Parasitoid wasps new to Britain ( Hymenoptera : Platygastridae , Eurytomidae , Braconidae & Bethylidae )

One genus and five species are recorded as new to Britain: Fidiobia, Fidiobia hispanica, Macroteleia bicolora (Platygastridae); Sycophila binotata (eurytomidae); Schizoprymnus collaris (braconidae); and Laelius pedatus (bethylidae). Keys to british Macroteleia and Laelius are provided. Provisional synonymy is proposed between Macroteleia minor and M. brevigaster, and synonymy is proposed between Laelius femoralis, L. microneurus and L. nigricrus. the possible mode of introduction of Sycophila binotata is discussed. A lectotype is designated for Schizoprymnus collaris.


Introduction
Knowledge of the composition of the british hymenoptera fauna is essential for the purposes of biological studies requiring accurate identifications, and their applications, including conservation of European Journal of Taxonomy 99: 1-20 ISSN 2118-9773 http://dx.doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2014.99www.europeanjournaloftaxonomy.eu2014 • Notton D.G. et al.This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

R e s e a r c h a r t i c l e
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:2B3858CA-7B14-4A68-AA26-32AF3803C0BC native species and the monitoring of faunal change.there are many species of parasitoid wasps and, even though the fauna is relatively well known, taxa new for britain are regularly discovered.
A key to british Macroteleia is given and provisional synonymy is proposed between Macroteleia minor and M. brevigaster; other recent additions to the british platygastrid fauna are noted by Notton (2006) and buhl & Notton (2009).Notes are provided on the distribution and possible mode of introduction of Sycophila binotata, which have implications for studies of recruitment of parasitoids of introduced gall wasps.A lectotype is designated for Schizoprymnus collaris.A key to british Laelius Ashmead, 1893 is given and synonymy is proposed between L. femoralis (Förster, 1860), L. microneurus (Kieffer, 1906) and L. nigricrus (Kieffer, 1906).

Material and methods
images were taken using a canon eoS 450D camera with aPentax 50 mm macro, with a number of partially focused images combined using helicon Focus v.4.80 software.the method for measuring the Fidiobia is as described by Popovici & buhl (2010).except where stated otherwise, all material is deposited in the collection of the Natural history Museum, London (bMNh).

Identification
Specimens were identified to genus using the key by Masner & Huggert (1989) and to species with the key by Popovici & buhl (2010).Detailed illustrations are given by Popovici & buhl (2010).the following notes are provided to improve the diagnosis of the female metasoma given in the original description of this species and to take account of telescoping of the apical gastral tergites, which varies naturally and can also be affected by the preservation techniques used.Numbers given are: range (arithmetic mean, ± standard deviation) {range for the type series}.

Biology
the genus Fidiobia contains more than a dozen species worldwide, of which seven are known from the Palaearctic.these wasps are endoparasitoids of beetle eggs, and consequently are very small, typically 0.6-1.3mm, and rarely collected (Popovici & buhl 2010).Fidiobia hispanica was previously reared from the galls of Andricus lignicola by o'connor et al. (2004), although the host remains were not located, and the host identity not confirmed.Spanish material was collected in a pine / juniper forest (Popovici & buhl 2010). in the present study two broods of F. hispanica were reared.The first was from a batch of beetle eggs found in a vacated gall of Andricus lignicola on Quercus robur.the host eggs were in a small irregular chamber at the base of the gall connected to the outside by a hole.there were at least 34 host eggs, 22 of which had been parasitised.(31 empty shells, 16 ♀♀, 3 ♂♂ emerged, 3 unemerged).
the second brood was reared from a batch of beetle eggs found in a vacated Synergus umbraculus cell in an old vacated Andricus kollari gall. in both cases the galls were old, previously vacated and of weathered appearance, and in both cases the hosts were beetle eggs and not the original inhabitants of the gall.there have been several other rearings of other Fidiobia species from oak galls (e.g., vlug 1995; o'connor et al. 2004), which may be explained the same way -Fidiobia reared from oak galls are not using cynipidae or their inquilines or parasitoids as hosts; it is much more likely that they are attacking beetle eggs which have been laid in cavities in old oak galls.Furthermore, the possibility should be kept in mind that F. hispanica has no particular association with oak galls.Probably there is a sampling bias since many people rear oak galls, and there is currently no reason to suppose F. hispanica would not attack the same beetle eggs elsewhere, such as in bark crevices.
Superfamily Platygastroidea haliday, 1833 Family Platygastridae haliday, 1833 Subfamily Scelioninae Ashmead, 1893 Genus Macroteleia Westwood, 1835 two species of Macroteleia were recorded from britain by Notton (2006) and a third species is reported here.Since limited british material is currently available, further variation, particularly in colour, may be encountered.Provisional synonymy between M. minor and M. brevigaster is discussed below.Numerous Palaearctic species of Macroteleia are catalogued by Johnson (1992) and more have been described since (Kozlov & Kononova 1987, 1990;Kononova & Petrov 2003), although a number of European Journal of Taxonomy 99: 1-20 (2014) old names have not been accounted for by recent authors, so some further synonymy may yet occur.the host relations of the british species are unknown, although other species of Macroteleia are solitary parasitoids of the eggs of bush crickets (orthoptera: tettigoniidae) (Muesebeck 1977).European Journal of Taxonomy 99: 1-20 ( 2014) Macroteleia atrata Kozlov & Kononova, 1987 Figs 4-6 Remarks M. atrata was first recorded from Britain (Kent) by Notton (2006).Its distribution and favoured habitats are poorly known.

