Two new genera and one new species of the tribe Adeshini (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Braconinae) from India and South Africa

Abstract

Two new genera and one new species of the Braconinae tribe Adeshini are described and illustrated: Crenuladesha Ranjith & Quicke, gen. nov., type species Adesha narendrani Ranjith, 2017, comb. nov. from India, and Protadesha Quicke & Butcher, gen. nov., type species Protadesha intermedia Quicke & Butcher, sp. nov. from South Africa. The former lacks the mid-longitudinal propodeal carina characteristic of the tribe, and the latter displays less derived fore wing venation with two distinct abscissae of vein 2CU. A molecular phylogenetic analysis is included to confirm their correct placement. Since neither of the two new genera displays all of the characters given in the original diagnosis of the Adeshini a revised diagnosis is provided, as well as an illustrated key to the genera.

Phylogeny of the Braconinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae): A new tribal order!

“…The data that support the findings of this study are openly available at http://zenodo.org via the link https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8180872 (Quicke et al, 2023). Sequences are also available on GenBank and their accession numbers, voucher details and provenances are given in Table S1.…”

“…We hereby recognise these three clades as separate tribes, the Compsobraconini tribus nov ., Tropobraconini tribus nov. and Virgulibraconini tribus nov. The Adeshini are strongly supported as a monophyletic group including an undescribed Afrotropical genus whose wing venation does not show the ‘full’ apomorphic state of having fore wing vein 3‐CU1 virtually interstitial with 2‐CU1 (Quicke et al, 2023).…”

“…The tribe Adeshini was erected by van Achterberg (1983) to accommodate two genera, Adesha Cameron and Adeshoides van Achterberg, which display a unique, putatively apomorphic condition of their fore wing venation with respect to the remainder of the Braconinae, having vein 2CU of the fore wing arising at the same level as 1CU and consequently having 2cu‐a, if present, (absent in Aneuradesha Quicke) (Figure 7d), much longer than 2CUa (if differentiated from 2CUb) (Quicke, 1986). The Adeshini currently includes 16 described species classified within nine genera (Liu et al, 2007; Quicke, 1986, 1988d; Quicke et al, 2023; Quicke & Ingram, 1993; Quicke & Polaszek, 2000; van Achterberg, 1983; Wang et al, 2006). The known species are distributed from Africa, through tropical Asia to Australia (Quicke & Ingram, 1993; Yu et al, 2012).…”

“…We can find no morphological feature to suggest they are much more basal as indicated by the current molecular results. The position of fore wing vein 2CUb arising in‐line with 1CUb (Quicke, 1986), or in Protadesha , with vein 2cu‐a being equal in length to 2CUa (Quicke et al, 2023) is clearly autapomorphic, and this character state occurs widely amongst members of related subfamilies (e.g. Doryctinae, Hormiinae and Rogadinae).…”

“…The great majority of Braconinae, including most Bracon species, are idiobiont ectoparasitoids of immature hosts that are moderately concealed, such as gall inducers and leaf rollers or miners, or deeply concealed hosts, such as wood‐borers (Quicke, 1993; Ranjith, Quicke, et al, 2016; Shaw & Huddleston, 1991). Exceptionally, members of the subtribe Aspidobraconina (Braconini) are endoparasitoids of butterfly pupae (Quicke, 1987a; van Achterberg, 1984), a distinctive mode of development also recently reported in the Braconini genus Crinibracon Quicke (Gupta et al, 2016), which appears closely related to the Aspidobraconina despite lacking completely fused first and second metasomal terga (Quicke, 1988a; Quicke et al, 2023).…”