Nine new species of Dimophora from Australia (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae): new insights on the distribution of a poorly known genus of parasitoid wasps

Klopfstein, Seraina (2016). Nine new species of Dimophora from Australia (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae): new insights on the distribution of a poorly known genus of parasitoid wasps. Austral Entomology, 55(2), pp. 185-207. Wiley 10.1111/aen.12166

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Parasitoid wasps fulfil a vital role in all terrestrial ecosystems as natural enemies of spiders and insects, including many agricultural pests. Despite their value in biological control, even the most basic knowledge of species diversity is missing for large parts of the world, including Australia. The ichneumonid genus Dimophora (Cremastinae) was previously known from eight extant species that, with the exception of the Neotropical Dimophora daschi Gauld, were all believed to occur only in the Northern Hemisphere. Here, 11 species of this genus are reported for the first time from Australia, nine of which are described as new (D. biquadra n. sp., D. diabolica n. sp., D. kentmartini n. sp., D. lutulenta n. sp., D. migrosi n. sp., D. ocellata n. sp., D. ryhsi n. sp., D. ruficollis n. sp. and D. turista n. sp.). The two remaining species, D. nitens (Gravenhorst) and D. evanialis (Gravenhorst), also occur in the Holarctic region; their presence in Australia might thus reflect recent invasions. However, as the current study illustrates, our knowledge of ichneumonid diversity is far too patchy in most regions of the world to draw sound conclusions about biogeographical patterns. Phylogenetic analyses are needed to decide whether the surprisingly high diversity of Dimophora in Australia is due to a recent radiation, if it indicates that this is its centre of origin, or if it simply reflects a relict distribution of the genus. In any case, the doubling of the number of species of this rare genus demonstrates the need for taxonomic studies on parasitoid wasps in Australia.

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