Taxonomical revision of subfamily Anacharitinae (Hymenoptera: Cynipoidea: Figitidae)

Abstract

Superfamily Cynipoidea (Hymenoptera: Apocrita) includes two very different groups of organismes. Macrocynipoids is a paraphyletic group of parasitoids of wood-bearing beetle larvae, characterized by its big size, and with a very low biodiversity. Microcynipoids, on the other hand, are a monophyletic group of smaller wasps (up to 3mm) with two distinct ways of life: while Cynipidae are gall-makers, Figitidae are parasitoids of endopterygot insects.

Family Figitidae (Hymenoptera: Cynipodea) includes twelve subfamilies of parasitic wasps. Anacharitinae is one of those, characterized by being parasitoids of the aphid-feeding larvae of Hemerobiidae (Neuroptera). This subfamily included eight genera – Acanthaegilips Ashmead, 1897; Aegilips Haliday, 1835; Anacharis Dalman, 1823; Calofigites Kieffer, 1909; Hexacharis Kieffer, 1907; Proanacharis, 1996; Solenofigites Díaz, 1979 and Xyalaspis Hartig, 1843 – with most of its biodiversity located in the Neotropical and Palaearctic regions. The knowledge of the subfamily was scarce and outdated, and except for Acanthaegilips, there were no recent revisions on the taxonomical status of Anacharitinae species. The diversity of the subfamily in some of the most biodivresity-rich bioregions had not been studied. Thus, a revision was needed.

The present Thesis has prosecuted three main objectives: i) studying the Anacharitinae global biodiversity, ii) studying the biology and relationships of its members and their hosts, iii) make the results accessible to the scientific community. These objectives have been accomplished through exmining all the type material of the previously described species, along with large series of unidentified material, deposited in scientific institutions all around the world. The results have been synthetized in identification keys fully illustrated and published in scientific journals with impact factor.

The study of Anacharitinae material has led to the following taxonomical changes have been made:

- Two new genera have been described: Acanthaegilopsis Pujade-Villar, 2013 and Cornaegilips Mata-Casanova & Pujade-Villar, 2017, the first with teo known species and the former with just one species. - Genera Calofigites, Hexacharis, Proanacharis and Solenofigites do not present changes regarding their taxonomical status. Calofigites comprises two species, while the other three remain as monotypic genera. - Regarding genus Anacharis, 12 species are considered still valid, while 10 are not considered valid anymore: 6 are synonyms, 2 have been designated as incertae sedis, and 2 have been moved to other genera (Aegilips and Figites Latreille, 1802). 8 new species have been described. - Regarding genus Xyalaspis, 8 species are considered still valid, while 5 are not considered valid anymore: 4 are synonyms, and 1 has been moved to other genera (Aegilips). 14 new species have been described.

The study of Anacharitinae material has led to the following changes in the known distribution areas of the subfamily:

- For the Afrotropical region, 4 genera and 11 species are known to be found there., with one endemic genus: Acanthaegilopsis. - For Asia (includying both the Eastern Palaearctic and the Indomalayan regions), 4 genera and 13 species are known to be found there, 5 of them being found in the Indomalayan region, which holded no previous Anacharitinae records. - For the Australasian region, 3 genera and 4 species are known to be found there. - For the Nearctic region, 4 genera and 17 species are found there, with one endemic genus: Hexacharis. - For the Neotropical region, 7 genera and 39 species are known to be found there. 4 genera are endemic of the region: Acanthaegilips, Calofigites, Cornaegilips and Solenofigites.

La present tesi representa una revisió taxonòmica i faunística complerta a nivell mundial de la subfamília Anacharitinae (Hymenoptera: Cynipoidea: Figitidae), un grup d’insectes endoparasitoids cenobionts de la larves afidòfagues d’Hemerobiidae (Neuroptera). Abans de la realització de la tesi, aquesta subfamília incloïa vuit gèneres: Acanthaegilips Ashmead, 1897; Aegilips Haliday, 1835; AnacharisDalman, 1823; Calofigites Kieffer, 1909; Hexacharis Kieffer, 1907; Proanacharis, 1996; Solenofigites Díaz, 1979 i XyalaspisHartig, 1843. El coneixement del grup era força fragmentari i obsolet per a la majoria d’aquests gèneres.

La tesi s’ha centrat en tres objectius principals: i) l’estudi de la biodiversitat global de la subfamília; ii) l’estudi de la biologia i relacions internes dels seus membres; iii) donar a conèixer aquests resultats a la comunitat científica. Aquests han estat aconseguint mitjançant l’estudi del material tipus pertanyent a la subfamília així com llargues sèries de material sense identificar depositat a institucions científiques.

Els resultats obtinguts han estat els següents:

- La descripció de 2 nous gèneres (Acanthaegilopsis Pujade-Villar, 2013 i Cornaegilips Mata- Casanova & Pujade-Villar, 2017). - La descripció de 35 noves espècies. - La revisió de l’estatus taxonòmic de 26 espècies prèviament descrites: 16 han estat - L’ampliació del registre i l’àrea de distribució de les espècies d’Anacharitinae a les regions Afrotropical, Australàsica, Neàrtica, Neotropical i Paleàrtica. - La citació per primer cop de la subfamília a la regió Indomalaya.