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Sclerodermus ephippius Saunders, 1881 Diagnosis. Female: Body length 3.5 mm (Fig. 4a). Head, mesoscutellum, femora, tibiae and metasoma dark castaneous; antenna, clypeus, mandible, palpi, dorsal pronotal area, metapectal-propodeal disc, coxae, trochanters, and tarsi light castaneous. Head nearly quadrate, scarcely longer than wide, sides of head mostly straight; vertex slightly outcurved (Fig. 4b). Clypeus with median lobe trapezoidal. Mandible with three teeth, two dorsal teeth large and sharp. Frons weakly coriaceous, nearly polished, punctures very sparse and inconspicuous. Ocelli absent. Eye small and glabrous; distance between toruli less than their own diameters. Mesopleuron without pits and foveae. Dorsal pronotal area long, metapectal-propodeal disc and mesoscutellum almost equally sized. Mesoscutellum equilateral triangle-shaped with broadly curved posterior side. Metapectal-propodeal disc trapezoidal, side diverging posteriorly, median, lateral and posterior transverse carinae absent (Fig. 4c). Propodeal spiracle circular. Metasoma stout, 0.53 × as long as body, posterior margin of sternites IV–VI conspicuously bi-emarginated. Material examined: Turkey, Samsun, Ýlkadım, 75 m, 10.IV.2022, 2♀; Samsun, Çarşamba, 30 m, 14.V.2022, 1♀; 15.VII.2022, 1♀. Distribution: Albania (Gordh & Móczár 1990). Now, it is recorded for the first time from Turkey., Published as part of Can, İlyas, 2022, The Turkish Bethylidae (Hymenoptera, Chrysidoidea) fauna, with the new records of Epyrinae and Scleroderminae, pp. 447-456 in Zootaxa 5169 (5) on pages 451-452, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5169.5.3, http://zenodo.org/record/6952661, {"references":["Saunders, S. S. (1881) On the habits and affinities of the hymenopterous genus Scleroderma, with descriptions of new species. Entomological Society of London. Transactions, 1881 (1), 109 - 116.","Gordh, G. & Moczar, L. (1990) A catalog of the world Bethylidae (Hymenoptera). Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute, 46, 1 - 364."]}

Sclerodermus galapagensis Brues, 1919 Fig. 1B Diagnosis, female. Body 2.88 mm long. Castaneous, metasoma darker. Mandible with two apical teeth. Clypeus very short and truncate, apical margin strongly curved upward medially in frontal view. Antenna thick, pedicel long, first four antennomeres in ratio of about 18:7:2:2, flagellomeres wider than long, except last. Eye with sparse setae. Ocelli absent. Frons weakly coriaceous, punctures very sparse and inconspicuous. LH 1.21 WH, WF 0.55 WH, WF 1.82 HE. Vertex slightly outcurved. Sides of head slightly outcurved. VOL 2.09 HE. Mesoscutum 1.32 as wide as long. Metapectal-propodeal disc nearly quadrate, side subparallel, base only slightly constricted, without median and posterior carinae. Micropterous, wings much shorter than tegula. Profemur 2.0 as long as wide. Metasoma stout, 0.6 as long as body, apical margin of sternites IV–VI conspicuously bi-emarginated. Material examined. Holotype, ♀, ECUADOR, Galapagos, James Island, 2000 feet, 22.XII.1905, F. X. Williams col. (CASC, #462)., Published as part of Azevedo, Celso O. & Colombo, Wesley D., 2022, Synopsis of the Neotropical Sclerodermus Latreille (Hymenoptera, Bethylidae) with description of a new species attacking human beings, pp. 501-519 in Zootaxa 5124 (5) on page 506, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5124.5.1, http://zenodo.org/record/6416940

Sclerodermus wilsoni Evans, 1964 Fig. 1G Diagnosis, female. Body 2.44 mm long. Castaneous, metasoma darker. Mandible with two apical teeth, narrow apically. Clypeus very short and slightly concave, apical margin curved upward medially in frontal view. Antenna thick, pedicel long, flagellomeres wider than long, except last. Eye with sparse short setae. Frons weakly coriaceous, nearly polished, punctures sparse and inconspicuous. LH 1.15 WH, WF 0.52 WH, WF 1.47 HE. Vertex barely outcurved. Sides of head subparallel. VOL 1.28 HE. Mesoscutum 1.1 as wide as long. Metapectal-propodeal disc nearly quadrate, side subparallel, base only slightly constricted, without median and posterior carinae. Micropterous, wings much shorter than tegula. Profemur 1.6 as long as wide. Metasoma stout, 0.56 as long as body, apical margin of sternites IV–VI conspicuously bi-emarginated. Material examined. Holotype ♀, CUBA, Pinar de Rio, Las Acostas, 16.VI.[19]53, E. O. Wilson col. (MCZH, #30813)., Published as part of Azevedo, Celso O. & Colombo, Wesley D., 2022, Synopsis of the Neotropical Sclerodermus Latreille (Hymenoptera, Bethylidae) with description of a new species attacking human beings, pp. 501-519 in Zootaxa 5124 (5) on page 509, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5124.5.1, http://zenodo.org/record/6416940, {"references":["Evans, H. E. (1964) A synopsis of the American Bethylidae (Hymenoptera, Aculeata). Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 132, 1 - 222."]}

