DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1292.187191

Authors: Boyu Zou, Huanji Liu, Byambasuren Mijidsuren, Yanzhou Zhang

Abstract: Two species, Trechnites bulgani Zou & Zhang, sp. nov. and Helegonatopus arkhangaiensis Zou & Zhang, sp. nov. are described as new to science. Psyllaephagus tamaricicola Myartseva is recorded from Mongolia for the first time. A diagnosis or a description, figures of the characters, as well as the known distribution of each species, are provided.

HTML

XML

PDF

DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1285.183757

Authors: Zhi-Peng Chen, Lu-Jie An, Yang-Yi Jia, Hong-Xia Hou, Guo-Hao Zu

Abstract: Encyrtidae plays a significant ecological and agricultural role in the biological control of pests. However, the limited mitogenome data and unresolved phylogenetics impede the evolutionary research. We sequenced and annotated the complete mitogenomes of six Encyrtidae species (Blastothrix speciosa, Encyrtus aurantii, Lamennaisia ambigua, Lamennaisia nobilis, Cheiloneurus chinensis, and Tassonia gloriae). All six mitogenomes exhibit the typical circular structure, containing 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNAs (tRNAs), two ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), and one control region (CR). They show a strong AT bias (81.3–83.8%) and vary in length from 15,397 bp to 17,160 bp. Conserved family-specific gene rearrangements, likely synapomorphic for Encyrtidae, were identified in this study using Drosophila yakuba as the ancestral reference species. Species-specific variations, mainly in tRNAs and a few PCGs, appear shaped by positive selection, tRNA structural flexibility, and host adaptation, a pattern that is consistent with the “duplication-random loss” model. Phylogenetic analyses based on the concatenated sequences of 13 PCGs via Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference yielded highly congruent topologies, confirming Encyrtus monophyly and the congruence between molecular clustering and morphological taxonomy. This study enriches Encyrtidae mitogenome resources, clarifies the evolutionary rules and gene rearrangements mechanisms, and provides molecular evidence for Encyrtidae systematics and adaptive evolution research.

HTML

XML

PDF

DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1229.138920

Authors: Ouyan Xi, Shuli Zhang, Hongying Hu

Abstract: Based on surveys of the superfamily Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera) in the eastern part of Pamir Plateau from 2021 to 2023, 1770 specimens of Encyrtidae belonging to 21 species in 15 genera are identified and catalogued. Two new species, Acerophagus albuscorpus Xi & Hu, sp. nov. and Pseudectroma stemmatosteres Zhang & Hu, sp. nov., are described and illustrated. Four species, Ericydnus novosibiricus Sugonjaev & Gavrilyuk, 2012, Copidosoma charon Guerrieri & Noyes, 2005, Aphycus slavai Myartseva, 1981, and Trichomasthus marsus (Walker, 1837), are newly recorded from China, and their diagnoses and illustrations are provided.

HTML

XML

PDF

DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1206.121923

Authors: Cheng-Hui Zhang, Hai-Yang Wang, Yan Wang, Zhi-Hao Chi, Yue-Shuo Liu, Guo-Hao Zu

Abstract: Anagyrus, a genus of Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea), represents a successful group of parasitoid insects that attack various mealybug pests of agricultural and forestry plants. Until now, only 20 complete mitochondrial genomes have been sequenced, including those in this study. To enrich the diversity of mitochondrial genomes in Encyrtidae and to gain insights into their phylogenetic relationships, the mitochondrial genomes of two species of Anagyrus were sequenced, and the mitochondrial genomes of these species were compared and analyzed. Encyrtid mitochondrial genomes exhibit similarities in nucleotide composition, gene organization, and control region patterns. Comparative analysis of protein-coding genes revealed varying molecular evolutionary rates among different genes, with six genes (ATP8, ND2, ND4L, ND6, ND4 and ND5) showing higher rates than others. A phylogenetic analysis based on mitochondrial genome sequences supports the monophyly of Encyrtidae; however, the two subfamilies, Encyrtinae and Tetracneminae, are non-monophyletic. This study provides valuable insights into the phylogenetic relationships within the Encyrtidae and underscores the utility of mitochondrial genomes in the systematics of this family.

HTML

XML

PDF

DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1198.118944

Authors: Haiyang Wang, Wenyu Cui, Chunxiang Xi, Xinyu Cao, Weiqiong Li, Guohao Zu

Abstract: Fourteen species of Cheiloneurus from China are studied. Cheiloneurus guangxiensis Zu, sp. nov., is described as new to science, and C. boldyrevi Trjapitzin & Agekyan, 1978, C. bouceki Anis & Hayat, 2002, C. gonatopodis Perkins, 1906, and C. hadrodorys Anis & Hayat, 2002 are newly recorded from China. A key to Chinese species based on females is also presented.

HTML

XML

PDF

DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1193.116791

Authors: Ning Kang, Hongying Hu, Shuhan Guo, Shungang Luo

Abstract: A new genus and species of Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea), Apteronotus Kang, Hu & Luo, gen. nov. (type species A. indigus Kang, Hu & Luo, sp. nov.), associated with insects inhabiting Oxytropis spp., and three newly recorded species for China, Copidosoma clavatum, Ericydnus aeneus and Tetracnemus kozlovi, are described from the Altun Mountain Nature Reserve, Xinjiang. Detailed illustrations of all species were included to support the identification and further study.

