctellus. Sequence analysis indicated the presence of at least 12 additional cryptic species but these cannot be separated morphologically at this point and, therefore, we do not describe them here. The phylogenetic results suggest that Zele should be included within Meteorus but we refrain from formal changes of the generic classification until more comprehensive phylogenetic analyses of the tribe can be completed. A key to the known Western Palearctic species is presented.

Review of the genus Townesilitus (Haeselbarth & Loan) in Sweden, with a molecular characterization.

The tribe Townesilitini (Braconidae, Euphorinae) includes the genera Townesilitus, Streblocera, Marshiella and Prochlithrophorus. In Sweden this tribe is represented by the genera Townesilitus and Streblocera. This paper explores the taxonomy of the genus Townesilitus in Sweden. One new species is described from Sweden, Townesilitus oelandicus sp. nov. and the species T. aemulus (Ruthe, 1856) is recorded for the first time for Sweden. All five Swedish species, T. aemulus (Ruthe, 1856), T. bicolor (Wesmael, 1835), T. deceptor (Wesmael, 1835), T. fulviceps (Ruthe, 1856) and T. oelandicus, are diagnosed both morphologically and molecularly. A key for the identification of these species is provided and a phylogenetic tree is presented as well as information on distribution and phenology for all five species occurring in Sweden

Review of the genus Townesilitus (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) in Sweden, with description of a new species and a molecular characterization.

The tribe Townesilitini (Braconidae, Euphorinae) includes the genera Townesilitus, Streblocera, Marshiella and Prochlithrophorus. In Sweden this tribe is represented by the genera Townesilitus and Streblocera. This paper explores the taxonomy of the genus Townesilitus in Sweden. One new species is described from Sweden, Townesilitus oelandicus sp. nov. and the species T. aemulus (Ruthe, 1856) is recorded for the first time for Sweden. All five Swedish species, T. aemulus (Ruthe, 1856), T. bicolor (Wesmael, 1835), T. deceptor (Wesmael, 1835), T. fulviceps (Ruthe, 1856) and T. oelandicus, are diagnosed both mor- phologically and molecularly. A key for the identification of these species is provided and a phylogenetic tree is presented as well as information on distribution and phenology for all ve species occurring in Sweden.

Hidden Creatures – systematics of the Euphorinae (Hymenoptera)

Parasitic wasps constitute one of the last remaining frontiers in the charting of animal diversity. The Braconidae is the second most species-rich family of parasitic wasps; the world fauna has been estimated at 40 000 species and the Swedish fauna is believed to include a little more than 2 000 species, 1 200 of which are currently documented. This thesis is a contribution to the rapidly increasing knowledge of braconid diversity. In paper I, a new gregarious parasitoid, Meteorus acerbiavorus sp. nov. (Braconidae: Eupohrinae), is described from specimens reared from the cocoons of the butterfly Acerbia alpina (Quensel) (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae) in northwestern Finnish Lapland. Based on a molecular phylogenetic analysis, the new species is shown to belong to the M. rubens species group. In the second paper, the Western Palearctic fauna of the tribe is revised, seven new species are described and a key to the Western Palearctic species is presented. Two molecular markers, 28S and COI, are used to study phylogenetic relationships in the tribe. The molecular results showed that the Meteorini fall into four well supported clades. The results also reveal a considerable cryptic species diversity. The third paper deals with distributional, phenological and in many cases rearing data from nearly 2 500 specimens (44 species) of the Meteorini in the collection of the National Museums of Scotland (NMS), Edinburgh. Patterns in the breadth of host ranges are discussed in relation to a reiterated speciation hypothesis. Paper IV examines the phylogenetic relationships of the entire subfamily Euphorinae based upon four gene regions (18S, CAD, 28S D2, and COI). A revised classification of the Euphorinae is proposed that recognizes 55 genera and 14 tribes. Our study shows that early members of the Euphorinae were parasitoids of coleopteran larvae, with a host shift to larval Lepidoptera, adult or immature hosts in the Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Neuroptera, Orthoptera and Psocoptera.At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: In press. Paper 4: Manuscript.</p

Review of the genus Townesilitus (Haeselbarth &amp; Loan) in Sweden, with a molecular characterization.

The tribe Townesilitini (Braconidae, Euphorinae) includes the genera Townesilitus, Streblocera, Marshiella and Prochlithrophorus. In Sweden this tribe is represented by the genera Townesilitus and Streblocera. This paper explores the taxonomy of the genus Townesilitus in Sweden. One new species is described from Sweden, Townesilitus oelandicus sp. nov. and the species T. aemulus (Ruthe, 1856) is recorded for the first time for Sweden. All five Swedish species, T. aemulus (Ruthe, 1856), T. bicolor (Wesmael, 1835), T. deceptor (Wesmael, 1835), T. fulviceps (Ruthe, 1856) and T. oelandicus, are diagnosed both morphologically and molecularly. A key for the identification of these species is provided and a phylogenetic tree is presented as well as information on distribution and phenology for all five species occurring in Sweden

Hidden Creatures – systematics of the Euphorinae (Hymenoptera)

Parasitic wasps constitute one of the last remaining frontiers in the charting of animal diversity. The Braconidae is the second most species-rich family of parasitic wasps; the world fauna has been estimated at 40 000 species and the Swedish fauna is believed to include a little more than 2 000 species, 1 200 of which are currently documented. This thesis is a contribution to the rapidly increasing knowledge of braconid diversity. In paper I, a new gregarious parasitoid, Meteorus acerbiavorus sp. nov. (Braconidae: Eupohrinae), is described from specimens reared from the cocoons of the butterfly Acerbia alpina (Quensel) (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae) in northwestern Finnish Lapland. Based on a molecular phylogenetic analysis, the new species is shown to belong to the M. rubens species group. In the second paper, the Western Palearctic fauna of the tribe is revised, seven new species are described and a key to the Western Palearctic species is presented. Two molecular markers, 28S and COI, are used to study phylogenetic relationships in the tribe. The molecular results showed that the Meteorini fall into four well supported clades. The results also reveal a considerable cryptic species diversity. The third paper deals with distributional, phenological and in many cases rearing data from nearly 2 500 specimens (44 species) of the Meteorini in the collection of the National Museums of Scotland (NMS), Edinburgh. Patterns in the breadth of host ranges are discussed in relation to a reiterated speciation hypothesis. Paper IV examines the phylogenetic relationships of the entire subfamily Euphorinae based upon four gene regions (18S, CAD, 28S D2, and COI). A revised classification of the Euphorinae is proposed that recognizes 55 genera and 14 tribes. Our study shows that early members of the Euphorinae were parasitoids of coleopteran larvae, with a host shift to larval Lepidoptera, adult or immature hosts in the Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Neuroptera, Orthoptera and Psocoptera.At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: In press. Paper 4: Manuscript.</p