Sclerodermus chicomendesi Azevedo & Colombo, sp. nov. Figs 1H, 3–4 Differential Diagnosis. This species is similar to S. spilonotum in having the head elongate with outcurved sides, and the metapectal-propodeal disc slightly constricted anteriorly. However, this species has the mandibles with three apical teeth and the clypeus with median lobe trapezoidal, whereas S. spilonotum has the mandibles with two apical teeth and the clypeus with the median lobe short and with its apical margin subangulate. Besides the characters highlighted in the key, the pattern of colour is significantly different, this species has the head and mesosoma varying from light castaneous to castaneous, with the metasoma contrastingly darker, whereas S. spilonotum is mostly dark castaneous. Description, female. Measurements. Body 2.32 mm long. Head 0.34 mm long and 0.32 mm wide. Frons 0.17 mm wide. Eye 0.11 mm long. Wings 0.08 mm. Colour. Head castaneous, mesosoma light castaneous to castaneous, metasoma dark castaneous, clypeus castaneous, antenna and palpi light castaneous, mandible castaneous with dark apex, legs light castaneous to castaneous. Wings hyaline. Head. Mandible progressively narrowing apicad, with three sharpened apical teeth in oblique series. Median clypeal lobe short and trapezoidal, median area elevated and carinate, carina straight in profile, anterior margin upcurved medially. Malar space broad, without sulcus. Pedicel longer than flagellomeres I–II together. Flagellomeres I–X wider than long. Antennal pubescence appressed, very short and dense, velvet-like, with some suberect or erect setae outstanding progressively shorter distad. Ocelli absent. Frons very weakly coriaceous, punctures very sparse and inconspicuous. LH 1.1 WH, WF 0.55 WH, WF 1.61 HE. Vertex slightly outcurved. Sides of head slightly outcurved, head wider posteriorly eye. VOL 2.29 HE. Mesosoma. Dorsal pronotal area subquadrate in dorsal view, slightly longer than wide, with anterior humeral angle rounded. Mesoscutellum equilaterally triangled. Metapectal-propodeal disc as long as wide, without metapostnotal median and posterior carinae, surface of disc progressively depressing posterad. Propodeal declivity subvertical, ecarinate. Mesopleuron without pits and foveae. Tegula very small as scale. Micropterous, wing slightly longer than tegula, veins absent. Profemur 2.1 as long as wide. Mesotibia spinose. Metasoma. Stout, longer than head and mesosoma together, 0.57 as long as body, apical margin of sternites IV–VI bi-emarginated, surface of last sterna somewhat flat. Description, male. Measurements. Body 1.85 mm long. Head 0.26 mm long and 0.22 mm wide. Frons 0.13 mm wide. Eye 0.11 mm long. Forewing 1.46 mm long. Hind wing 1.23 mm long. Colour. Head, clypeus, antenna, mandible, mesosoma, metasoma, coxae, trochanters, pro- and mesofemora dark castaneous, metafemur, tibiae and tarsi castaneous, palpi light castaneous; forewing subhyaline, veins transparent, progressively lighter posterad. Head. Mandible evenly wide along its length, with three apical teeth, two lower sharpened, upper one rounded. Clypeus with short trapezoidal median lobe, apical margin almost straight, median carina complete, but weak, straight in lateral profile, lateral lobe defined, short. Antenna, pedicel much longer than wide, flagellomere I about as long as wide, remaining flagellomeres distincly longer than wide, flagellomeral pubescence suberect, setae slighlty longer than half flagellomeral diameter. Distance between toruli about 0.5 their own diameters. Eye with few setae. Frons weakly coriaceous, with very few indistinguisable punctures, with weak and short anterior median line. LH 1.18 WH, WF 0.6 WH, WF 1.18 HE. OOL 1.19 WOT; ocellar triangle distant from vertex crest 0.33 DAO, its frontal angle slightly acute. Vertex weakly outcurved, corners broadly rounded, temple almost parallel in frontal view. VOL 1.08 HE. Malar space evident, about one third of mandibular basal width, malar line sulcate and complete, giving rise closed to dorsal mandibular condyle. Occipital carina weak posteriorly and laterally, absent ventrally. Hypostoma evenly curved. Medioccipito-genal carina complete. Mesosoma. Pronotal dorsal area ecarinate, bell-shaped with anterior margin evenly outcurved, surface evenly depressed forward, pronotal flange short and subvertical, almost indistinguisable from pronotal dorsal area. Notaulus very ill-defined, weak and inconspicuous, almost indistinguisable. Parapsidal signum very ill-defined, weak and inconspicuous, almost indistinguisable, present only on posterior half of anteromesoscutum. Mesoscutummesoscutellar sulcus well-defined and deep, anterior margin straight and posterior margin evenly incurved, so that sulcus widens laterally, but not forming lateral pits. Metapectal-propodeal disc weakly coriaceous almost polished, 1.11 as wide as long, side parallel, metapostnotal median, metapostnotal lateral and posterior transverse carinae absent, posterior area smoothly depressed postarad. Propodeal declivity ecarinate, very weakly coriaceous laterally and progressively polished mesad. Propodeal spiracle round placed fully at lateral surface of metapectal-propodeal complex. Mesopleuron with subalar impression narrow as sulcus, mesepimeral sulcus inconspicuous, mesopleural pit very shallow and very small, posterior obliquus sulcus, anterior and upper mesopleural pit absent, transepisternal line inconspicuous. Prepectus concave and coriaceous. Forewing with costal cell opened by absence of costal vein; radial cell fully closed; Rs&M vein wider than other; M+Cu, cu-a and 2r-rs&Rs veins absent, fringes of anterior and apical margins distinctly longer. Hind wing with three distal hamuli, median hamulus slightly closer to apical one, without any proximal hamuli, fringes of apical and posterior margins distinctly longer. Legs not spinose. Profemur 3.4 as long as wide. Metasoma.Weakly coriaceous, segments II–III about 0.5 metasomal length.Hypopygium somewhat sublogenzeshaped, spiculum conical, not stalk-shaped at all, posterior margin outcurved. Genitalia: harpe divided in two arms, ventral arm longer and much wider than dorsal arm, about evenly wide, apical margin broadly slighlty outcurved with ventral corner rounded and dorsal corner angulate, ventral margin slightly outcurved, dorsal somewhat straight, dorsal arm somewhat logenze-shaped when seen in its in full lateral view, apical margin narrowly rounded, ventral margin outcurved, dorsal margin straight; cuspis rectangular when seen in its full lateral view, wide, apical margin somewhat straight, with small emargination close to ventral corner; aedeagus with of pair of rounded apical lobes. Material examined. Holotype, ♀, BRAZIL, Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, 5.ix.2016, manually collected in a home office in the urban area (MNRJ). Allotype ♂, paratypes 1♂ and 7♀, same data as holotype (MNRJ). Remarks. This new species is similar to S. spilonotum as aforementioned in the Differential Diagnosis section. The main differences are related to the coloration, number of mandibular teeth and shape of the median clypeal lobe. This can seem limited like morphological information to distinguish any putative new species of Sclerodermus. However, several of the sclerodermine genera and species have reduction of structures and extreme polymorphism (Vargas et al. 2020), which results in additional difficulties in delimiting genera and species, mostly because of the aptery. Such is the scenario for Sclerodermus, where there are few characters to provide confident taxonomic delimitation of species. For instance, the key to the females of the Nearctic species of Sclerodermus by Evans (1978) is based on coloration and shape of median clypeal lobe; and the key for the females of the French species by Berland (1928) is based only on coloration. Bernard & Jacquemin (1948) delimited the Northern African species of Sclerodermus based on mandibular teeth and shape of the median clypeal lobe. In summary, the reduction of structures in apterous forms constrains the delimitation of Sclerodermus species to just a few morphological characters. Host. This new species was found attacking a woman in her office in the municipality of Porto Alegre, South Brazil. Her office has wood furniture, which was observed to have many holes bored by Tricorynus Waterhouse, 1849, Ptinidae, Mesocoelopodinae (Fig. 6), from where both Sclerodermus chicomendesi n. sp. and its host Tricorynus beetles were observed leaving the furniture several times. This species of Sclerodermus frequently attacked the woman causing Erythematous papular injury in her skin (Fig. 7). Etymology. This species is named after Chico Mendes, who was one of the greatest Brazilian environmentalists, fighting for the rubber tappers against illegal farmers and land invaders mainly in the Amazonian Rain Forest in Acre, Brazil., Published as part of Azevedo, Celso O. & Colombo, Wesley D., 2022, Synopsis of the Neotropical Sclerodermus Latreille (Hymenoptera, Bethylidae) with description of a new species attacking human beings, pp. 501-519 in Zootaxa 5124 (5) on pages 509-513, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5124.5.1, http://zenodo.org/record/6416940, {"references":["Vargas R., J. M., Colombo, W. D. & Azevedo, C. O. (2020) Revisited phylogeny of Scleroderminae (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae) reveals a plastic evolutionary history. Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny, 78, 217 - 243. https: // doi. org / 10.26049 / ASP 78 - 2 - 2020 - 02","Evans, H. E. (1978) The Bethylidae of America North of Mexico. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute, 27, 1 - 332.","Berland, L. (1928) Faune de France 19. Hymenopteres vespiformes II. Office Central de Faunistique, Paris, 215 pp.","Bernard, F. & Jacquemin, P. (1948) Effets des piqures de Scleroderma (Hymenopteres Bethylidae), et revision des especes nordafricaines. Bulletin de la Societe d'Histoire Naturelle de l'Afrique du Nord, 39, 160 - 167."]}

Sclerodermus formicarius Kieffer, 1921 The type series of this species is lost. It was deposited in the private Bruch collection, which was supposed to be incorporated in the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia” and Museo de la Plata (Lanteri & Martínez 2012). However, the first author was not able to find any material in his visit to the former, and the curator of the latter neither. The original description of this species by Kieffer (1921) was mostly based on colouration and did not provide enough reliable taxonomic information to get a precise identification. The main characters that are possible to extract from the original description are: head quadrate, slightly longer than wide, and wider than thorax; eye subcircular, very close to mandible, and length less than 0.5 × distance to vertex crest; dorsal pronotal area long, metapectal-propodeal disc longer than mesoscutellum; wings absent; metasoma slightly longer than the rest of body, and as wide as head. Evans (1968) tentatively identified five Brazilian specimens. Nevertheless, this act lacks confidence. Given the scenario aforementioned, we have not keyed this species in order to avoid any future unprecise identification, since it is unidentifiable in the present time., Published as part of Azevedo, Celso O. & Colombo, Wesley D., 2022, Synopsis of the Neotropical Sclerodermus Latreille (Hymenoptera, Bethylidae) with description of a new species attacking human beings, pp. 501-519 in Zootaxa 5124 (5) on pages 505-506, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5124.5.1, http://zenodo.org/record/6416940, {"references":["Kieffer, J. J. (1921) Proctotrypides hotes des fourmis en Argentine. Anales de la Sociedad Cientifica Argentina, 91, 36 - 41.","Lanteri, A. A. & Martinez, A. (2012) Carlos Bruch: pionero de los estudios entomologicos en la Argentina. Revista de la Sociedad de Entomologia de Argentina, 71 (3 - 4), 179 - 185.","Evans, H. E. (1968) The genus Scleroderma in South America (Hymenoptera, Bethylidae). Papeis Avulsos de Zoologia, 22, 103 - 106."]}

