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Olixon testaceum is a widely distributed species of brachypterous parasitoid wasp (Vespoidea: Rhopalosomatidae) occurring in Meso- and South America, but little is known of its biology. Here, the first known host of O. ? testaceum is identified as the cricket Anaxipha sp. (Grylloidea: Trigonidiidae) through DNA barcoding of six Olixon larvae and their hosts. Barcoding results also indicated substantial genetic diversity within nominal O. testaceum specimens. The number of species and statistical significance of these groups were tested using Maximum Likelihood phylogenies, distance-based cluster analyses, and coalescence models. All analyses revealed at least six distinct lineages, which suggests six or more cryptic species within O. ? testaceum. Combined with what is currently known about Rhopalosoma host use, these results indicate that rhopalosomatids may be generalist rather than specialist parasitoids, and further confirm the benefits of open global collaboration and DNA barcoding in advancing taxonomic knowledge.

Abstract Global biodiversity gradients are generally expected to reflect greater species replacement closer to the equator. However, empirical validation of global biodiversity gradients largely relies on vertebrates, plants, and other less diverse taxa. Here we assess the temporal and spatial dynamics of global arthropod biodiversity dynamics using a beta-diversity framework. Sampling includes 129 sampling sites whereby malaise traps are deployed to monitor temporal changes in arthropod communities. Overall, we encountered more than 150,000 unique barcode index numbers (BINs) (i.e. species proxies). We assess between site differences in community diversity using beta-diversity and the partitioned components of species replacement and richness difference. Global total beta-diversity (dissimilarity) increases with decreasing latitude, greater spatial distance and greater temporal distance. Species replacement and richness difference patterns vary across biogeographic regions. Our findings support long-standing, general expectations of global biodiversity patterns. However, we also show that the underlying processes driving patterns may be regionally linked.

Foliage-feeding wild caterpillars have been collected and reared year-round by 1–30 rural resident parataxonomists in the Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) in northwestern Costa Rica since 1978. The aim of the work was to describe the diversity and interactions of Lepidoptera and their associations with larval food plants and parasitoids in a diverse tropical community. A total of 457,816 caterpillars developed into a moth or butterfly, and these were identified to the family and species/morphospecies, with 151,316 having been successfully barcoded and assigned a Barcode Index Number (BIN) and/or “scientific name”. The host food plant was usually identified to the species or morphospecies. In addition to adult moths and butterflies, rearings also yielded many hundreds of species of parasitic wasps and tachinid flies, many of which were also DNA-barcoded and assigned a name and/or BIN. Increasingly over recent years, these have been identified or described by expert taxonomists. Here, we provide a summary of the number of species of ichneumonoid (Ichneumonidae and Braconidae) parasitoids of the caterpillars, their hosts, the host food plants involved, the bi- and tritrophic interactions, and their relationships to the caterpillar sampling effort. The dataset includes 16,133 and 9453 independent rearings of Braconidae and Ichneumonidae, respectively, collectively representing 31 subfamilies, all with parasitoid barcodes and host and host food plant species-level identifications. Host caterpillars collectively represented 2456 species, which, in turn, were collectively eating 1352 species of food plants. Species accumulation curves over time for parasitoids, hosts, and plants show various asymptotic trends. However, no asymptotic trends were detected for numbers of unique parasitoid–host and host–plant bitrophic interactions, nor for tritrophic interactions, after 1983, because climate change then began to conspicuously reduce caterpillar densities. Parasitoid host ranges, the proportions of specialists at the host species and host genus levels, host family utilisation, and host guild sizes show some differences among taxa and are discussed in turn. Ichneumonidae are shown to preferentially parasitise caterpillars of larger-bodied hosts compared to Braconidae. Several of the host plant species from which caterpillars were collected have been introduced from outside of the Americas and their utilisation by endemic parasitoids is described. The obligately hyperparasitoid ichneumonid subfamily Mesochorinae is dealt with separately and its strong association with microgastrine braconid primary parasitoids is illustrated. We discuss the implications for studies of tropical insect community food web ecology and make suggestions for future work. The aim was to make available the data from this remarkable study and to provide an overview of what we think are some of the more interesting relationships that emerge—other scientists/readers are expected to have different questions that they will go on to explore the data to answer.

