The discovery of new biodiversity, during an age of unprecedented extinction, is vital for all the life sciences and the quality of human life. One ecologically and economically important group that requires attention is the hymenopteran family Braconidae, which is estimated to include thousands of undescribed species. Here we assessed the genetic structure and species diversification in the braconid wasp genus Allorhogas Gahan (Doryctinae) that were reared from galls of five cynipid wasp species associated with three live oak species (Fagaceae: Quercus: subsection Virentes) in the southeastern United States. We explored genetic variation in the single-locus barcoding COI region of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), and conducted analyses with different DNA sequence-based species delimitation approaches both for the above marker and genome-wide nuclear data using ultraconserved elements (UCEs). We found high variation in the mtDNA barcoding region among specimens of Allorhogas reared from galls made by different cynipid species in distinct plant organs and among specimens reared from the same type of gall from two separate geographic regions. In addition, our analyses of mtDNA and multilocus nuclear data were concordant in consistently delimiting at least five genetic lineages. We combined this molecular evidence with morphological data to describe four new species and redescribe the type species of the genus, Allorhogas gallicola Gahan, which exhibited similar morphological, ecological, and biogeographic characteristics to the four new species. This study highlights the importance of carrying detailed rearing surveys to uncover the intricate species interactions and species diversity that is present in gall-former systems.

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A new braconid genus from the subfamily Doryctinae, Mexiare gen. nov. (type species M. toledoi sp. nov.) is described from the state of Morelos in Central Mexico. The described species of this genus is characterised by having immovably fused first and second metasomal tergites, a feature also present in species of two Oriental (Arhaconotus Belokobylskij and Mimipodoryctes Belokobylskij) and one Neotropical (Iare Barbalho et Penteado-Dias) genera. The new genus, however, can be distinguished from the Neotropical Iare by the presence of a semi-oval basal area on the second metasomal tergite, distinctly short submedial (subbasal) cell of hind wing, more than three hamuli, considerably short second radiomedial (submarginal) cell, narrow radial (marginal) cell of fore wing and mostly smooth mesoscutum. A phylogenetic analysis among doryctine genera based on two gene markers (28S and COI) placed Mexiare gen. nov. within a previously recovered major South American clade, though its relationships with other taxa remain unclear.

The braconid subfamily Doryctinae (Hymenoptera) is a cosmopolitan, species-rich group of parasitoid wasps whose known species richness and morphological diversity is mainly concentrated in the Neotropical region. Among the doryctine taxa that are endemic to this region, there is a group of six genera (the Pedinotus genus group) that are mainly characterized by having lateral, posteriorly converging or subparallel grooves on the second metasomal tergite (including Gymnobracon Szépligeti, Hybodoryctes Szépligeti, Lamquetia Braet et van Achterberg, Osmophila Szépligeti, Pedinotus Szépligeti and Trigonophasmus Enderlein). Most of these genera were described more than a century ago, and thus their limits and diagnostic morphological features are not well defined. We present an analysis of the phylogenetic relationships among various representative species of five of the six genera belonging to the Pedinotus genus group based on one mitochondrial (cytochrome oxidase I) and two nuclear (28S, Wingless) gene markers. We also estimated the timing of origin and diversification within the group and investigated the external morphology of the genera involved in order to determine reliable identification characters. The group as a whole, whilst being recovered as monophyletic with the inclusion of Acanthorhogas Szépligeti, was not statistically supported. However, the respective monophyly of all of the morphologically supported genera are confirmed, as are the intergeneric relationships (Gymnobracon, Trigonophasmus) ((Acanthorhogas, Osmophila) (Lamquetia, Pedinotus)). We propose that the pattern of sublateral grooves or depressions appears to be a useful systematic character for recognition of an endemic Neotropical radiation that could have originated c. 41-27 Ma. We redescribe six of the seven genera that we recognize for the Pedinotus genus group and provide a key to enable their identification.

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The Stenopelmatus talpa species-group (Stenopelmatidae) comprises cricket-like orthopterans distributed across the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB) morphotectonic province and adjacent areas in central Mexico. Despite recent efforts, the taxonomy and evolutionary relationships for members of this complex still are far from completely known. Here we generated and characterized the mitochondrial (mt) genome of 14 specimens of the S. talpa species-group and evaluated its species limits with the cox1 barcoding locus. Moreover, based on the mt genome DNA sequence data, we also reconstructed its phylogenetic relationships and made inferences about its biogeographic history based on a relaxed molecular clock analysis. A total of 9 species were delimited using a 2% pairwise distance criterion, which were consistent with our best estimate of phylogeny. The relationships recovered for the S. talpa species-group were similar although with more recent divergence time estimates than those obtained in a previous phylogenetic study, suggesting that its origin and subsequent diversification in the TMVB followed an east-central pattern, with its earliest divergence occurring during the late Pliocene to early Pleistocene.