Discovery of a couple of Foenobethylus (Hymenoptera, Bethylidae) in copulation suggests a synonym under Parascleroderma

A new genus and species of Pristocerinae (Hymenoptera, Bethylidae) from upper Eocene Baltic amber with a review of conspecific association from insect fossils

“…Female Pristocerinae are apterous and rarely collected by the same methods that commonly capture winged males. Occasionally, males and females will be captured attached (in copula) from Malaise traps and yellow pan traps as a result of phoretic copulation, in which the male transports the female while mating (Azevedo et al 2016;Chen and Azevedo 2020). Phoretic copulation is observed in several Hymenopteran families with extreme sexual dimorphism, such as Tiphiidae, Mutillidae and Bethylidae, and is hypothesized as a method to aid in the dispersal of apterous females in need of hosts or food sources (Azevedo et al 2016;Vivallo 2021).…”

“…The subfamily is known for its remarkable sexual dimorphism, with males possessing robust bodies, wings, and conspicuous eyes and ocelli while females are wingless, lack ocelli, and have eyes that are extremely reduced or missing (Alencar et al 2018). The vast majority of Pristocerinae species are known from 'males-only' or 'females-only' and conspecific associations between males and females are rare, typically the result of collecting specimens copulating or rearing them from the same host (Azevedo et al 2016;Alencar et al 2018;Chen and Azevedo 2020).…”

Integrated taxonomy unveils three new species of Foenobethylus (Hymenoptera, Bethylidae) from China

“…Foenobethylus Kieffer is a rare genus of Pristocerinae in the flat wasp family Bethylidae, with only 11 described species Oriental (Várkonyi and Polaszek 2007;Liu et al 2011;Savergnini and Azevedo 2013;Chen and Azevedo 2020). Of the 11 described species, 10 species were described based on only males.…”

“…Of the 11 described species, 10 species were described based on only males. Until recently, the first female of the genus was discovered by Chen and Azevedo (2020). The new finding suggested that Foenobethylus might be a synonym under Parascleroderma.…”

“…The new finding suggested that Foenobethylus might be a synonym under Parascleroderma. Although the morphological differences between Foenobethylus and Parascleroderma were intensely discussed (Azevedo and Lanes 2007;Várkonyi and Polaszek 2007;Chen and Azevedo 2020), Chen and Azevedo (2020) concluded that the precise taxonomic delimitation of both genera only could be solved under phylogentic analyses. Interestingly, before the discovery of the female of Foenobethylus, considering the extreme sexual dimorphism in Pristocerinae, Várkonyi and Polaszek (2007) also suspected that the females of Foenobethylus might be already known to science under a different generic name and the exact phylogenetic status of Foenobethylus could be resolved by preferably molecular evidence.…”