No abstract

The Charipinae (Cynipoidea: Figitidae) are a small group of Hymenoptera biologically characterized as being secondary parasitoids of aphids and psyllids (Hemiptera) (Menke & Evenhuis, 1991).  A total of 281 species of Charipinae have been described since the first species was described by Westwood (1833) (including two fossils, one of them recently transferred in a new family, Protimaspidae). An updated world catalogue of the Charipinae is presented here, with 168 valid species: 111 included in Alloxysta Förster, 31 in Phaenoglyphis Förster, 13 in Dilyta Förster, 5 in Apocharips Fergusson, 4 in Thoreauana Girault, and 1 in Dilapothor Paretas-Martínez & Pujade-Villar, Lobopterocharips Paretas-Martínez & Pujade-Villar, Lytoxysta Kieffer and †Protocharips Kovalev. Eight species are considered as nomen nudum: Allotria fusca Dahlbom, 1842; Allotria thoreyi Dahlbom, 1842; Xystus xanthocephala Dahlbom, 1842; Allotria pusillina Giraud, 1877; Charips aphidiinaecida de Santis, 1937; Alloxysta keudelli Hedicke, 1927; Allotria amygdali Buckton, 1879 and  Allotria polita Provancher, 1881. Six as nomen dubium: Allotria (Allotria) recticornis atra Kieffer, 1902; Allotria (Allotria) brevicornis Kieffer, 1902;  Allotria (Allotria) orthocera Kieffer, 1902; Xystus femoralis Hartig, 1841; Charipsella laevigata Brèthes, 1913; Dilyta (Alloxysta) ignorata Kieffer, 1900. Three species are incertae sedis: Charips silvicola Belizin, 1928, Cynips atriceps Buckton, 1879 and Allotria (Allotria) testaceipes Kieffer, 1902. Two species are here synonymized: Alloxysta discreta (Förster, 1869) with A. ramulifera (Thomson, 1862) and A. megaptera (Cameron, 1889) with A. ruficollis (Cameron, 1883). Two species are raised from synonymy and considered here as valid species: Alloxysta cameroni (Cameron, 1883) and A. marshalliana (Kieffer, 1900). New names for species of Alloxysta are presented for homonimies with other Alloxysta species derived from the new combinations: Alloxysta ionescui Pujade-Villar & Ferrer-Suay new name for Alloxysta luteipes (Ionescu, 1969) n. comb., Alloxysta forshagei Pujade-Villar & Ferrer-Suay new name for Alloxysta bicolor (Ionescu, 1959) n. comb., and Alloxysta mattiasi Pujade-Villar & Ferrer-Suay new name for Alloxysta luteipes (Ionescu, 1959) n. comb. Also a new name to Phaenoglyphis is presented for the same reason before mentioned but without new combination: Phaenoglyphis hedickei Pujade-Villar & Ferrer-Suay new name for Phaenoglyphis longicornis Hedicke, 1928 and two new combinations are presented: Alloxysta rufa (Ionescu, 1959) n. comb and Alloxysta consobrina (Zetterstedt, 1838) Forshage n. comb. This catalogue includes: (i) a diagnosis of the subfamily with the most important taxonomic characters for species recognition, and illustrations of these characters; (ii) a key to genera; (iii) a list of all authors describing species of Charipinae; and (iv) a host table. The distribution of the Charipinae includes 106 Palaearctic species, 37 Nearctic, 11 Neotropical, 10 Afrotropical, 7 Oriental and 11 Australian. The species Alloxysta victrix (Westwood, 1833), A. fuscicornis (Hartig, 1841) and Phaenoglyphis villosa (Hartig, 1841) are cosmopolitan.

The cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is a serious pest of cotton across the globe, particularly in the cotton agroecosystems of northern China. Parasitic wasps are deemed to be important natural enemies of A. gossypii, but limited information exists about their species composition, richness and seasonal dynamics in northern China. In this study, we combine sampling over a broad geographical area with intensive field trials over the course of three cropping seasons to describe parasitoid-hyperparasitoid communities in cotton crops. We delineate a speciose complex of primary parasitoids and hyperparasitoids associated with A. gossypii. Over 90% of the primary parasitoids were Binodoxys communis. Syrphophagus sp. and Pachyneuron aphidis made up most of the hyperparasitoids. Parasitism rates changed in a similar way following the fluctuation of the aphid population. Early in the growing period, there were more hyperparasitoids, while later, the primary parasitoids provided control of A. gossypii. The first systematic report of this cotton aphid parasitoid complex and their population dynamics in association with their hosts presented a comprehensive assessment of cotton parasitoid species and provided important information for the establishment and promotion of their biological control of cotton aphids.