Sclerodermus chicomendesi Azevedo & Colombo, sp. nov. Figs 1H, 3–4 Differential Diagnosis. This species is similar to S. spilonotum in having the head elongate with outcurved sides, and the metapectal-propodeal disc slightly constricted anteriorly. However, this species has the mandibles with three apical teeth and the clypeus with median lobe trapezoidal, whereas S. spilonotum has the mandibles with two apical teeth and the clypeus with the median lobe short and with its apical margin subangulate. Besides the characters highlighted in the key, the pattern of colour is significantly different, this species has the head and mesosoma varying from light castaneous to castaneous, with the metasoma contrastingly darker, whereas S. spilonotum is mostly dark castaneous. Description, female. Measurements. Body 2.32 mm long. Head 0.34 mm long and 0.32 mm wide. Frons 0.17 mm wide. Eye 0.11 mm long. Wings 0.08 mm. Colour. Head castaneous, mesosoma light castaneous to castaneous, metasoma dark castaneous, clypeus castaneous, antenna and palpi light castaneous, mandible castaneous with dark apex, legs light castaneous to castaneous. Wings hyaline. Head. Mandible progressively narrowing apicad, with three sharpened apical teeth in oblique series. Median clypeal lobe short and trapezoidal, median area elevated and carinate, carina straight in profile, anterior margin upcurved medially. Malar space broad, without sulcus. Pedicel longer than flagellomeres I–II together. Flagellomeres I–X wider than long. Antennal pubescence appressed, very short and dense, velvet-like, with some suberect or erect setae outstanding progressively shorter distad. Ocelli absent. Frons very weakly coriaceous, punctures very sparse and inconspicuous. LH 1.1 WH, WF 0.55 WH, WF 1.61 HE. Vertex slightly outcurved. Sides of head slightly outcurved, head wider posteriorly eye. VOL 2.29 HE. Mesosoma. Dorsal pronotal area subquadrate in dorsal view, slightly longer than wide, with anterior humeral angle rounded. Mesoscutellum equilaterally triangled. Metapectal-propodeal disc as long as wide, without metapostnotal median and posterior carinae, surface of disc progressively depressing posterad. Propodeal declivity subvertical, ecarinate. Mesopleuron without pits and foveae. Tegula very small as scale. Micropterous, wing slightly longer than tegula, veins absent. Profemur 2.1 as long as wide. Mesotibia spinose. Metasoma. Stout, longer than head and mesosoma together, 0.57 as long as body, apical margin of sternites IV–VI bi-emarginated, surface of last sterna somewhat flat. Description, male. Measurements. Body 1.85 mm long. Head 0.26 mm long and 0.22 mm wide. Frons 0.13 mm wide. Eye 0.11 mm long. Forewing 1.46 mm long. Hind wing 1.23 mm long. Colour. Head, clypeus, antenna, mandible, mesosoma, metasoma, coxae, trochanters, pro- and mesofemora dark castaneous, metafemur, tibiae and tarsi castaneous, palpi light castaneous; forewing subhyaline, veins transparent, progressively lighter posterad. Head. Mandible evenly wide along its length, with three apical teeth, two lower sharpened, upper one rounded. Clypeus with short trapezoidal median lobe, apical margin almost straight, median carina complete, but weak, straight in lateral profile, lateral lobe defined, short. Antenna, pedicel much longer than wide, flagellomere I about as long as wide, remaining flagellomeres distincly longer than wide, flagellomeral pubescence suberect, setae slighlty longer than half flagellomeral diameter. Distance between toruli about 0.5 their own diameters. Eye with few setae. Frons weakly coriaceous, with very few indistinguisable punctures, with weak and short anterior median line. LH 1.18 WH, WF 0.6 WH, WF 1.18 HE. OOL 1.19 WOT; ocellar triangle distant from vertex crest 0.33 DAO, its frontal angle slightly acute. Vertex weakly outcurved, corners broadly rounded, temple almost parallel in frontal view. VOL 1.08 HE. Malar space evident, about one third of mandibular basal width, malar line sulcate and complete, giving rise closed to dorsal mandibular condyle. Occipital carina weak posteriorly and laterally, absent ventrally. Hypostoma evenly curved. Medioccipito-genal carina complete. Mesosoma. Pronotal dorsal area ecarinate, bell-shaped with anterior margin evenly outcurved, surface evenly depressed forward, pronotal flange short and subvertical, almost indistinguisable from pronotal dorsal area. Notaulus very ill-defined, weak and inconspicuous, almost indistinguisable. Parapsidal signum very ill-defined, weak and inconspicuous, almost indistinguisable, present only on posterior half of anteromesoscutum. Mesoscutummesoscutellar sulcus well-defined and deep, anterior margin straight and posterior margin evenly incurved, so that sulcus widens laterally, but not forming lateral pits. Metapectal-propodeal disc weakly coriaceous almost polished, 1.11 as wide as long, side parallel, metapostnotal median, metapostnotal lateral and posterior transverse carinae absent, posterior area smoothly depressed postarad. Propodeal declivity ecarinate, very weakly coriaceous laterally and progressively polished mesad. Propodeal spiracle round placed fully at lateral surface of metapectal-propodeal complex. Mesopleuron with subalar impression narrow as sulcus, mesepimeral sulcus inconspicuous, mesopleural pit very shallow and very small, posterior obliquus sulcus, anterior and upper mesopleural pit absent, transepisternal line inconspicuous. Prepectus concave and coriaceous. Forewing with costal cell opened by absence of costal vein; radial cell fully closed; Rs&M vein wider than other; M+Cu, cu-a and 2r-rs&Rs veins absent, fringes of anterior and apical margins distinctly longer. Hind wing with three distal hamuli, median hamulus slightly closer to apical one, without any proximal hamuli, fringes of apical and posterior margins distinctly longer. Legs not spinose. Profemur 3.4 as long as wide. Metasoma.Weakly coriaceous, segments II–III about 0.5 metasomal length.Hypopygium somewhat sublogenzeshaped, spiculum conical, not stalk-shaped at all, posterior margin outcurved. Genitalia: harpe divided in two arms, ventral arm longer and much wider than dorsal arm, about evenly wide, apical margin broadly slighlty outcurved with ventral corner rounded and dorsal corner angulate, ventral margin slightly outcurved, dorsal somewhat straight, dorsal arm somewhat logenze-shaped when seen in its in full lateral view, apical margin narrowly rounded, ventral margin outcurved, dorsal margin straight; cuspis rectangular when seen in its full lateral view, wide, apical margin somewhat straight, with small emargination close to ventral corner; aedeagus with of pair of rounded apical lobes. Material examined. Holotype, ♀, BRAZIL, Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, 5.ix.2016, manually collected in a home office in the urban area (MNRJ). Allotype ♂, paratypes 1♂ and 7♀, same data as holotype (MNRJ). Remarks. This new species is similar to S. spilonotum as aforementioned in the Differential Diagnosis section. The main differences are related to the coloration, number of mandibular teeth and shape of the median clypeal lobe. This can seem limited like morphological information to distinguish any putative new species of Sclerodermus. However, several of the sclerodermine genera and species have reduction of structures and extreme polymorphism (Vargas et al. 2020), which results in additional difficulties in delimiting genera and species, mostly because of the aptery. Such is the scenario for Sclerodermus, where there are few characters to provide confident taxonomic delimitation of species. For instance, the key to the females of the Nearctic species of Sclerodermus by Evans (1978) is based on coloration and shape of median clypeal lobe; and the key for the females of the French species by Berland (1928) is based only on coloration. Bernard & Jacquemin (1948) delimited the Northern African species of Sclerodermus based on mandibular teeth and shape of the median clypeal lobe. In summary, the reduction of structures in apterous forms constrains the delimitation of Sclerodermus species to just a few morphological characters. Host. This new species was found attacking a woman in her office in the municipality of Porto Alegre, South Brazil. Her office has wood furniture, which was observed to have many holes bored by Tricorynus Waterhouse, 1849, Ptinidae, Mesocoelopodinae (Fig. 6), from where both Sclerodermus chicomendesi n. sp. and its host Tricorynus beetles were observed leaving the furniture several times. This species of Sclerodermus frequently attacked the woman causing Erythematous papular injury in her skin (Fig. 7). Etymology. This species is named after Chico Mendes, who was one of the greatest Brazilian environmentalists, fighting for the rubber tappers against illegal farmers and land invaders mainly in the Amazonian Rain Forest in Acre, Brazil.

