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Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera) are extremely diverse with more than 23,000 species described and over 500,000 species estimated to exist. This is the first comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the superfamily based on a molecular analysis of 18S and 28S ribosomal gene regions for 19 families, 72 subfamilies, 343 genera and 649 species. The 56 outgroups are comprised of Ceraphronoidea and most proctotrupomorph families, including Mymarommatidae. Data alignment and the impact of ambiguous regions are explored using a secondary structure analysis and automated (MAFFT) alignments of the core and pairing regions and regions of ambiguous alignment. Both likelihood and parsimony approaches are used to analyze the data. Overall there is no impact of alignment method, and few but substantial differences between likelihood and parsimony approaches. Monophyly of Chalcidoidea and a sister group relationship between Mymaridae and the remaining Chalcidoidea is strongly supported in all analyses. Either Mymarommatoidea or Diaprioidea are the sister group of Chalcidoidea depending on the analysis. Likelihood analyses place Rotoitidae as the sister group of the remaining Chalcidoidea after Mymaridae, whereas parsimony nests them within Chalcidoidea. Some traditional family groups are supported as monophyletic (Agaonidae, Eucharitidae, Encyrtidae, Eulophidae, Leucospidae, Mymaridae, Ormyridae, Signiphoridae, Tanaostigmatidae and Trichogrammatidae). Several other families are paraphyletic (Perilampidae) or polyphyletic (Aphelinidae, Chalcididae, Eupelmidae, Eurytomidae, Pteromalidae, Tetracampidae and Torymidae). Evolutionary scenarios discussed for Chalcidoidea include the evolution of phytophagy, egg parasitism, sternorrhynchan parasitism, hypermetamorphic development and heteronomy.

In total 23 oothecae of seven species of mantids from six genera Bolivaria Stål, 1877 (Rivetinidae), Elaea Stål, 1877 (Gonypetidae), Empusa Illiger, 1798 (Empusidae), Hierodula Burmeister, 1838 (Mantidae), Holaptilon Beier, 1964 (Gonypetidae), Iris Saussure, 1869 (Eremiaphilidae) were collected. About 69% of collected oothecae of mantids were parasitized by the Hymenoptera families, Torymidae and Eupelmidae. Here, we report seven parasitoid species of Mantodea oothecae, Eupelmus (Macroneura) vesicularis (Retzius, 1783) (Eupelmidae), Iridophaga lichtensteini Picard, 1933 (Torymidae), Iridophagoides petiolatus Erdös, 1964 (Torymidae), Microdontomerus sp. (Torymidae), Monodontomerus obscurus Westwood, 1833 (Torymidae), Palachia pulchra Bouček, 1969 (Torymidae), Podagrion pachymerum (Walker, 1833) (Torymidae) of Mantodea oothecae. Of which, Ichnanthus petiolatus and P. pulchra are new records for Iranian fauna. The species E. (M.) vesicularis, I. petiolatus, Microdontomerus sp., M. obscurus, P. pulchra are reported as parasitoids of mantid oothecae for the first time. This is the first attempt to study parasitoids of seven species of mantids oothecae. The parasitism rate of different mantids oothecae was varied from 38 to 92% in different species.

The identification of micro-organisms carried by ticks is an important issue for human and animal health. In addition to their role as pathogen vectors, ticks are also the hosts for symbiotic bacteria whose impact on tick biology is poorly known. Among these, the bacterium Wolbachia pipientis has already been reported associated with Ixodes ricinus and other tick species. However, the origins of Wolbachia in ticks and their consequences on tick biology (known to be very diverse in invertebrates, ranging from nutritional symbionts in nematodes to reproductive manipulators in insects) are unknown. Here we report that the endoparasitoid wasp Ixodiphagus hookeri (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea, Encyrtidae)--strictly associated with ticks for their development--infested at almost 100% prevalence by a W. pipientis strain belonging to a Wolbachia supergroup that has already been reported as associated with other hymenopteran parasitoids. In a natural population of I. ricinus that suffers high parasitism rates due to I. hookeri, we used specific PCR primers for both hymenopteran and W. pipientis gene fragments to show that all unfed tick nymphs parasitized by I. hookeri also harbored Wolbachia, while unparasitized ticks were Wolbachia-free. We demonstrated experimentally that unfed nymphs obtained from larvae exposed to I. hookeri while gorging on their vertebrate host also harbor Wolbachia. We hypothesize that previous studies that have reported W. pipientis in ticks are due to the cryptic presence of the endoparasitoid wasp I. hookeri. This association has remained hidden until now because parasitoids within ticks cannot be detected until engorgement of the nymphs brings the wasp eggs out of diapause. Finally, we discuss the consequences of this finding for our understanding of the tick microbiome, and their possible role in horizontal gene transfer among pathogenic and symbiotic bacteria.

