Natalie Dale-Skey

The species of Acroclisoides Girault & Dodd (Pteromalidae: Metasteninae) are revised. Twenty-three world species are recognized based on females, of which eight new species are described: Acroclisoides bimaculatus Tselikh, sp. nov. (Australia), A. fusus Tselikh & Mitroiu, sp. nov. (Africa), A. marimbae Tselikh & Mitroiu, sp. nov. (Africa), A. miklukhai Tselikh, sp. nov. (Papua New Guinea), A. nongae Tselikh, Lee & Ku, sp. nov. (Eastern Palearctic), A. simbis Tselikh & Mitroiu, sp. nov. (Africa), A. supramaculatus Tselikh, sp. nov. (Australia) and A. suryai Tselikh, sp. nov. (India). The genus Golovissima Dzhanokmen, 1982, syn. nov. , is synonymized under Acroclisoides Girault & Dodd, 1915; the species Euneura borocerae Risbec, 1957, previously included in Acroclisoides by Bouček (1976), is transferred to Agiommatus Crawford, 1911, as A. borocerae (Risbec, 1957), comb. nov. The hitherto unknown male of A. major Girault & Dodd, 1915 is described for the first time. The following new records are reported: A. laticeps Girault & Dodd, 1915 from Papua New Guinea; A. luzonensis Gahan, 1920 from Indonesia, Malaysia and Republic of Korea; A. sinicus (Huang & Liao, 1988) from Japan and Vietnam; A. solus Grissell & Smith, 2006 from Japan and Russia. All the species are described or redescribed and illustrated by macrophotography, including type material of previously described species, and a key for the identification of the twenty-three known species is given.

A new species of Merismomorpha Girault, 1913, M. ulleungensis Tselikh, Rasplus & Ku, sp. nov., is described and illustrated from the Palaearctic region (Russian Far East and South Korea). An updated diagnosis of the genus is given, as well as a comparison to the closely related genus Pterosemopsis Girault, 1917.

Chalcidoidea are mostly parasitoid wasps that include as many as 500 000 estimated species. Capturing phylogenetic signal from such a massive radiation can be daunting. Chalcidoidea is an excellent example of a hyperdiverse group that has remained recalcitrant to phylogenetic resolution. We combined 1007 exons obtained with Anchored Hybrid Enrichment with 1048 ultra‐conserved elements (UCEs) for 433 taxa including all extant families, >95% of all subfamilies, and 356 genera chosen to represent the vast diversity of the superfamily. Going back and forth between the molecular results and our collective knowledge of morphology and biology, we detected bias in the analyses that was driven by the saturation of nucleotide data. Our final results are based on a concatenated analysis of the least saturated exons and UCE datasets (2054 loci, 284 106 sites). Our analyses support an expected sister relationship with Mymarommatoidea. Seven previously recognized families were not monophyletic, so support for a new classification is discussed. Natural history in some cases would appear to be more informative than morphology, as illustrated by the elucidation of a clade of plant gall associates and a clade of taxa with planidial first‐instar larvae. The phylogeny suggests a transition from smaller soft‐bodied wasps to larger and more heavily sclerotized wasps, with egg parasitism as potentially ancestral for the entire superfamily. Deep divergences in Chalcidoidea coincide with an increase in insect families in the fossil record, and an early shift to phytophagy corresponds with the beginning of the “Angiosperm Terrestrial Revolution”. Our dating analyses suggest a middle Jurassic origin of 174 Ma (167.3–180.5 Ma) and a crown age of 162.2 Ma (153.9–169.8 Ma) for Chalcidoidea. During the Cretaceous, Chalcidoidea may have undergone a rapid radiation in southern Gondwana with subsequent dispersals to the Northern Hemisphere. This scenario is discussed with regard to knowledge about the host taxa of chalcid wasps, their fossil record and Earth's palaeogeographic history.

The family Pteromalidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) is reviewed with the goal of providing nomenclatural changes and morphological diagnoses in preparation for a new molecular phylogeny and a book on world fauna that will contain keys to identification. Most subfamilies and some tribes of Pteromalidae are elevated to family level or transferred elsewhere in the superfamily. The resulting classification is a compromise, with the aim of preserving the validity and diagnosability of other, well-established families of Chalcidoidea. The following former subfamilies and tribes of Pteromalidae are elevated to family rank: Boucekiidae, Ceidae, Cerocephalidae, Chalcedectidae, Cleonymidae, Coelocybidae, Diparidae, Epichrysomallidae, Eunotidae, Herbertiidae, Hetreulophidae, Heydeniidae, Idioporidae, Lyciscidae, Macromesidae, Melanosomellidae, Moranilidae, Neodiparidae, Ooderidae, Pelecinellidae (senior synonym of Leptofoeninae), Pirenidae, Spalangiidae, and Systasidae. The following subfamilies are transferred from Pteromalidae: Chromeurytominae and Keiraninae to Megastigmidae, Elatoidinae to Neodiparidae, Nefoeninae to Pelecinellidae, and Erotolepsiinae to Spalangiidae. The subfamily Sycophaginae is transferred to Pteromalidae. The formerly incertae sedis tribe Lieparini is abolished and its single genus Liepara is transferred to Coelocybidae. The former tribe Tomocerodini is transferred to Moranilidae and elevated to subfamily status. The former synonym Tridyminae (Pirenidae) is treated as valid. The following former Pteromalidae are removed from the family and, due to phylogenetic uncertainty, placed as incertae sedis subfamilies or genera within Chalcidoidea: Austrosystasinae, Ditropinotellinae, Keryinae, Louriciinae, Micradelinae, Parasaphodinae, Rivasia, and Storeyinae. Within the remaining Pteromalidae, Miscogastrinae and Ormocerinae are confirmed as separate from Pteromalinae, the former tribe Trigonoderini is elevated to subfamily status, the former synonym Pachyneurinae is recognized as a distinct subfamily, and as the senior synonym of Austroterobiinae. The tribe Termolampini is synonymized under Pteromalini, and the tribe Uzkini is synonymized under Colotrechnini. Most former Otitesellinae, Sycoecinae, and Sycoryctinae are retained in the tribe Otitesellini, which is transferred to Pteromalinae, and all other genera of Pteromalinae are treated as Pteromalini. Eriaporidae is synonymized with Pirenidae, with Eriaporinae and Euryischiinae retained as subfamilies. Other nomenclatural acts performed here outside of Pteromalidae are as follows: Calesidae: elevation to family rank. Eulophidae: transfer of Boucekelimini and Platytetracampini to Opheliminae, and abolishment of the tribes Elasmini and Gyrolasomyiini. Baeomorphidae is recognized as the senior synonym of Rotoitidae. Khutelchalcididae is formally excluded from Chalcidoidea and placed as incertae sedis within Apocrita. Metapelmatidae and Neanastatidae are removed from Eupelmidae and treated as distinct families. Eopelma is removed from Eupelmidae and treated as an incertae sedis genus in Chalcidoidea. The following subfamilies and tribes are described as new: Cecidellinae (in Pirenidae), Enoggerinae (incertae sedis in Chalcidoidea), Erixestinae (in Pteromalidae), Eusandalinae (in Eupelmidae), Neapterolelapinae (incertae sedis in Chalcidoidea), Solenurinae (in Lyciscidae), Trisecodinae (in Systasidae), Diconocarini (in Pteromalidae: Miscogastrinae), and Trigonoderopsini (in Pteromalidae: Colotrechninae). A complete generic classification for discussed taxa is provided.