Sclerodermus macrogaster (Ashmead, 1887) Fig. 1D Diagnosis, female. Micropterous forms. Body 3.07 mm long. Castaneous, propodeum lighter. Mandible with two apical teeth. Clypeus very short and truncate, apical margin curved upward medially in frontal view. Antenna thick, pedicel long, first four Antennomeres in ratio of about 17:6:2:2, flagellomeres wider than long, except last. Eye with sparse setae. Ocelli absent. Frons weakly coriaceous, nearly polished, punctures very sparse and inconspicuous. LH 1.13 WH, WF 0.5 WH, WF 1.47 HE. Vertex nearly straight. Sides of head slightly outcurved. VOL 1.32 HE. Mesoscutum 1.1 as wide as long. Metapectal-propodeal disc nearly quadrate, side subparallel, base only slightly constricted, without metapostnotal median carina and posterior transverse carina. Micropterous forms: wing slightly longer than tegula, veins absent. Profemur 2.13 as long as wide. Metasoma stout, 0.58 as long as body, apical margin of sternites IV–VI conspicuously bi-emarginated. Macropterous forms: clypeus very short, median lobe subtrapezoidal, apical margin weakly incurved. Ocellar triangle close to vertex crest, frontal angle slightly obtuse. Vertex and sides of head slightly outcurved. Notauli poorly impressed, straight, incomplete posteriorly, parallel. Parapsidal signum short. Metapectal-propodeal disc nearly quadrate, side subparallel, without metapostnotal median carina and posterior transverse carina. Claws bifid, teeth very small. Forewing slender, with one Radial cell closed, C and 2r-rs&Rs veins absent, pterostigma small, Anal vein nebulous distally, Cu vein fully nebulous. Diagnosis, male. Hypopygium with spiculum slighlty short than plate, lateral stalk absent, posterior margin outcurved. Genitalia: harpe divided in two arms, dorsal arm longer and much narrower than ventral arm; cuspis wide, apical margin incurved; aedeagus somewhat diamond-shaped, with of pair of rounded apical lobes. Material examined. Holotype ♀: [U.S.A.], Fl [orid]a, Jacks [o]nville (USNM, #14049). Remarks. The original description was based on one single supposedly apterous female from Florida, United States (Ashmead 1887). After that, Wheeler (1928) reared this species in a laboratory and was able to get both apterous and, more rarely, macropterous females, and both macropterous and even more rarely apterous males. The diagnoses of the male and the macropterous female are based on figures of Evans (1964, pg. 175)., Published as part of Azevedo, Celso O. & Colombo, Wesley D., 2022, Synopsis of the Neotropical Sclerodermus Latreille (Hymenoptera, Bethylidae) with description of a new species attacking human beings, pp. 501-519 in Zootaxa 5124 (5) on pages 506-507, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5124.5.1, http://zenodo.org/record/6416940, {"references":["Ashmead, W. H. (1887) Studies on the North American Proctotrupidae with descriptions of new species from Florida. Entomologica Americana, 3, 73 - 76.","Wheeler, W. M. 1928. The social insects: their origin and evolution. Harcourt Brace and Co., New York, 378 p. https: // doi. org / 10.5962 / bhl. title. 140774","Evans, H. E. (1964) A synopsis of the American Bethylidae (Hymenoptera, Aculeata). Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 132, 1 - 222."]}

Sclerodermus spilonotum Evans, 1968 Fig. 1E Diagnosis, female. Body 3.0 mm long. Head, mesosoma, metasoma, legs dark castaneous, antenna, mandible, clypeus, and anterior area of pronotum and mesoscutum light castaneous. Mandible with two apical teeth, base wide, apex very narrow. Medial clypeal lobe short and subangulate. Flagellomeres I–X wider than long. Ocelli absent. Frons nearly polished, punctures very sparse and inconspicuous. LH 1.22 WH, WF 0.55 WH, WF 1.8 HE. Vertex slightly outcurved. Sides of head slightly outcurved, head wider posteriorly eye. VOL 2.43 HE. Metapectalpropodeal disc as long as wide, without metapostnotal median and posterior carinae. Tegula apparently present, but small as scale. Micropterous, forewing 0.14 mm long, hind wing 0.14 mm long. Profemur 2.0 as long as wide. Metasoma stout, 0.61 as long as body, apical margin of sternites IV–VI bi-emarginated, last not deeply. Material examined. Holotype, ♀, BRAZIL, São Paulo, São Paulo, 1–15.XI.1967, K. Lenko col. (MZSP)., Published as part of Azevedo, Celso O. & Colombo, Wesley D., 2022, Synopsis of the Neotropical Sclerodermus Latreille (Hymenoptera, Bethylidae) with description of a new species attacking human beings, pp. 501-519 in Zootaxa 5124 (5) on page 508, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5124.5.1, http://zenodo.org/record/6416940, {"references":["Evans, H. E. (1968) The genus Scleroderma in South America (Hymenoptera, Bethylidae). Papeis Avulsos de Zoologia, 22, 103 - 106."]}

Sclerodermus iridomyrmicicola Bruch, 1917 Fig. 1C Diagnosis, female. Body 2.73 mm long. Head and mesosoma castaneous, metasoma dark castaneous. Mandible with two small apical teeth, and one on upper margin. Clypeus with short, rectangular median lobe, apical margin curved upward medially in frontal view, median carina complete. Pedicel longer than flagellomeres, flagellomeres wider than long, except last. Distance between toruli less than their own diameters. Eye with few setae. Frons weakly coriaceous, with very sparse small punctures, with weak and short anterior median line. LH 1.1 WH, WF 0.52 WH, WF 1.63 HE. Vertex outcurved. Sides of head mostly straight, subparallel, weakly converging anterad. VOL 2.0 HE. Mesoscutum 1.36 as wide as long. Metapectal-propodeal disc trapezoidal, side diverging posteriorly, median, lateral and posterior transverse carinae absent. Propodeal spiracle round placed at lateral of metapectal-propodeal complex. Tegula very small as scale. Micropterous, wing slightly longer than tegula, veins absent. Profemur 2.1 as long as wide. Metasomal sternites IV–VI with bi-emarginated apical margins. Material examined. Holotype ♀, [ARGENTINA, Martín García, Rio de la Plata, ex. nest of Iridomyrmex humilis Mayr, 9.XII.1915, C. Bruch col.] (MLPA, # 2065). Remark. This specimen has no data label., Published as part of Azevedo, Celso O. & Colombo, Wesley D., 2022, Synopsis of the Neotropical Sclerodermus Latreille (Hymenoptera, Bethylidae) with description of a new species attacking human beings, pp. 501-519 in Zootaxa 5124 (5) on page 506, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5124.5.1, http://zenodo.org/record/6416940

Sclerodermus soror Westwood, 1881 Fig. 1F Diagnosis, female. Body 2.0 mm long. Light castaneous. Antenna thick, pedicel long, flagellomeres wider than long, except last. Eye glabrous. Ocelli absent. Frons weakly coriaceous, punctures very sparse and inconspicuous. LH 1.35 WH, WF 0.52 WH, WF 1.56 HE. Vertex apparently straight. Sides of head parallel, slightly outcurved. VOL 2.4 HE. Mesoscutum 1.32 as wide as long. Metapectal-propodeal disc nearly quadrate, side subparallel, base only slightly constricted, without metapostnotal median carina and posterior transverse carina. Apterous. Profemur 2.2 as long as wide. Material examined. Holotype ♀, MEXICO, D. Coffin col. (OXUM). Remarks. This specimen is in fragile condition and mounted on a card, so we did not analyze posterior margin of the sterna., Published as part of Azevedo, Celso O. & Colombo, Wesley D., 2022, Synopsis of the Neotropical Sclerodermus Latreille (Hymenoptera, Bethylidae) with description of a new species attacking human beings, pp. 501-519 in Zootaxa 5124 (5) on page 508, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5124.5.1, http://zenodo.org/record/6416940