Diomorus aiolomorphi Kamijo (Hymenoptera: Torymidae) is an inquiline of gall maker Aiolomorphus rhopaloides Walker (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae). They are of significant economic significance and predominantly inhabit bamboo forest. So far, only four scaffold-level genomes have been published for the family Torymidae. In this study, we present a high-quality genome assembly of D . aiolomorphi at the chromosome level, achieved through the integration of Nanopore (ONT) long-read, Illumina pair-end DNA short-read, and High-through Chromosome Conformation Capture (Hi-C) sequencing methods. The final assembly was 1,084.56 Mb in genome size, with 1,083.41 Mb (99.89%) assigned to five pseudochromosomes. The scaffold N50 length reached 224.87 Mb, and the complete Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs (BUSCO) score was 97.3%. The genome contained 762.12 Mb of repetitive elements, accounting for 70.27% of the total genome size. A total of 18,011 protein-coding genes were predicted, with 17,829 genes being functionally annotated. The high-quality genome assembly of D . aiolomorphi presented in this study will serve as a valuable genomic resource for future research on parasitoid wasps. The results of this study may also contribute to the development of biological control strategies for pest management in bamboo forests, enhancing ecological balance and economic sustainability.

The article represents mobilised biodata of the first part of the entomological collections of the SIZK (Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology, Kyiv) collection funds. It includes 11 occurrence datasets covering three orders and 11 families of insects: Lepidoptera (Tortricidae), Diptera (Sciaridae, Syrphidae) and Hymenoptera (Braconidae, Crabronidae, Sphecidae, Chrysididae, Ichneumonidae, Eurytomidae, Torymidae, Ormyridae). The total number of records is 12,713, based on transcription of information from the labels of pinned or slide-mounted specimens. The records cover specimens collected during 1881-2022, mostly on the territory of Ukraine, but some collections also cover the territory of other countries. The primary purpose of publishing these data is to secure the future of the SIZK collections, which are still at risk of war damage and to make the mobilised data freely and remotely accessible through GBIF. In total, three orders and 11 families of insects are represented with 12,713 records: Lepidoptera (Tortricidae), Diptera (Sciaridae, Syrphidae) and Hymenoptera (Braconidae, Crabronidae, Sphecidae, Chrysididae, Ichneumonidae, Eurytomidae, Torymidae, Ormyridae).

A post-release study was performed to assess the impact of Torymus sinensis (Hymenoptera: Torymidae), the biological control agent of Dryocosmus kuriphilus (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae), on native cynipid gall inducers in Italy. In total, 14,512 non-target galls were collected, corresponding to seven genera: Andricus , Aphelonyx , Biorhiza , Cynips , Diplolepis , Neuroterus , and Synophrus , and 8708 chalcid parasitoids were recorded. The Torymidae family accounted for about 30%, and Bootanomyia (= Megastigmus ) dorsalis , Torymus affinis and T. flavipes were the most represented species. A total of 116 T. sinensis emerged from 15 different oak galls, mainly Andricus curvator and A. inflator . In controlled conditions, oviposition was recorded on A. cydoniae , A . grossulariae and A. lucidus , while no mating with native congeneric species occurred. This paper confirms the realised host-range expansion by T. sinensis . Even if it were extremely difficult to evaluate its magnitude, the impact appears minimal, and an occasional feeding with no changes in the distribution or abundance of non-target hosts is expected.