The Charipinae are a major group of hyperparasitoids of Hemiptera. Here, we present the first cladistic analysis of this subfamily's internal relationships, based on 96 morphological characters of adults. The data matrix was analysed using uniformly weighted parsimony. The effects of using alternative weighting schemes were explored by performing additional searches employing implied weights criteria. One of the caveats of implied weights analysis is that it lacks an objective criterion for selecting the value of the concavity function. In the present study, differential weighting was used to explore the sensitivity of our results to the alternative assumptions made in the analysis and to select one of the most parsimonious trees under equal weights, which we regard as being the hypothesis that minimizes the amount of ad hoc assumptions. The validity of the two existing tribes and the monophyly of all the genera of Charipinae were tested, in particular the cosmopolitan and highly species-rich Alloxysta and Phaenoglyphis , which appear repeatedly in ecological and biochemical studies of host-parasitoid associations. The evolution of several major characters and the relationships between genera are discussed. On the basis of the phylogenetic results, we discuss a number of taxonomic issues. A new classification of the subfamily is proposed in which no tribes are maintained, Carvercharips is synonymyzed with Alloxysta , and the creation of a new genus from Nepal is justified. Our analysis points to the need for a world revision of the basal genus Phaenoglyphis , which is shown as paraphyletic.

Parasitoids are important natural enemies of aphids in wheat fields of northern China, and interest in them has increased in recent years. However, little is known regarding parasitoids of wheat aphids, which has hindered the study and understanding of aphid-parasitoid interactions. In the present study, three primary parasitoids and 15 hyperparasitoids were collected in wheat fields during a 2-year survey in northern China (2014, 2015) and a 2-year investigation at Langfang, Hebei Province (2015, 2016). Among them, Aphidius uzbekistanicus Luzhetski was found most frequently among the primary parasitoids, while Pachyneuron aphidis (Bouché) dominated the hyperparasitoid community. Investigation of the dynamics of wheat aphids and parasitoids revealed that the primary parasitoids appeared early in the growing period and that the hyperparasitoids appeared later. Analysis of the seasonal dynamics revealed that growth of the parasitoid population followed that of the aphid population and that the parasitism rates were highest in the late growing period.

No abstract

The position of the emerging point has rarely been investigated as a factor possibly affecting the future nest settlement behaviour in Hymenoptera, in particular within nest aggregations. We studied the emergence and dispersion patterns of the digger wasp Stizus continuus. Individuals emerged daily in clumped patterns, possibly revealing a certain synchrony of emergence from the same nests, and protandry appeared both at seasonal and daily level. Differences between the number of females that nested relatively close or far from their emergence holes (EH) were either significant or not, depending on the year, and observed dispersal distances from the natal nests did not differ from those obtained by random simulations. By contrast, females nested close to the nearest conspecific nest. Size did not affect the dispersion patterns. EH are thus not important cues for nest establishment, and conspecific nests are probably the key cue for nest-founding females. In addition, males did not prefer to establish territories close to their natal nest.

In the current scenario of a general decline of the honeybee worldwide, studies on the potential of alternative bee species in pollinating cultivated plants are important. Although melon, Cucumis melo, is a crop with great commercial importance, there is very little information on its pollinating fauna in Europe, and none from the southern Mediterranean area. In a locality in central Spain, using both pan‐traps and net collections, we found that melon flowers are visited by 31 species of bees spanning four families, though only four were both dominant and constant. These four species belonged to the family Halictidae (sweat bees) and mostly (three species) to the genus Lasioglossum. Five other species could be defined as accessory: honeybee, Apis mellifera, and four other halictids. Individuals of the dominant species were smaller, on average, than those from all the other species. Observations on the frequency of pollen and nectar foraging and on flower visit duration further suggested L. malachurum as the potential key pollinator. Females of this species started to forage on melon early in the flowering season and exhibited two activity peaks in summer, thus covering the whole season. Although in other sites across continents melon seems to be more heavily pollinated by honeybees, this seems to be not the case in the Mediterranean, where sweat bees seem to be the major pollinators of this crop.