Key to Neotropical species 1. Macropterous forms, usually males (Fig. 4A)............................................................... 2 - Apterous or micropterous forms, usually females (Fig. 1)...................................................... 4 2. Forewing with Cu vein mostly tubular (Fig. 2B)............................................ S. domesticus Latreille - Forewing with Cu vein fully weakly spectral (Fig. 4E)........................................................ 3 3. Forewing with basal half of A vein tubular (as much as Fig. 118, Evans 1964, pg. 175)........... S. macrogaster Ashmead - Forewing with A vein wholly spectral (Fig. 4E)............................................ S. chicomendesi n. sp. 4. Apterous (Fig. 1E)..................................................................... S. soror Westwood - Micropterous (Fig. 1F)................................................................................ 5 5. Latero-posterior corner of metapectal-propodeal disc angled (Fig. 1A).......................... S. domesticus Latreille - Latero-posterior corner of metapectal-propodeal disc rounded (Fig. 1D).......................................... 6 6. Lateral board of metapectal-propodeal disc straight (Fig. 1C)................................................... 7 - Lateral board of metapectal-propodeal disc constricted anteriorly (Fig. 1D)....................................... 8 7. Side of head wholly outcurved, metapectal-propodeal disc about evenly wide (Fig. 1B)............. S. galapagensis Brues - Side of head straight anteriorly, metapectal-propodeal disc progressively wider posteriorly (Fig. 1C).................................................................................................. S. iridomyrmicicola Bruch 8. Side of head wholly straight and parallel (Fig. 1G).............................................. S. wilsoni Evans - Side of head wholly outcurved (Fig. 1D).................................................................. 9 9. Head about as wide as long (Fig. 1D).................................................. S. macrogaster Ashmead - Head longer than wide (Fig. 1F)......................................................................... 10 10. Mandible tridentate; median clypeal lobe trapezoidal (Figs 4C)............................... S. chicomendesi n. sp. - Mandible bidentate; median clypeal lobe subangulate (Fig. 1F)................................. S. spilonotum Evans, Published as part of Azevedo, Celso O. & Colombo, Wesley D., 2022, Synopsis of the Neotropical Sclerodermus Latreille (Hymenoptera, Bethylidae) with description of a new species attacking human beings, pp. 501-519 in Zootaxa 5124 (5) on page 514, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5124.5.1, http://zenodo.org/record/6416940, {"references":["Evans, H. E. (1964) A synopsis of the American Bethylidae (Hymenoptera, Aculeata). Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 132, 1 - 222."]}

We provide a Neotropical synopsis of the genus Sclerodermus Latreille. The genus is recognized by having the antenna with 11 flagellomeres, the head globoid or nearly so, the eyes present and flat, and the clypeal median lobe strongly angled and deeply separated from the lateral lobes. The strong polymorphism of having wings is an intra- and intergeneric feature and the macropterous specimens are diagnosed by having forewings with the pterostigma slender and only the R cell closed. In this synopsis we recognized seven previously known species: S. formicarius Kieffer, S. galapagensis Brues, S. iridomyrmicicola Bruch, S. macrogaster (Ashmead), S. soror Westwood, S. spilonotum Evans, and S. wilsoni Evans. The type-species, S. domesticus Latreille is also included, but their occurrence in the Neotropical Region is in doubt. Additionally, we discovered one more species, S. chicomendesi n. sp., which is described and illustrated, based on both sexes with molecular support. This species was found attacking a woman in her office in Porto Alegre, Brazil, where there was wood furniture with holes bored by beetles of the Ptinidae genus Tricorynus Waterhouse. We also provide a key to the Neotropical species of this genus and a discussion about species attacking human beings.

Sclerodermus Latreille, 1809 (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae), are parasitoids of wood-boring beetle larvae that can co-infest furniture and homes attacked by such larvae. This can result in the human inhabitants receiving stings from adult female wasps as they wander in search of new hosts. Herein, I report the first infestation of Sclerodermus macrogaster (Ashmead, 1887) of a home in North America and provide a review of Sclerodermus biology and clinical signs relevant to their pestiferous nature.

3.449 Genus Sclerodermus Latreille, 1809 Sclerodermus Latreille, 1809: 4. Type species: Sclerodermus domesticus Klug, 1809., Published as part of Guo, Mingxia, Xing, Lida, Wang, Bo, Zhang, Weiwei, Wang, Shuo, Shi, Aimin & Bai, Ming, 2017, A catalogue of Burmite inclusions, pp. 249-379 in Zoological Systematics 42 (3) on page 348, DOI: 10.11865/zs.201715, http://zenodo.org/record/5360313, {"references":["Latreille, P. A. 1809. Genera Crustaceorum et Insectorum Secundum Ordinem naturalem in Familias disposita, iconibus exemplisque plurimis explicate. Vol. 4. A. Koening, Paris. 399 pp."]}

In China Aromia bungii (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) is an economically important wood-boring pest of Prunus trees, particularly peach, and it has recently entered Japan and several other countries as an invasive species. Larvae of A. bungii are attacked by parasitoid species in the genus Sclerodermus (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae), which have potential to be released as biological control agents. In this study we evaluated the olfactory responses and parasitism rates of three Sclerodermus species against A. bungii when reared on the substitute host, Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). In Y-tube olfactometer studies, the odor of frass from the larvae of A. bungii was highly attractive to S. guani adults, but not to S. sichuanensis or S. pupariae adults. When reared on A. bungii larvae (rather than T. molitor) for one generation, S. sichuanensis adults were also attracted to the odor of frass from A. bungii larvae. This indicates that learning plays an important and positive role in successful host location by S. sichuanensis. For S. pupariae, it is possible that more extensive learning experience is required to adapt to A. bungii larvae. When we studied mortality of immature A. bungii larvae in infested peach tree logs under semi-field conditions, we found that mortality rates were similar for the three species of Sclerodermus: S. guani 54.81 ± 8.07%, S. sichuanensis 42.59 ± 9.01% and S. pupariae 40 ± 6.76%, respectively. However, there was a significant difference in mortality between S. guani and the control. Parasitism rates caused by S. sichuanensis (35.56 ± 9.48%) were similar to S. guani (42.96 ± 14.20%) and S. pupariae (34.44 ± 10.10%). From these results we suggest that S. guani would be the best candidate for biological control of the immature stages of A. bungii, and that more field trials should be done in the future.

Sclerodermus pupariae Yang et Yao (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae), a newly described ectoparasitoid, has been used as a biocontrol agent against several buprestid and cerambycid pests in China. Both winged and wingless female morphs of S. pupariae can find and parasitize hosts; however, winged parasitoids can disperse faster and further to new habitats and thus are more adapted to spatial and temporal changes in host densities than wingless morphs. In the present study, we determined the effects of photoperiod and associated light intensity on the parasitoid development time from egg to adult, the proportion of winged females, fecundity, and progeny sex ratio. Significantly more winged female parasitoid progeny were produced with long-day photoperiods and high light intensity compared to short day-photoperiods and low light intensity treatments. Photoperiod alone (regardless of light intensity) has significant impact on developmental time of parasitoid progeny. Light intensity, interacted with photoperiod, significantly affected the degree of phenotypic partitioning and development time, but light intensity and photoperiod did not significantly influence the parasitoid fecundity and sex ratio. These results are relevant to laboratory rearing of S. pupariae when the optimal light conditions are needed to produce winged female parasitoids.

Se describe un brote de dermatitis producido por la picadura de una pequeña avispa áptera Sclerodermus sp. (Hymenoptera, Bethylidae), en un grupo de estudiantes de un colegio de San José, capital de Costa Rica. Se encontró también al escarabajo xilófago Calymmaderus pupatus (Coleoptera, Ptinidae), que sirve de huésped a la avispita, la cual necesita depositar sus huevos, como parasitoide, en las larvas del coleóptero para su reproducción. Casos autóctonos de esta dermatitis se conocen en los cinco continentes y esto contrasta con la ausencia de reportes procedentes de América Central.

Sclerodermus harmandi (Buysson) (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae) is a generalist parasitoid that has been mass-produced and released for biological control of many agricultural and forest pests in China. However, few studies have examined the potential non-target risks of this parasitoid in targeted agriculture or forest ecosystems. In this study, we demonstrate that S. harmandi successfully attacks Triaspis sp. (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), an important native natural enemy of the pine weevil pest Pissodes punctatus Langor et Zhang in Yunnan Province of China. When exposed to older larvae of Triaspis sp. at three different parasitoid-to-host group sizes (1:1, 2:2 and 3:3) with a constant 1:1 parasitoid-to-host ratio, S. harmandi successfully attacked 100%, 75% and 83.3% of the test larvae, respectively. All life stages (egg, larva, pupa and adult) of S. harmandi were observed on Triaspis sp. larvae, indicating that Triaspis sp. are suitable for the completion of S. harmandi development. There were no signi...

The gregarious idiobiont ectoparasitoid, Sclerodermus pupariae Yang et Yao, is a natural enemy that parasitizes buprestid and cerambycid beetle larvae in China. In a recent laboratory study of mass–reared female parasitoids on larvae of the substitute host, Thyestilla gebleri, the subsequent offspring were widely released to control target pests. To develop cost–effective techniques for rearing parasitoids, and improve the parasitic efficiency of Sclerodermus pupariae, several parasitoid–host ratios have been investigated. However, the mechanism whereby increasing the density of inoculated female wasps on a host affects female parasitoid fitness (adult performance and progeny developmental duration) remains unclear. In the present study, we examined the influence of parasitoid density (one to eight female wasps per host) on the time to first attack, paralyzing time, pre–oviposition period and oviposition period of foundresses and developmental duration of offspring. We showed that the time to first attack, paralyzing time, pre–oviposition period and oviposition period of foundresses were significantly negatively associated with parasitoid density, but that developmental duration of progeny was only affected at the larval stage. An increase in the parasitoid density to more than three female wasps per host had no significant influence on the investigated parameters. Our results suggest that host nutrition was adequate, and intraspecific interaction enhanced the parasitic efficiency of wasps sharing a single host. Furthermore, it is known that a suitable parasitoid–host ratio can play an important role in promoting mutually beneficial behaviors which enhance adult performance.

