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Title: Eucoilinae of North America: A revised catalog of genera and described species

Author
item FORSHAGE, M. - University Of Stockholm
item Buffington, Matthew
item NORDLANDER, GORAN - Uppsala University

Submitted to: Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/15/2013
Publication Date: 7/15/2013
Citation: Forshage, M., Buffington, M.L., Nordlander, G. 2013. Eucoilinae of North America: A revised catalog of genera and described species. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 115:225-255.

Interpretive Summary: Parasitic wasps attack crop and forest pests that cause billions of dollars of damage annually. This paper, a catalog for a group of wasps in North America, treats species parasitic on leaf-mining flies, filth flies, and face flies including pests of melon, tomato, and livestock. Valid names are provided for 109 species, and the taxonomic status is changed for 35 names to stabilize the classification. This makes retrieval of biological information about these wasps more efficient and accurate, which in turn reduces costs and errors in research and bio-control programs. This research will be useful to scientists conducting research on these wasps, as well as pest managers responsible for controlling pests of melons, tomatoes, and livestock.

Technical Abstract: This is a catalog of North American taxa of Eucoilinae, with little resemblance to previous regional catalogs, which have been lagging behind in the recent systematic work in the group. The current catalog comprises 34 genera, arranged in six tribes. Of these genera, 9 have only unidentified or undescribed species in the region, while the other 25 include 109 species recorded from the region (which is far from the real number, since most groups are unrevised and undescribed species are common). In comparison with previous catalogs, 24 genera and 41 species are added, and 35 species-level name recombined, while 7 genera, five subgenera and 11 species are removed from the list of North American taxa. A modern, phylogeny-consistent and type-based classification is implemented, as well as a tribal classification. In terms of nomenclatural acts, 26 new combinations are made (one is a reinstatement of an old combination). Four new genus-levels synonymies are made (Tetramerocera Ashmead junior synonym of Ganaspis Förster, Bewelda Quinlan and Aporeucoila Kieffer junior synonyms of Hexacola Förster, Pentaplastidia Weld junior synonym of Trybliographa Förster), as well as eight new species-level synonymies; two species names are removed from synonymy, and one new replacement name given (Hexacola pennsylvanicus for Hexacola subaperta Kieffer, 1907 nec (Kieffer, 1901)).