Identification
This specimen was identified to genus using the key by Masner (1980) but it did not agree with either of the two previously known british species of Macroteleia (Notton, 2006).the identity of the species was confirmed by the second author, who has examined the type and compared it to published descriptions (Kieffer 1908(Kieffer , 1914(Kieffer , 1926;;Kozlov 1987;Kononova & Kozlov 2008).Johnson (1992) catalogued numerous Palaearctic species of this genus and more have been described since (Kozlov & Kononova 1987, 1990;Kononova & Petrov 2003), although many of the older species have not been reinterpreted recently, and it is possible that the name M. bicolora will turn out to be a synonym.

Distribution
this species was originally described from italy by Kieffer (1908), and its distribution includes: Northern italy, Kazakhstan, russia (Northern caucasus), ukraine (Kononova & Kozlov 2008) and Denmark (buhl 1999).it is recorded here as new to britain.

Biology
the biology of this species is poorly known; however, the habitat at the botley Wood Local Nature reserve and SSSi is an extensive area of varied woodland, scrub and grassland with rides and ancient droveways of high conservation significance for invertebrates managed by Hampshire County Council/ Natural england.Masner, 1976 Figs 10-12 Apegus punctatus Kieffer, 1908: 150, 161 (preoccupied).Macroteleia brevigaster Masner, 1976: 27 (replacement name for Ageus punctatus).

Biology
combined records of Masner (1956) and Notton (2006) suggest that this species prefers dry grassland and dune habitats.Zerova (1978 -as Eudecatoma binotata) and agrees with the concept of Z. Bouček and M. Graham (Graham 1992), based on the lectotype designated by Graham, and specimens determined by Bouček and Graham in BMNH, and was confirmed by R. R. Askew (pers.comm.).The species is highly distinctive among european Sycophila in having two dark fasciae on each fore wing.

Distribution
S. binotata has a widespread distribution in southern europe including Spain, France, italy, and the balkans (Noyes 2013;Askew et al. 2013), although it was not recovered during a recent survey of parasitoids of A. cerricola (Giraud, 1859) in central europe (Melika et al. 2002).it is recorded here as new to britain.

Biology
british material of S. binotata was reared from the galls of Aphelonyx cerricola collected from Quercus suber L. the exact insect host was not established, since other inquiline and parasitoid hymenoptera were also present as well as the gall causer; however, it has apparently not been reared from galls of Aphelonyx previously (Melika et al. 2002;Askew et al. 2013) and is normally an oligophagous endoparasitoid of Plagiotrochus spp.(cynipidae) on evergreen species of Quercus L. of sections Cerris Loudon and Ilex Loudon (Gómez et al. 2013).the history of the Quercus suber trees which hosted the british S. binotata is of some interest -they were planted as well-established saplings during the winter of 2005-2006, and their origin is most likely to have been italy; novel coleoptera found in association with these trees are likely to have come from italy and an italian coin was found in the soil around their roots (M.v. L. barclay pers.comm.), so it seems likely that the S. binotata was imported with the trees direct from italy and has survived for several generations in britain.

Remarks
if, as seems likely, S. binotata was imported together with its gall wasp host and host tree, this is of considerable interest for studies of the recruitment of parasitoids of invasive gall wasps in the uK.Some previous studies of the parasitoids of invasive gall wasps in the uK have considered two main methods of recruitment, either recruitment from an existing pool of native parasitoids, or that European Journal of Taxonomy 99: 1-20 (2014) populations of parasitoids might pursue host gall wasps as they spread continuously across europe, the former appearing more likely (Schönrogge et al. 2006(Schönrogge et al. , 2011)).however, the presence of the previously non-british S. binotata in London, in circumstances where good-sized trees were imported, raises a third, more radical possibility, that recruitment is not necessary when parasitoids are not lost by their cynipid hosts.oak trees could be imported through the horticulture trade with a community of gall wasps and parasitoids more or less intact; this would of course be much faster than the unassisted, or partially assisted, spread of both gall wasp and parasitoid. it is of course possible that other parasitoids have also been imported in this way; such introductions may be easily overlooked, especially where the same species already occurs in britain.Without historical evidence of the circumstances of importation of host gall wasps, such instances could have been misinterpreted as recruitment from the existing pool of native parasitoids, so caution is needed when interpreting recruitment studies of such imported gall wasps.Given the numbers of good-sized oaks used in the uK for prestigious building developments and parks, in particular Quercus ilex L. and its associated gall wasp species, e.g., Plagiotrochus Mayr, 1881, the potential for other parasitoids to be introduced in this way is clear.