Sclerodermus pupariae Yang et Yao (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae) is used as a potential biocontrol agent for several buprestid and cerambycid larvae. This study aimed to enhance the efficiency of mass-rearing of this parasitoid by investigating the fitness gain of this bethylid wasp, including the proportion of successful parasitism and development, brood size, sex ratio, proportion of winged female offspring, body size and longevity of female offspring, under eight different maternal parasitoid density treatments using Thyestilla gebleri Faldermann as host in the laboratory. The results indicated that the foundress densities did not affect the parasitism or emergence rate of this parasitoid. Brood size of the parasitoids increased significantly when the number of maternal wasps ranged from one to four. However, further increases in foundress number did not affect the parasitoid brood size. The sex ratios of S. pupariae were always female-biased. The proportions of male in the progeny colonies were

Sclerodermus hova de SAUSSURE 1892 Scleroderma hova n.sp.: de SAUSSURE 1892: pl. 25 (figs 19, 19b, 19e, 19i, 19l-n, 19u (), Madagascar). Scleroderma hova de SAUSSURE 1892: SCHULZ 1906: 103 (tax.). Pristocera hova (de SAUSSURE 1892): SCHULZ 1912: 77 (tax.), 78 (tax., descr., Madagascar). Sclerodermus hova de SAUSSURE 1892: KIEFFER 1914: 266 (tax., Madagascar). Sclerodermus hova de SAUSSURE, 1890: GORDH 1990: 161 (cat.). Sclerodermus hova de SAUSSURE 1892: LANES & AZEVEDO 2008: 82 (cat.). D i s t r i b u t i o n: Madagascar: Prov. Antananarivo: Imerina. Endemic., Published as part of C. O, Madl, M. & Olmi, M., 2010, A Catalogue of the Bethylidae, Chrysididae, Dryinidae, Embolemidae, Sclerogibbidae and Scolebythidae (Hymenoptera: Chrysidoidea) of the Malagasy Subregion, pp. 845-918 in Linzer biologische Beiträge 42 (2) on pages 850-851, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5335096, {"references":["SAUSSURE H. de (1890): Histoire Naturelle des Hymenopteres. - In: GRANDIDIER A. (ed.), Histoire physique, naturelle et politique de Madagascar Volume XX: X-XXI, 1 - 176, pls 1 - 20."]}

Reverse chemical ecology approaches based on the recognition and transport function of odorant binding proteins (OBPs) have been used to screen behaviorally active compounds of insects. In the first place, behaviorally active compounds from Sclerodermus sp., an important ectoparasite of Monochamus alternatus Hope, were screened by SspOBP7. The Fluorescence quenching assays revealed that only six of 19 ligands that had binding affinities in fluorescence competition-binding assays formed complexes with SspOBP7. Pursuing this further, two non-polar ligands, terpinolene and (+)-α-longipinene showed strong attractant activities for Sclerodermus sp. The pH change could lead to conformational transition of SspOBP7 from one state to another, which results in low binding affinities at low pH. Finally, a mutational analysis of the SspOBP7 binding cavity proved that changing the cavity had a greater effect on non-polar ligands, and the specific recognition of ligands by SspOBP7 might depend mainly on the appropriate shapes of the cavity and ligands. The most obvious finding to emerge from this work is that the use of fluorescence quenching to study the binding mechanism of OBPs could aid reverse chemical ecology approaches by narrowing the scope of candidate behaviorally active compounds.

Parasitoid wasps of the genus Sclerodermus (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae) are an important natural enemy of the Japanese pine sawyer beetle Monochamus alternatus Hope (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae). In this study, we used scanning electron microscopy to examine the external morphology of the antennal sensilla of Sclerodermus sp. Antennae of females and males comprised the scape, pedicel, and 11 flagellomere segments. Based on the morphology of the sensilla in each sex, seven types of sensillum were identified: sensilla trichodea (Tr.1, Tr.2 and Tr.3), sensilla basiconica (Ba.1, Ba.2, and Ba.3), sensilla styloconica (St.1 and St.2), sensilla placodea, sensilla coeloconica, sensilla squamiforma, and Bohm’s bristles. Tr.2, Ba.1, and St.1 were only found in females, whereas Ba.2, Ba.3, and St.2 were only observed in males. Sensilla placodea were the most common, given that they occur on the antennae of many parasitoid Hymenoptera, whereas sensilla Tr were the most abundant, being distributed over the entire antennal surface. These sensilla are likely to have roles in the host locating and habitat searching behavior of adult Sclerodermus wasps. Therefore, our findings provide a basis for further studies of the host location behavior of this and other species of parasitic wasp.

Massicus raddei Blessig (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), also referred to as the oak long-horned beetle (OLB), is a non-natural host for the generalist parasitoid Sclerodermus pupariae Yang et Yao (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae). To determine whether this generalist parasitoid might be a suitable agent for the control of OLB, the adaptive learning experience of adult female parasitoids to OLB larvae was investigated in the laboratory. A Y-tube olfactometer bioassay was used to examine the effects of adaptive learning experience on the foraging ability of parasitoids for OLB larvae. The results indicated that parasitoids were significantly attracted by the volatiles of ash bark, Fraxinus velutina, with emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) larvae and larval frass, after exposure to ash bark mixed with EAB larval frass (learning condition A). In contrast, after exposure to oak bark, Quercus liaotungensis, mixed with OLB larval frass (learning condition C), parasitoids showed significant preference for the volatiles of oak bark with OLB larvae and larval frass. On the basis of the results of no-choice tests, we found that parasitoids exposed to learning condition C had greater paralysis efficiency and higher OLB larvae parasitism rates than those exposed to learning condition A or no experience. Furthermore, parasitoids fed on OLB larvae in learning condition C had significantly greater paralysis efficiency and higher OLB larvae parasitism rates than other parasitoids tested. Parasitoids fed on EAB larvae in learning condition A had the lowest paralysis efficiency and OLB larvae parasitism rates among the parasitoids tested. These findings suggested that adaptive learning significantly enhanced the ability of a generalist parasitoid to utilize a novel host. This may provide a new approach to controlling non-natural hosts using generalist parasitoids.

Wing phenotype polymorphism is commonly observed in insects, yet little is known about the influence of environmental cues on the development or expression of the alternative phenotypes. Here, we report how both biotic and abiotic factors affect the wing morph differentiation of a bethylid parasitoid Sclerodermus pupariae. The percentage of winged female parasitoid progeny increased exponentially with temperature between 20 °C to 30 °C. Low intensity light and short-day photoperiod conditions also significantly induced the development of winged morphs. Interestingly, wingless maternal parasitoids produced more winged progeny. Furthermore, the degree of wing dimorphism was significantly influenced by the interactions between light intensity and maternal wing morphs. The percentage of winged female progeny was not significantly influenced by foundress densities, but increased significantly with parasitoid brood sizes. However, the percentage of male progeny increased significantly with the densities of maternal parasitoids. Our findings highlight the phenotypic partitioning of wing morphology and development in the parasitoid S. pupariae under varied environmental cues and reveal the most favourable conditions for the production of winged females in this bethylid wasp. It is thus possible to increase winged female parasitoid production for the purposes of biological control by manipulation of biotic and abiotic conditions.

The relationship between body size and fitness in parasitoid wasps has several effects on parasitic ability, reproductive behavior in female wasps, and progeny fitness. Female wasps with various body sizes were obtained by mass–rearing a gregarious ectoparasitoid, Sclerodermus pupariae, which is one of the excellent parasites to control the larvae and pupae of Buprestidae and Cerambycidae. We investigated the effects of body size of adult females introduced on Thyestilla gebleri (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) larvae on their paralysis time, pre–oviposition period, oviposition period and fecundity, and the related fitness of their offspring. Results showed that small female wasps needed more time to paralyze a host and had a higher mortality rate than large female wasps. More offspring were produced by large female wasps than by small female wasps, and the percentage and body size of female offspring was not affected by maternal body size. The duration of the egg stage was not affected by foundress size, nor was that of the pupal stage, but the duration of the larval stage and generation time of small female wasps was longer than that of large females. Our findings suggest that the parasitic fitness and offspring performance are affected by maternal size, and there is need to choose reasonable body size of female wasps, to optimally utilize mass rearing and to control target pests with the lowest mortality cost.