HTML

XML

PDF

DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1184.109476

Authors: Boyu Zou, Hongying Hu, Lanwei Zhang, Yanzhou Zhang

Abstract: Fifteen species of Psyllaephagus from China are studied. Three species, P. clavus Zou & Zhang, sp. nov., P. obliquus Zou & Zhang, sp. nov., and P. tangae Zou & Zhang, sp. nov., are described as new to science. A diagnosis or a description/redescription, figures of the characters, as well as the known distribution and hosts of each species are provided. A dichotomous key is also given to facilitate the identification of species.

HTML

XML

PDF

DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1184.113292

Authors: Guohao Zu, Hao Xue, Haiyang Wang, Wenquan Zhen, Dawei Huang

Abstract: Homalotylus tianjinensis Zu, sp. nov., H. bicolor Zu, sp. nov. and H. guangxiensis Zu, sp. nov. are described as new to science; H. agarwali Anis & Hayat, 1998, H. hemipterinus (De Stefani, 1898) and H. varicolorus Krishnachaitanya & Manickavasagam, 2016 are newly recorded from China. A key to Chinese species based on females is also presented.

HTML

XML

PDF

DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1124.83811

Authors: Zhi-Ping Xing, Xin Liang, Xu Wang, Hao-Yuan Hu, Yi-Xin Huang

Abstract: Studies of mitochondrial genomes have a wide range of applications in phylogeny, population genetics, and evolutionary biology. In this study, we sequenced and analyzed the mitochondrial genome of Ooencyrtus plautus Huang & Noyes, 1994 (Hymenoptera, Encyrtidae). The nearly complete mitogenome of O. plautus was 15,730 bp in size, including 13 PCGs (protein-coding genes), 22 tRNAs, 2 rRNAs, and a nearly complete control region. The nucleotide composition was significantly biased toward adenine and thymine, with an A + T content of 84.6%. We used the reference sequence of Chouioia cunea and calculated the Ka/Ks ratio for each set of PCGs. The highest value of the Ka/Ks ratio within 13 PCGs was found in nad2 with 1.1, suggesting that they were subjected to positive selection. This phenomenon was first discovered in Encyrtidae. Compared with other encyrtid mitogenomes, a translocation of trnW was found in O. plautus, which was the first of its kind to be reported in Encyrtidae. Comparing with ancestral arrangement pattern, wasps reflect extensive gene rearrangements. Although these insects have a high frequency of gene rearrangement, species from the same family and genus tend to have similar gene sequences. As the number of sequenced mitochondrial genomes in Chalcidoidea increases, we summarize some of the rules of gene rearrangement in Chalcidoidea, that is four gene clusters with frequent gene rearrangements. Ten mitogenomes were included to reconstruct the phylogenetic trees of Encyrtidae based on both 13 PCGs (nucleotides of protein coding genes) and AA matrix (amino acids of protein coding genes) using the maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference methods. The phylogenetic tree reconstructed by Bayesian inference based on AA data set showed that Aenasius arizonensis and Metaphycus eriococci formed a clade representing Tetracneminae. The remaining six species formed a monophyletic clade representing Encyrtinae. In Encyrtinae, Encyrtus forms a monophyletic clade as a sister group to the clade formed by O. plautus and Diaphorencyrtus aligarhensis. Encyrtus sasakii and Encyrtus rhodooccisiae were most closely related species in this monophyletic clade. In addition, gene rearrangements can provide a valuable information for molecular phylogenetic reconstruction. These results enhance our understanding of phylogenetic relationships among Encyrtidae.

HTML

XML

PDF

DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.974.55528

Authors: Zhuomiao Li, Tingting Yao, Zhihong Xu, Ling Meng, Baoping Li

Abstract: A new species, Cheiloneurus nankingensis sp. nov., from Eastern China is described. It is similar to C. arabiacus Hayat but distinct from it in a number of morphological characters. It is a hyperparasitoid with the encyrtid wasp Aenasius arizonensis Girault, 1915 as the primary host and the cotton mealybug Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley, 1898 (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) as the secondary host. A key to all seven species of Cheiloneurus known from China is presented.

HTML

XML

PDF

DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.545.6193

Authors: Aymer Andrés Vásquez-Ordóñez, Nicolas А. Hazzi, David Escobar-Prieto, Dario Paz-Jojoa, Soroush Parsa

Abstract: Whiteflies (Hemiptera, Aleyrodidae) are represented by more than 1,500 herbivorous species around the world. Some of them are notorious pests of cassava (Manihot esculenta), a primary food crop in the tropics. Particularly destructive is a complex of Neotropical cassava whiteflies whose distribution remains restricted to their native range. Despite their importance, neither their distribution, nor that of their associated parasitoids, is well documented. This paper therefore reports observational and specimen-based occurrence records of Neotropical cassava whiteflies and their associated parasitoids and hyperparasitoids. The dataset consists of 1,311 distribution records documented by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) between 1975 and 2012. The specimens are held at CIAT’s Arthropod Reference Collection (CIATARC, Cali, Colombia). Eleven species of whiteflies, 14 species of parasitoids and one species of hyperparasitoids are reported. Approximately 66% of the whitefly records belong to Aleurotrachelus socialis and 16% to Bemisia tuberculata. The parasitoids with most records are Encarsia hispida, Amitus macgowni and E. bellottii for A. socialis; and E. sophia for B. tuberculata. The complete dataset is available in Darwin Core Archive format via the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF).

HTML

XML

PDF