Identification
Schizoprymnus collaris keys readily to genus using the key to subfamily and notes given by Shaw & huddleston (1991) and also the key to genera by tobias et al. (1995).There is no key specifically to british species of Schizoprymnus, and this species will not run in the key to european Schizoprymnus by tobias et al. (1995), which erroneously includes S. collaris in the key to Triaspis haliday, 1838.however, the british specimen has been directly compared with the lectotype of S. collaris and agrees well.S. collaris is an aberrant species when compared to other Schizoprymnus and may be distinguished from other british species in this genus as follows: frontal crest absent, at most a blunt ridge; antennal scrobes with regular transverse striations (Fig. 16); lateral carina of scutellum absent (Fig. 18); sutures of carapace weakly developed but present laterally, the first suture perpendicular to the margin, the second suture directed obliquely backwards (Fig. 17); third tergite largely convex with only weak concavity at extreme apex and deep medial incision in posterior margin to accommodate ovipositor (Fig. 19); apical margin of carapace not turned under, so that sternites are not concealed; ovipositor extending beyond apex of carapace by 1.2-1.3times length of carapace (Fig. 15); pronotum and mesonotum extensively marked with red and hind femur red (Fig. 17).

Remarks
A syntype was examined from the thomson collection, at the university of Lund, and is designated here as the lectotype in order to remove any possible ambiguity about the application of this name.S. collaris was previously placed in Schizoprymnus by telenga (1941: 351) and while recently it has been considered a Triaspis, its position in Schizoprymnus is confirmed here.
Superfamily chrysidoidea Latreille, 1802 Family bethylidae Förster, 1856 Subfamily epyrinae Kieffer, 1914 Genus Laelius Ashmead, 1893 one species of this genus, Laelius microneurus, was reported previously from britain and was keyed by Perkins (1976).recent taxonomic work has shown that this species should be called L. femoralis (see below for discussion and synonymy).A second species, L. pedatus, is newly reported here from Britain.The two species may be identified from the key by Vikberg & Koponen (2005); a simplified key is presented here for the british species.

Identification
This species was provisionally identified by John Burn and confirmed by Jeroen de Rond; it may be identified using the key by Vikberg & Koponen (2005) covering Scandinavian species of Laelius; they provided a redescription of both sexes and illustrated the wing venation and propodeum of the female and genitalia and apical sclerites of the male.vikberg & Koponen discussed the steps they took, in the absence of the original type material, to ensure that their interpretation was consistent with previous works such as evans (1978).the specimens mentioned as plesiotype and plesiallotype by evans (1978) have no type status as these terms are not recognised by the icZN; they are merely the specimens on which he based his redescription.the recent specimens mentioned by vikberg & Koponen (2005) as paratypes are not paratypes; this is an error, since Say's type(s) are lost.(Mayhew 1998), and the possibility of escapees cannot be excluded as a source of the british specimens reported here.Morgan's culture originated from a culture kept by the united States Department of Agriculture in hoboken, New Jersey (Morgan & cook 1994).

Material examined
An alternative possibility is that wasps were introduced from mainland europe, where free-living wasps have been present since at least 1987 (vikberg & Koponen 2005).

Biology
L. pedatus is a parasitoid of the larvae of various species of carpet beetles (coleoptera, Dermestidae), including those which are pests of stored products and museum collections.in europe the wasp has previously only been found indoors (Gordh & Móczár 1990;heitmans 1998;vikberg & Koponen 2005), as were the british specimens.

Remarks
the presence of L. pedatus in museums is a matter for concern not because of any problem caused by the wasp itself, but because it may indicate the presence of long standing dermestid infestations upon which they prey.Since the adults of this wasp are quite mobile they might be found on the sticky traps used for museum pest monitoring.Anyone encountering bethylid wasps in these situations is invited to submit the specimens to the senior author in order that the spread of this species can be monitored.one of the localities given above, the old entomology building at the Natural history Museum, London, has been demolished and replaced by the new Darwin centre, which has much improved environmental control and pest management.

Identification
Material (previously identified as L. microneurus) in BMNH was reidentified according to the key by Vikberg & Koponen (1995) to confirm the presence of L. femoralis in britain.

Remarks
femoralis (in the Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum, Leiden), de rond has come to the conclusion that both L. microneurus and L. nigricrus are junior synonyms of L. femoralis.this means that the species in britain referred to as L. microneurus by Perkins (1976) should now be called L. femoralis.

Discussion
Knowledge of the composition of the british hymenoptera fauna is essential for the purposes of biological studies requiring accurate identifications, and their applications, including conservation of native species, and the monitoring of faunal change.it is hoped that this paper will be a useful contribution to the ongoing process of documenting british hymenoptera and stimulate further study of these fascinating creatures.