Seventh International Congress of Hymenopterists

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7 th International Congress of Hymenopterists 20-26 June 2010, Kszeg Hungary _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ postoccipital apodemes – postgenal bridge – was considered the only way to solve the question. This examination, across the family and some extra groups (Torymidae, Leucospidae, Pteromalidae Cleonyminae and Pteromalinae, Eurytomidae Heimbrinae, Buresiinae and Eurytominae), provided 24 characters which, combined with 138 other ones, allowed us to infer the phylogeny of the family, retrieved monophyletic with a high support. The Heimbrinae are the sister group of the Chalcididae. Within the family, the Cratocentrini, which otherwise exhibit very special derived states – this is the only lineage having a true postgenal bridge – branch on a basal node. The Epitraninae and Dirhininae are sister groups while Smicromorpha shares a strong synapomorphy with the Haltichellinae. ____________________________________ Revision of the subfamily Megaspilinae (Hymenoptera: Ceraphronoidea) Andrew Ernst*, István Mikó, Barbara J. Sharanowski & Andrew R. Deans Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Campus box 7613, Raleigh, NC 27609-7613, USA; ernsthausen@gmail.com; istvan.miko@gmail.com; Barb.Sharanowski@gmail.com; andy_deans@ncsu.edu Megaspilinae is a diverse group, yet the limits of the seven genera are poorly known. They are parasitoids and hyperparasitoids of at least five orders of insects. Generic concepts have never been tested by any phylogenetic analysis. To test these generic concepts, we used both morphological and molecular characters. Our results hypothesize that some genera are monophyletic and some are in need of redefinition (Dendrocerus and Conostigmus). In examining morphology of Trassedia, we discovered a suite of morphological characters, including the presence of the waterstone evaporatorium, that suggest the genus Trassedia should be transferred from Megaspilidae to Ceraphronidae. All sources of data are managed using MX, an online database for systematists. Such comprehensive management of data is a novel and useful method for revisionary work such as this. ____________________________________ Challenges, opportunities and future strategies in the study of Microgastrinae (Braconidae) Jose L. Fernández-Triana 1* & James B. Whitfield 2 1 Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, University of Guelph, Canada; jftriana@uoguelph.ca 2 Department of Entomology, University of Illinois, United States; jwhitfie@life.illinois.edu Microgastrine wasps are the single most important group of Lepidoptera parasitoids, with significant importance in biological control programs worldwide. Here we highlight present and future developments in the study of the subfamily, discussing major challenges and opportunities. We estimate the actual diversity of Microgastrinae (currently around 2,000 described species) to be between 15-30,000 species, based on two extrapolation methods and supplemented by the study of collections from all major biogeographical regions and barcoding data from over 15,000 specimens from about 60 countries. The problems of understanding such an extraordinary diversity are further complicated by the rapid evolutionary radiation of the group, the presence of numerous cryptic and morphologically similar species, the lack of comprehensive taxonomic reviews for the largest genera, and scarce and/or inaccurate information on hosts. Among the factors that might facilitate the study of the group are the availability of comprehensive databases, types concentrated in relatively few institutions, a rather organized taxonomy at supra-specific level (with some 28
7 th International Congress of Hymenopterists 20-26 June 2010, Kszeg Hungary _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ unresolved controversies), thousands of fresh specimens collected or reared, new techniques to unravel host records, DNA barcoding efforts, numerous molecular- and morphology-based phylogenetic studies, and (in a few recent efforts) the combination of several of the abovementioned approaches. We discuss strategies to take advantage of these opportunities in future research on Microgastrinae on a worldwide basis. ____________________________________ "The Kieffer syndrome" - endogenous taxonomic impediments in poorly known groups, as examplified by the taxonomic history of Eucoilinae (Cynipoidea: Figitidae) Mattias Forshage Department of Entomology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Box 5007, SE-104 05 Stockholm, Sweden; generelle.morphologie@gmail.com It is well known that so-called taxonomic impediments are manifold. Infrastructural limitations and lack of funding in science are important external factors. In many poorly known groups, the unaccounted diversity in itself as well as technical difficulties in studying the animals may be considered an endogenous factor. An impediment sometimes presented by taxonomy itself is the work of previous careless taxonomists, which may leave groups in states far worse than ignorance. Enthusiasm over apriori characters and superficial variation, and lack of concern for type studies, phylogenetic questions and nomenclatural principles, can create entirely artificial classifications that take generations to tidy up. A roaring lack of knowledge can be concealed in a rigid pragmatic system and a wealth of names. I will give a brief history of the taxonomic history of the Eucoilinae, one of those groups where the fluctuation between absence of taxonomic research and very ambitious but mostly misleading taxonomic work highlights some of the basic questions of taxonomy, and present some recent efforts at taking up this challenge. We seem now to have reached up to 88% adequacy of available names in the group, compared to the all-time low of 14% after Jean- Jacques Kieffer's total revision. I will also discuss criteria for considering groups "poorly known". ____________________________________ When morphology is not enough: are generalist chalcid parasitoids aggregates of cryptic sibling species? Pablo Fuentes-Utrilla 1 *, James A. Nicholls 1 , Péter Bihari 2 , Julja Ernst 1 , Camille Marsan 1 & Graham N. Stone 1 1 Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Ashworth Laboratories, King’s Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK; p.fuentes@ed.ac.uk, james.nicholls@ed.ac.uk, graham.stone@ed.ac.uk 2 Biological Research Centre of Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Genetics, Temesvári krt 62, Szeged 6723, Hungary Species within many insect groups are known to be hard to identify based solely on morphological characters, especially within speciose groups such as chalcid wasps. However, DNA sequences provide an alternative suite of characters to assist in species identification. This so-called DNA barcoding can be particularly useful for discovering cryptic species or ecotypes within generalist natural enemies, whereby molecular data reveal that a single generalist morphospecies actually consists of multiple more specialised genetic species – a pattern consistent with theory describing the evolution of stable foodweb interactions. Such cryptic diversity needs to 29
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