Adaptations of a parasitoid, Sclerodermus harmandi (Buysson 1903) (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae) to a target host, Monochamus alternatus Hope (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), were investigated in laboratory colonies. We quantified the physiological and behavioral flexibility of the parasitoid reared on M. alternatus compared to the parasitoid reared on a common host, Saperda populnea (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae). Adult performance (fecundity and pre-oviposition period) and offspring physiological responses (mortality and sex ratio) of S. harmandi reared on M. alternatus improved over multiple generations. S. harmandi females of the 12th generation on the target host showed better performance, i.e., shorter time for searching and handling, higher oviposition preference, and, subsequently, lower offspring mortality and proportion of male emergence on the host than those from the base stock. Our work demonstrated that these traits in S. harmandi were influenced by the integration of cultured generations and host quality, which implies that the potential effectiveness of S. harmandi as a biological control agent can be further improved.

A new parasitoid reared from Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), Sclerodermas pupariae n. sp. (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae), is described from China. S. pupariae was reared from A. planipennis in China attacking velvet ash (Fraxinus velutina Torr. ), a tree native to North America. Life-history studies of S. pupariae in the field and laboratory indicated it is a gregarious idiobiont ectoparasitoid of pupa and larva of A. phnipennis and has up to five generations per year. Parasitism rate in the field was 13%. Adult wasps reared from single host pupa or mature larva ranged from 24 to 56 individuals. Based on laboratory rearing, the emerging adult female to male ratio was 22:1. The new parasitoid species has a high potential as a biocontrol agent for emerald ash borer. Diagnosis of the new species with comparisons to Sclerodermas harmandi (Buysson) and a key to Sclerodermas known in China are provided.

This study was performed to investigate the immature development period, fecundity, emergence rate and sex ratio of Sclerodermus harmandi against different host insects, Monochamus alternatus, M. saltuarius and Psacothea hilaris. Full grown larvae and pupae of host insects were provided with foods. The mean larval period of S. harmandi female was days in larvae and pupae of M. alternatus, days in M. saltuarius, and days in P. hilaris, respectively. S. hilaris adults were emerged at days in female and days in male after pupation when hosted M. alternatus pupa. Development period in male showed shorter one day than in female. Success rate of oviposition against different hosts was higher as 98.6 and 97.5% on full grown larva and pupa of M saltuarius. Emergence rate was higher as 90.1 and 87.3% on M. saltuarius larvae and pupae. Sex ratio of emerged S. harmandi adults was approximately 10:1 (Female : Male), females showed higher emergence rate than males. The period until first oviposition after emergence in S. harmandi female was the shortest in days on M. saltuarius pupa. When three females of S. harmandi were inoculated on M. saltuarius larva, the number of laid eggs was the highest per female.

To explore the regulatory mechanisms of parasitism of Sclerodermus sichuanensis on Tenebrio molitor, the methods of natural parasitism and venom injection were adopted to investigate the effects of the venom from S. sichuanensis on the pupa of T. molitor in the parasitic process. Under venom injection, the paralytic degree of the pupa had a positive correlation with the concentration of injected venom, and the number of recovered pupa had a negative correlation with the injected venom concentration. The T. molitor pupa was in slight and reversible paralysis when injected with 0.01 VRE (venom reservoir equivalent) of venom, and in non-reversible and complete paralysis when 0.2 VRE was injected. The pupa died massively and appeared a wide range of melanization when injected with soil bacterial suspension alone, but the melanization delayed and the mortality declined significantly when the mixed liquor of bacterium and venom was injected. The bacteriostasis of the venom on Staphylococcus aureus was significantly stronger than that on Escherichia coli. Within a definite range of temperature, the paralytic activity decreased significantly with increasing temperature, the bacteriostasis on S. aureus increased significantly, while that on E. coli was opposite. This study showed that the venom from S. sichuanensis had the effects of paralysis, bacteriostasis, inhibiting exuviations, and delaying melanization.

Sclerodermus domesticus is an insect belonging to the order Hymenoptera. Female of S. domesticus feeds on larvae of xylophagous Coleoptera and Lepidoptera living in the galleries they dig in old wooden furniture. Human infestation is rare.In the last few months, we observed nine adult patients (7 males and 2 females) who were affected by S. domesticus infestation. Seven patients were antiquarians or restorers and two were housewives. The rash was characterized by erythematous-papular lesions, accompanied by pruritus and/or pain. In addition, 7 patients reported general malaise and fever. In all cases it was possible to find specimens of S. domesticus in furniture or house dust.Complete remission was obtained with topical corticosteroids, oral anti-histamines and pest control of furniture.Antiquarians and restorers and, in general, the people in close contact with furniture infested by S. domesticus may be stung by these insects. S. domesticus infestation can therefore be considered as an occupational disease in these subjects.

Case history of five members from the same family is reported. They developed papulourticarial pruritic rash on the skin of their torsos and extremities during their summer stay in an old family house. The cause was an insect determined as Sclerodermus domesticus, known for its parasitism on larvae of a wood pest. Examination of the furniture revealed a lot of holes typical for these pests. Cases of stings of these insects have not been described in Yugoslavia till now.

Guarding behavior is an important activity in sub-social insects, and this behavior is believed to improve the survival of offspring. Sclerodermus harmandi (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae) is one of most powerful epizoic parasitoid wasps, and it parasitizes Monochamus alternatus, a borer of wood and also the primary vector of the pinewood nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus. After laying eggs, S. harmandi exhibits sub-social behavior involving the female tending the clutch of eggs until emergence (guarding behavior). In this study, the benefits of this maternal care with regard to improvements in the survival of offspring were examined. During the developmental stages, only offspring in the egg and larval stages were sensitive to guarding behavior. A positive relationship between the survival of the offspring and the duration of guarding was detected with logistic regression analysis. A female replacement experiment demonstrated that multiparous S. harmandi stepmothers showed guarding behavior and that this behavior improved the survival of the immature offspring, whereas nulliparous stepmothers failed to exhibit the guarding behavior. These results indicate that S. harmandi females display maternal care and that this behavior improves the survival of offspring.

In the parasitoid genus Sclerodermus, multiple foundresses produce and care for communal broods on large hosts, which can lead to greater reproductive success for group members than attempting to reproduce alone. We explore the consequences of foundress group size on the benefits of cooperative brooding and on brood sex ratios by providing groups of 10-55 foundresses with a single host and no alternative reproductive options. Within this range, increasing foundress group size leads to increasingly common failure in brood production and diminished per capita success. Group production of adult offspring declines once foundress number reaches around 25. Brood failure is usually at the early developmental stages, and current evidence suggests that there may be competition among foundresses for oviposition sites, possibly involving reproductive dominance and ovicide, which also delays initial brood production. Once broods become established, their rate of development is enhanced by large foundress numbers. The sex ratios of broods are very strongly female biased, irrespective of the foundress number. As this bias is not easily explained by standard models of local mate competition or by a recent model of local resource enhancement, we suggest an explanation based on control of sex allocation by a minority of dominant foundresses, which monopolise the production of adult males.

The role of risk in behavioural choices leading to cooperation in attacking a prey or a host has proven to be difficult to assess in most systems because risk is difficult to quantify. For parasitoid wasps, paralysing a host is a key step for successful parasitism and reproduction, but wasps risk death or injury because of host defences and may require group action, which provides a model system to decipher the mechanism driving cooperation. We explored scenarios where wasps behave as either cooperators or free-riding defectors by using the parasitoid Sclerodermus guani and its host Monochamus alternatus. First, when one or two wasps paralysed a single host, the mortality of both increased with increasing host size but was significantly lower when there were two wasps. Second, fitness analysis showed that whether a wasp was involved in paralysing a host did not affect the number of eggs laid. Finally, when two wasps paralysed single large hosts, higher mortality risks led to more cooperation, whereas lower risk led to more frequent free riding. Our study implies that risk is involved in mediating the level of cooperation and provides an experimental demonstration of risk-driven cooperation of parasitoids.

Case history of five members from the same family is reported. They developed papulourticarial pruritic rash on the skin of their torsos and extremities during their summer stay in an old family house. The cause was an insect determined as Sclerodermus domesticus, known for its parasitism on larvae of a wood pest. Examination of the furniture revealed a lot of holes typical for these pests. Cases of stings of these insects have not been described in Yugoslavia till now.

