The parasitoid wasp family Ichneumonidae is arguably one of the groups for which current knowledge lags most strongly behind their enormous diversity. In a five-day meeting in Basel (Switzerland) in June 2019, 22 researchers from 14 countries met to discuss the most important issues in ichneumonid research, including increasing the speed of species discovery, resolving higher-level relationships, and studying the radiation of these parasitoids onto various host groups through time. All agreed that it is time to advertise ichneumonid research more broadly in the scientific community and thereby attract young talents to this group for which specialists are sorely lacking. In order to popularize the group, we here suggest a new name for the family, “Darwin wasps”, to reflect the pivotal role they played in convincing Charles Darwin that not all of creation could have been created by a benevolent god. We hope that the name catches on, and that Darwin wasps start buzzing more loudly across all disciplines of biology.
A fossil palpigrade is described and figured from mid-Cretaceous (Cenomanian) amber from northern Myanmar. Electrokoenenia yaksha Engel and Huang, gen. n. et sp. n., is the first Mesozoic fossil of its order and the only one known as an inclusion in amber, the only other fossil being a series of individuals encased in Pliocene onyx marble and 94-97 million years younger than E. yaksha. The genus is distinguished from other members of the order but is remarkably consistent in observable morphological details when compared to extant relatives, likely reflecting a consistent microhabitat and biological preferences over the last 100 million years.
The species of the strictly Neotropical ophionine wasp genus Alophophion Cushman, 1947 are revised. New descriptions of all previously named species are provided, except Alophophion holosericeus (Taschenberg, 1875) for which the type series is lost and the name is herein considered a nomen dubium. The female of A. flavorufus (Brullé, 1846) is described for the first time. Four informal species groups are proposed based on the morphology of the mandibles, development of the malar space, and general proportions of the head (i.e., development of the face and gena). Whereas the genus previously included only seven named species, it is here expanded to include 49 species (not including the aforementioned nomen dubium), 43 of which are newly discovered and described and thereby increasing the diversity by over eight times. A key to the four species groups and their included taxa is provided. Alophophion is confined to cold and/or dry areas of subequatorial South America, with the exception of A. mancocapaci new species and A. pedroi new species which occur incloud forests around Cuzco, Peru. The genus is newly recorded from Bolivia and Ecuador, and more extensive and accurate distributions are summarized for A. chilensis, A. flavorufus, and A. politus. Alophophion flavorufus is newly recorded from Argentina.Traduce
(Cresson, 1874). La composición de la subfamilia Ophioninae varía según la elevación. La mayor riqueza de Ophioninae se encontró a 2150 m (S=11) y la menor a 3116 m (S=3). Enicospilus es más diverso en zonas de baja a mediana altitud, Ophion es más diverso en zonas de mediana a elevada altitud y Alophophion ocurre predominantemente a elevada altitud.Palabras claves: Ophioninae; Neotrópico; especies; diversidad; altitud.
AbstractWe describe the species composition of the subfamily Ophioninae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) along an altitudinal gradient in the cloudy forest Monteseco, Cajamarca, Peru collected in 2009 and 2010. Eighteen species were recorded in three genera of Ophioninae: Alophophion, Enicospilus y Ophion. Five species are recorded for the first time in Peru: Ophion polyhymniae Gauld, 1988; Enicospilus cubensis (Norton, 1863); E. guatemalensis (Cameron, 1886); E. cressoni Hooker, 1912 y E. mexicanus (Cresson, 1874. Subfamily composition varies with the elevation. The highest species richness (S=11) was found at 2150 m and the lowest (S=3) at 3116 m. Enicospilus is more diverse from low to mid elevation, Ophion from mid to high elevation and Alophophion occurs predominantly at high elevation.
ResumenEn este estudio se informa de las especies de Scarabaeinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) colectadas en la Reserva Nacional Tambopata, en el año 2009. Fueron colectados un total de 38 especies y 874 individuos. La tribu Canthonini tuvo la mayor cantidad de especies y abundancia. Se evidencia la preferencia de los hábitos coprófagos sobre los necrófagos en los escarabajos peloteros. Se comparan las especies colectadas en época lluviosa y de estío.Palabras clave: Scarabaeinae, escarabajo del estiércol, Tambopata, Explorer's Inn, coprófagos.
AbstractThis study reports the species of Scarabaeinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) collected in Tambopata National Reserve in 2009. A total of 38 species and 874 individuals were collected. The tribe Canthonini showed the highest diversity and abundance. Coprophagy is clearly preferred over necrophagy by the dung beetle fauna in the area. A comparison of the species collected during the rainy and dry seasons is presented.
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