The species of Plutothrix Förster, 1856 are reviewed. Plutothrix gribanovi, sp. nov., is described from Russia, P. longigaster, sp. nov., and P. zerovae, sp. nov., are described from Finland and Russia. The male of P. canariensis Hedqvist, 1974 is described for the first time. The species Plutothrix transdanuviana (Erdös, 1946), syn. nov., is synonymized under Seladerma antennatum (Walker, 1833). The following new records are reported: Plutothrix nudicoxa Graham, 1993 and P. perelegans Graham, 1993 from Finland, P. obtusiclava Graham, 1993 and P. zhangyieensis Yang, 1996 from Russia, and P. perelegans Graham, 1993 from Ukraine. An identification key to females of all Palaearctic species of Plutothrix is provided.

This study is dedicated to the late Dr. John LaSalle, and reviews the world species of Pleurotroppopsis Girault (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae); fourteen species are treated, of which two are newly described: P. dactylispae Cao & Zhu sp. nov. from China and P. peukscutella Cao & Zhu sp. nov. from Malaysia. On the basis of morphological characters, tentative relationships among genera allied to Pleurotroppopsis are discussed. A revised definition of Pleurotroppopsis is presented based on study of type specimens of all species and a critical review of previous studies on the genus. In addition, parsimony analyses were conducted to infer a phylogeny of Pleurotroppopsis species based on a unique data matrix of morphological characters. Keys to genera allied to Pleurotroppopsis and to known species of Pleurotroppopsis are provided.

Capturing phylogenetic signal from a massive radiation can be daunting. The superfamily Chalcidoidea is an excellent example of a hyperdiverse group that has remained recalcitrant to phylogenetic resolution. Chalcidoidea are mostly parasitoid wasps that until now included 27 families, 87 subfamilies and as many as 500,000 estimated species. We combined 1007 exons obtained with Anchored Hybrid Enrichment with 1048 Ultra-Conserved Elements (UCEs) for 433 taxa including all extant families, over 95% of all subfamilies and 356 genera chosen to represent the vast diversity of the superfamily. Going back and forth between molecular results and our collective morphological and biological knowledge, we detected insidious bias driven by the saturation of nucleotide data and highlighted morphological convergences. Our final results are based on a concatenated analysis of the least saturated exons and UCE data sets (2054 loci, 284,106 sites). Our analyses support a sister relationship with Mymarommatoidea. Seven of the previously recognized families were not monophyletic, so foundations for a new classification are discussed. Biology appears potentially more informative than morphology, as illustrated by the elucidation of a clade of plant gall associates and a clade of taxa with planidial first-instar larvae. The phylogeny suggests a shift from smaller soft-bodied wasps to larger and more heavily sclerotized wasps. Deep divergences in Chalcidoidea coincide with an increase in insect families in the fossil record, and an early shift to phytophagy corresponds with the beginning of the “Angiosperm Terrestrial Revolution”. Our dating analyses suggest a Middle Jurassic origin of 174 Ma (167.3-180.5 Ma) and a crown age of 162.2 Ma (153.9–169.8 Ma) for Chalcidoidea. During the Cretaceous, Chalcidoidea underwent a rapid radiation in southern Gondwana with subsequent dispersals to the Northern Hemisphere. This scenario is discussed with regard to knowledge about host taxa of chalcid wasps, their fossil record, and Earth’s paleogeographic history.

Species of the genus Toxeuma Walker, 1833 from Russia are reviewed. A new species, Toxeuma leleji Tselikh, sp. nov., is described from the Russian Far East. Toxeuma fuscicorne Walker, 1833 and T. styliclava (Hedqvist, 1974) are recorded for the first time from Russia; Toxeuma acilius (Walker, 1848) - for the first time for Western and Eastern Siberia and the European part of Russia; Toxeuma paludum Graham, 1959 - for the first time for Western and Eastern Siberia; Toxeuma subtruncatum Graham, 1959 - for the first time for Primorskii Region. An identification key to females of all Palaearctic species of Toxeuma is provided.