Sclerodermus harmandi (Buysson) (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae) is an economically beneficial 2 species of parasitoid wasp that has an unusual level of sociality: groups of female foundresses 3 reproduce on a single host and exhibit cooperative post-ovipositional brood care. The 4 beneficial effects females have on each other’s reproductive success provide, via the theory 5 of local resource enhancement (LRE), an explanation for their female-biased progeny sex 6 ratios, which is part of the same framework for understanding sex-ratio evolution as the more 7 often invoked theory of local mate competition (LMC). Here we show that S. harmandi sex 8 ratios are over-dispersed, with high variance largely attributable to the common occurrence 9 (60%) of developmental mortality. Developmental mortality is also positively associated with 10 the proportion of broods which contain only females at emergence (virgin broods). Virginity 11 is more common when broods are produced by fewer foundresses. Virginity is expected to be 12 disadvantageous under LRE, as it is under LMC, but theory for LRE is less extensively 13 developed. We suggest approaches for the development of LRE theory, in particular using 14 models of ‘population elasticity’ in which the intensity of kin competition is reduced because 15 extra resources are available to local populations that are more cooperative. For S. harmandi, 16 such extra resources may include large hosts that can only be successfully utilized if multiple 17 foundresses cooperate.

The main goal of this paper is to update the taxonomic information of the pairs of Pristocera Klug collected in Madagascar by A. Seyrig. Within this material twelve species are recognized, ten are new to science, all based on pairs collected in copulation, which are described and illustrated: P. melmani sp. nov., P. alexi sp. nov., P. martyi sp. nov., P. gloriae sp. nov., P. julieni sp. nov., P. morti sp. nov., P. mauricei sp. nov., P. makungai sp. nov., P. teetsii sp. nov. and P. zubai sp. nov.. Pristocera levicollis (Kieffer) had its female discovered, and P. cambouei Saussure stat. rev. had its lectotype designated. Sclerodermus hova Saussure is transferred back to Pristocera and considered as a junior synonym of P. cambouei. Keys for males and females to the species of Pristocera from Madagascar are provided. The Malagasy fauna of Pristocera is now represented by twelve species, all endemic to this island.

Parasitoids can encounter patches of hosts of varying sizes. Trade-offs may result in different developmental strategies and fitness characteristics in parasitoids. To explore developmental strategies and host suitability of a bethylid parasitoid, Sclerodermus pupariae, in relation to the size of oak long-horned beetle larvae, Massicus raddei, effects of host size on parasitoid fitness parameters were tested under laboratory conditions. Maternal parasitoids obtained lower rates of parasitism when inoculating small or large hosts due to early host death and parasitoid injury, respectively, indicating significant fitness costs associated with paralysing those host sizes. Host size was shown to have highly variable effects on selected fitness parameters. For maternal females, increasing initial host size led to increasing host handling time, and fertility exhibited a parabolic relationship with host size. The highest fertility was exhibited when parasitoids oviposited on medium-sized hosts. Host size effects were very apparent for parasitoid offspring, with the largest hosts producing later-emerging but larger females. Parasitoid offspring sex ratios in all host size classes were significantly female-biased, and exhibited a quadratic function with increasing host size. Assessment of host profitability revealed that medium-sized hosts presented the best fitness return for the parasitoids. The findings suggest that this bethylid parasitoid can achieve a compromise in optimisation of the two most important fitness functions when encountering an abundance of different-sized hosts.

Explanations for the highest levels of sociality typically invoke the concept of inclusive fitness. Sclerodermus, a genus of parasitoid hymenopterans, is quasi-social, exhibiting cooperative brood care without generational overlap or apparent division of labour. Foundress females successfully co-exploit hosts that are too large to suppress when acting alone and the direct fitness benefits of collective action may explain their cooperation, irrespective of kinship. However, cooperation in animal societies is seldom free of conflicts of interest between social partners, especially when their relatedness, and thus their degree of shared evolutionary interests, is low. We screened components of the life-history of Sclerodermus brevicornis for effects of varying co-foundress number and relatedness on cooperative reproduction. We found that the time taken to paralyse standard-sized hosts is shorter when co-foundress number and/or relatedness is higher. This suggests that, while females must access a paralysed host in order to reproduce, individuals are reluctant to take the risk of host attack unless the benefits will be shared with their kin. We used Hamilton’s rule and prior data from studies that experimentally varied the sizes of hosts presented to congeners to explore how the greater risks and greater benefits of attacking larger hosts could combine with relatedness to determine the sizes of hosts that individuals are selected to attack as a public good. From this, we predict that host size and relatedness will interact to affect the timing of host paralysis; we test this prediction in the accompanying study.

Sclerodermus brevicornis is a parasitoid that exhibits cooperative multi-foundress brood production. Prior work showed that the time lag to paralysis of small-sized hosts is shorter when co-foundress relatedness is higher and predicted that the greater risks and greater benefits of attacking larger hosts would combine with co-foundress relatedness to determine the limits to the size of a host that a female is selected to attack as a public good. It was also predicted that the time to host attack would be affected by an interaction between host size and relatedness. Here, we show empirically that both host size and kinship affect S. brevicornis reproduction and that they interact to influence the timing of host attack. We also find effects of co-foundress relatedness after hosts have been suppressed successfully. A public goods model using parameters estimated for S. brevicornis again suggests that selection for individual foundresses to attack and, if successful, to share hosts will be dependent on both the size of the host and the relatedness of the foundresses to any co-foundresses present. Females will not be selected to bear the individual cost of a public good when hosts are large and dangerous or when their relatedness to the co-foundress is low. We conclude that although reproductive behaviours exhibited by Sclerodermus females can be cooperative, they are unlikely to be exhibited without reference to kinship or to the risks involved in attempting to suppress and share large and dangerous hosts.

35. Holepyris raonis (Kurian, 1955) comb. nov. Fig. 35, A–J Apenesia raonis Kurian, 1955, 4: 100, 101, Figs: 118–123. Sclerodermus raonis (Kurian, 1955), Azevedo et al. (2018): 250. Type locality: St. John’s College, Agra, India (♀ holotype, NFIC-FRI). Diagnosis. Female. Length about 4.3 mm. General colour dark reddish-brown to black. Head as long as wide; frons coriaceus; ocelli distinct, posterior to supra-ocular line; eye glabrous; median clypeal lobe conspicuous, anterior margin rounded, as long as lateral ones; antenna with sparse pubescence, scape 2.4 × longer than pedicel, pedicel longer than first flagellomere. Pronotum coriaceous, posterior pronotal sulcus foveolate; mesonotum shorter than pronotal dorsal area; notauli absent; mesoscuto-mesoscutellar suture sulcate, trabeculate, deep. Metapectalpropodeal disc longer than wide; metapostnotal median carina present; first abdominal spiracle laterally placed. Tarsal claw bifid. Wings nearly hyaline; forewing with pterostigma light brown; hind wing with three hamuli. Metasoma polished. Male. Unknown. Material examined. Holotype: [INDIA, Uttar Pradesh,] Agra, St John’s College, 23-III-1950, S.N. Rao coll. Type conditions. Holotype partly dissected on slide Nº. 23/B and remaining rested on the pin. Pinned: body complete with left antenna and left forewing attached. On slides: S1 C1—one forewing and one hind wing. S1 C2—one antenna. S2 C1—one pro and one metaleg, both without coxae. S2 C2—two meso and one metaleg all with separated coxae. Remarks. This species was originally allocated in Apenesia Westwood, 1874. Azevedo et al. (2018, p. 250) transferred this species to Sclerodermus. Kurian (1955) provided a detailed description of the holotype, with drawings. He illustrated the forewings with anterior margin angular, which is common for sclerodermines, and probably for this reason, Azevedo et al. (2018) removed this species from Pristocerinae, since all the females of Pristocerinae are apterous. We detected the clypeus trilobate, eyes mid-sized and glabrous, the dorsal pronotal with posterior pronotal sulcus foveolate, and with humeral angle not projected, the mesoscuto-scutellar suture sulcate, the metanotum undeveloped medially, the wings are fully developed, the forewings with three closed cells (C 2 c, R 2 c, 1Cu 2 c), and the metapostnotal median carina is long. These observations support the placement of this species in Holepyris. Hosts. Unknown. Genus Laelius Ashmead, 1893 Laelius Ashmead, 1893, 45: 50. Type species: Laelius trogodermatis Ashmead, 1893 by original designation.