The genus Monodontomerus Westwood, 1833 (Hymenoptera, Torymidae) is distributed throughout the Globe, mostly in the Holarctic Region. Members of this genus are prolific parasitoids of pollinators and some are economically important. The New World fauna includes 25 described species and was revised 25 years ago. Two new species of parasitoid wasp, Monodontomerus rhinokopia Chitty and Duran sp. nov. and Monodontomerus verdigris Chitty and Duran sp. nov. (Torymidae, Monodontomerinae) are described from the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Monodontomerus rhinokopia may be differentiated from other species in the genus by simultaneously possessing the following combination of characteristics: a face not bulging in profile, malar sulcus well defined and straight (Fig. 5), F1-F7 subquadrate (Fig. 7), longitudinal irregular carinae on its dorsellum (Fig. 8), sculpture of mesepimeron confined to ventral margin (Fig. 5), apical rim of scutellum produced posteriorly and not emarginate, costal cell on anterior margin above with row in distal half and lacking setae basally, dorsal admarginal setae reaching both marginal vein and parastigma (Fig. 6) and Mt1 reticulately sculptured dorsally. Monodontomerus verdigris may be differentiated from other members of the genus by simultaneously possessing the following characteristics: F1-F7 subquadrate (Fig. 3), striation in the anterodorsal corner of the mesepimeron which does not reach transepimeral sulcus (Fig. 1), carina of dorsellum which splits into two distinct carinae that form an open “V” (Fig. 4), median depression of propodeum narrowly triangular to nucha which it intercepts with nearly parallel lateral margins, a projecting rim of the scutellum which is not emarginated and a reticulately textured Mt1 (Fig. 2). A revised key to the New World species of Monodontomerus has been created to enable identification of these species.

The genus Oopristus Steffan is being reported for the first time from India. O. iqrae Usman and Anwar sp. nov. is described based on females. An updated catalogue to the family Torymidae is provided from India. This catalogue lists 75 valid species included in 21 genera and four subfamilies. The subfamily Podagrioninae includes the largest number of 34 species (6 genera) followed by Toryminae 28 species (7 genera), Monodontomerinae 10 species (6 genera), and Microdontomerinae 3 species (2 genera). New combinations are provided for two Indian species of Pseuderimerus as Erimerus corianderi (Narendran and Mercy) comb. nov. and E. indicus (Subba Rao and Bhatia) comb. nov. Three species, Chrysochalcissa physomeri Bouček, Diomorus orientalis Masi, and Torymus varians (Walker), are removed from the fauna list of India.Article LSID:http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:D20A52AB-152E-4319-9E92-DC7CCFEF4238Species LSID:Oopristus iqrae Usman & Anwarhttp://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:4538D5EB-A348-4B52-80A8-997DDE730A9A

Erimerinae has been proposed as a subfamily group name prior to Microdontomerinae and the latter was considered as a junior synonym of Erimerinae. A new genus, Perserimerus Lotfalizadeh & Rasplus, gen. nov. , and three new species, Perserimerus marginalis Lotfalizadeh & Rasplus, sp. nov. , Microdontomerus iriphagus Lotfalizadeh & Janšta, sp. nov. , and M. quadrimaculatus Lotfalizadeh & Rasplus, sp. nov. , are described from Iran. Diagnostic characters of the new genus and newly described species are provided and compared with morphologically similar genera and species. Microdontomerus iriphagus and M. quadrimaculatus were reared from oothecae of Iris oratoria (Linnaeus, 1785) (Mantodea) and galls of Stefaniola similata Mamaev, 1972 (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) on Haloxylon ammodendron C.A. Mey, respectively. A key to the known species of Microdontomerus of Iran is provided.

We report the results of investigations 2010 through 2023 of hymenopteran parasitoids associated with gall midges in Europe. A total of 242 collections of gall midges were made, from each of which one to several parasitoid species emerged, resulting in ca. 200 recorded parasitoid species and 267 host-parasitoid interaction records. The parasitoid families involved were Eulophidae (63 species), Platygastridae (56 species), Torymidae (34 species), Pteromalidae (31 species), Ceraphronidae (5 species), Eupelmidae (4 species), Eurytomidae (2 species) and Encyrtidae (1 species). As many as 159 interactions are reported for the first time, significantly enlarging our knowledge of gall midge – parasitoid interactions on the species level. Even more interesting, 51 host records are for parasitoid species for which no host was previously known. Similarly, 28 species of gall midge are reported as host to named parasitoids for the first time. Additionally, 91 parasitoid records were the first for the country in question. Differences between the rearing methods applied and their suitability for recording species with contrasting life histories, are discussed.