A review of the Afrotropical Rhyssinae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) with the descriptions of five new species

  • Pascal Rousse Natural History Department, Iziko South African Museum, PO Box 61, Cape Town 8000
  • Simon Van Noort Natural History Department, Iziko South African Museum, PO Box 61, Cape Town 8000
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2014.91
Keywords: Parasitoid wasps, systematics, taxonomy, Africa, identification keys

Abstract

The Afrotropical Rhyssinae are reviewed. A total of 12 species are reported from the region, including five new species: Epirhyssa brianfisheri sp. nov., E. gavinbroadi sp. nov., E. shaka sp. nov., E. villemantae sp. nov. and E. tombeaodiba sp. nov. The generic status of E. brianfisheri sp. nov. is discussed since this species could also be considered to be an extra-limital Triancyra species, emphasizing the putative paraphyletic status of Epirhyssa. Epirhyssa ghesquierei Seyrig, 1937, E. overlaeti Seyrig, 1937 and E. uelensis Benoit, 1951 are newly reported from Cameroon. We provide illustrated diagnoses and identification notes. Finally, we discuss the apparent scarcity of African rhyssines compared to other regions.

References

Baltazar C.R. 1961. The Philippine Pimplini, Poeminiini, Rhyssini, and Xoridini (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Pimplinae). Monographs of the National Institute of Science and Technology 7: 1–130.

Benoit P.L.G. 1951. Les Rhyssini éthiopiens (Pimplinae - Ichneumonidae). Revue de Zoologie et de Botanique Africaines 44: 382–385.

Benoit P.L.G. 1952. Notes Ichneumonologiques Africaines II. Revue de Zoologie et de Botanique Africaines 46: 51–59.

Buffington M.L., Burks R. & McNeil L. 2005. Advanced Techniques for Imaging Parasitic Hymenoptera. American Entomologist 51: 50–54.

Buffington M.L. & Gates M. 2009. Advanced imaging techniques II: using a compound microscope for photographing point-mount specimens. American Entomologist 54: 222–224.

Gauld I.D. 1984. An Introduction to the Ichneumonidae of Australia. British Museum of Natural History, London, UK.

Gauld I.D. 1991. The Ichneumonidae of Costa Rica, 1. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 47: 1–589.

Gauld I.D., Wahl D.B., Bradshaw K., Hanson P. & Ward S. 1997. The Ichneumonidae of Costa Rica, 2. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 57: 1–485.

Hanson H.S. 1939. Ecological notes on the Sirex wood wasps and their parasites. Bulletin of Entomological Research 30: 27–76. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0007485300004399

Horstmann K. 2002. Revisionen von Schlupfwespen-Arten VI (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae). Mitteilungen der Münchener Entomologischen Gesellschaft 92: 79–91.

Jansson R., Rodríguez-Castañeda G. & Harding L.E. 2013. What can multiple phylogenies say about the latitudinal diversity gradient? A new look at the tropical conservatism, out-of-the-tropics and diversification rate hypotheses. Evolution 7: 1741–1755. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/evo.12089

Kamath M.K. & Gupta V.K. 1972. Ichneumonologia Orientalis, Part II. The Tribe Rhyssini (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae). Oriental Insects Monographs 2: 1–300.

Kasparyan D.R. & Khalaim A.I. 2007. Pimplinae, Tryphoninae, Eucerotinae, Xoridinae, Agriotypinae, Lycorininae, Neorhacodinae, Ctenopelmatinae, Phrudinae, Ophioninae, Acaenitinae, Collyriinae, Mesochorinae. Key to the insects of Russia Far East. Vol. IV. Neuropteroidea, Mecoptera, Hymenoptera 5. Academy of Sciences, Saint-Petersburg.

Kerr P.H., Fischer E.M. & Buffington M.L. 2008. Dome lighting for insect imaging under a microscope. American Entomologist 54: 198–200.

Porter C.C. 1978. A revision of the genus Epirhyssa (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae). Studia Entomologica 20: 297–318.

Porter C.C. 1982. Systematics and zoogeography of the neotropic genus Epirhyssa (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae). National Geography Society Research Reports 14: 513–522.

Quicke D.L.J. 2012. We know too little about parasitoid wasp distributions to draw any conclusions about latitudinal trends in species richness, body size and biology. PLoS One 7: 1–9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0032101

Sääksjärvi I.E., Haataja S., Neuvonen S., Gauld I.D., Jussila R., Salo J. & Burgos A.M. 2004. High local species richness of parasitic wasps (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae; Pimplinae and Rhyssinae) from the lowland rainforests of Peruvian Amazonia. Ecological Entomology 29: 735–743. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0307-6946.2004.00656.x

Seyrig A. 1937. Sur les Rhyssini de la faune éthiopienne (Hym. Ichneumonidae). Revue de Zoologie et de Botanique Africaines 30: 112–116.

Sheng M.-L. & Sun S.-P. 2010. Parasitic Ichneumonids on Woodborers in China (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae). Science Press, Beijing, China.

Spradbery J.P. 1968. A technique for artificially culturing ichneumonid parasites of woodwasps (Hymenoptera: Siricidae). Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 11: 257–260.

Spradbery J.P. 1970. Host finding by Rhyssa persuasoria (L.), an ichneumonid parasite of siricid woodwasps. Animal Behaviour 18: 103–114. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0003-3472(70)90077-1

Townes H.K. 1969. The genera of Ichneumonidae, part 1. Ephialtinae to Agriotypinae. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 11: 1–300.

Townes H.K. 1975. The parasitic Hymenoptera with the longest ovipositors, with descriptions of two new Ichneumonidae. Entomological News 86: 123–127.

Townes H.K., Townes M., Walley G.S., Walkley L., Habeck D. & Townes G. 1960. Ichneumon-flies of America north of Mexico: 2. Subfamilies Ephialtinae, Xoridinae, Acaenitinae. United States National Museum Bulletin 216: 1–676. http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/32635#page/5/mode/1up

Veijalainen A., Sääksjärvi I.E., Erwin T.L., Gómez I.C. & Longino J.T. 2013. Subfamily composition of Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera) from western Amazonia: insights into diversity of tropical parasitoid wasps. Insect Conservation and Diversity 6: 28–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-4598.2012.00185.x

Wahl D.B. & Gauld I.D. 1998. The cladistics and higher classification of the Pimpliformes (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae). Systematic Entomology 23: 265–298. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-3113.1998.00057.x

Wahl D.B. & Sharkey M.J. 1993. Chapter 10. Superfamily Ichneumonoidea. In: Goulet H. & Huber J.T. (eds) Hymenoptera of the World: An Identification Guide to Families: 359–509. Agriculture Canada, Ottawa.

Yu D.S.K., Van Achterberg C. & Horstmann K. 2012. Taxapad 2012, Ichneumonoidea 2011. Database on flash-drive. www.taxapad.com, Ottawa.

Published
2014-07-25
How to Cite
Rousse, P., & Van Noort, S. (2014). A review of the Afrotropical Rhyssinae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) with the descriptions of five new species. European Journal of Taxonomy, (91). https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2014.91
Issue
No. 91 (2014): A review of the Afrotropical Rhyssinae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) with the descriptions of five new species
Section
Entomology
Copyright (c) 2014 Pascal Rousse, Simon Van Noort

Creative Commons Copyright Notices

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are NOT ALLOWED TO post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to taxonomic issues.