This revision is part of a continuing series of taxonomic work aimed at the description of new taxa and the redescription of known taxa of the Tachinidae of Area de Conservación Guanacaste in northwestern Costa Rica. Here we describe 33 new species in the genus Belvosia Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 (Diptera: Tachinidae). All species described here were reared from this ongoing inventory of wild-caught caterpillars spanning a variety of families (Lepidoptera: Erebidae, Eupterotidae, Noctuidae, Notodontidae, Saturniidae, and Sphingidae). We provide a morphological description of each species with limited information on life history, molecular data, and photographic documentation. In addition to the new species, the authors provide a redescription of the genus Belvosia, as well as provide a key to the identification of the species present in the Meso- and North-American fauna.The following 33 new species of Belvosia Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830, all authored by Fleming & Woodley, are described: Belvosia adrianguadamuzi Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia anacarballoae Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia angelhernandezi Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia brigittevilchezae Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia alixtomoragai Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia carolinacanoae Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia ciriloumanai Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia diniamartinezae Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia duniagarciae Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia duvalierbricenoi Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia eldaarayae Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia eliethcantillanoae Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia freddyquesadai Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia gloriasihezarae Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia guillermopereirai Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia harryramirezi Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia hazelcambroneroae Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia jorgehernandezi Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia josecortezi Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia joseperezi Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia keinoraragoni Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia luciariosae Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia manuelpereirai Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia manuelriosi Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia minorcarmonai Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia osvaldoespinozai Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia pabloumanai Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia petronariosae Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia ricardocaleroi Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia robertoespinozai Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia rostermoragai Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia ruthfrancoae Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia sergioriosi Fleming & Woodley sp. n.Belvosia canalis Aldrich, 1928 is reared and recorded from the inventory; new information relative to host is provided and the species is rediscribed.The following are proposed by Fleming & Woodley as new synonyms of Belvosia Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830: Brachybelvosia Townsend, 1927 syn. n., Belvosiomimops Townsend, 1935 syn. n.The following three new combinations are proposed as a result of the new synonymies: Belvosia brasilensis (Townsend, 1927), comb. n.; and Belvosia barbiellinii (Townsend, 1935), comb. n.The authors also propose the following new synonymies: Belvosia brasilensis (Townsend, 1927) = Belvosia aurulenta (Bigot, 1888), syn. n.; Belvosia pollinosa Rowe, 1933 = Belvosia borealis Aldrich, 1928 syn. n.; Belvosia weyenberghiana (Wulp, 1883) = Belvosia fuliginosa (Walker, 1853) syn. n.; Belvosia brasiliensis Townsend, 1927 = Belvosia fuliginosa (Walker, 1853) syn. n.; Belvosia luteola Coquillett, 1900 = Belvosia ochriventris (Wulp, 1890) syn. n.; Belvosia socia (Walker, 1853) = Belvosia proxima (Walker, 1853) syn. n.; Belvosia chrysopyga (Bigot, 1887) = Belvosia unifasciata (Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830) syn. n.; Belvosia chrysopygata (Bigot, 1888) = Belvosia unifasciata (Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830) syn. n.

Taxonomy underpins biological research because names are needed for comparative analysis, conservation status, and public communication. Despite this, many species remain undescribed and are therefore vulnerable and unprotected, particularly in the tropics. Neotropical Staphylinidae beetles (Coleoptera) are among the insect groups most likely to contain significant unknown and/or cryptic diversity. Here we used an integrative taxonomic framework to conduct a preliminary review of one particularly diverse genus of Staphylinidae (Anotylus) in Área de Conservaciόn Guanacaste, northwestern Costa Rica. We began by DNA barcoding novel collections and using Barcode Index Numbers (BINs) as an estimate of taxonomic diversity; we found 18 provisional new species. We augmented this genetic analysis with a morphometric analysis of adult morphological characters and found that we could differentiate most provisional species by external morphology as well as by elevation of collection. All the most abundant species could be differentiated from each other by differences in body size. One BIN included slight (~1%) genetic variation that corresponded with some morphological differentiation suggesting the existence of two species within a DNA BIN. Our results support the efficacy of DNA barcoding collections of tropical insects as an effective biodiversity estimator, one that can be used as a primer for integrative taxonomic studies using BINs as species hypotheses.

Amphibians are the most threatened species-rich vertebrate group, with species extinctions and population declines occurring globally, even in protected and seemingly pristine habitats. These ‘enigmatic declines’ are generated by climate change and infectious diseases. However, the consequences of these declines are undocumented as no baseline ecological data exists for most affected areas. Like other neotropical countries, Costa Rica, including Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) in north-western Costa Rica, experienced rapid amphibian population declines and apparent extinctions during the past three decades. To delineate amphibian diversity patterns within ACG, a large-scale comparison of multiple sites and habitats was conducted. Distance and time constrained visual encounter surveys characterised species richness at five sites—Murciélago (dry forest), Santa Rosa (dry forest), Maritza (mid-elevation dry-rain forest intersect), San Gerardo (rainforest) and Cacao (cloud forest). Furthermore, species-richness patterns for Cacao were compared with historic data from 1987–8, before amphibians declined in the area. Rainforests had the highest species richness, with triple the species of their dry forest counterparts. A decline of 45% (20 to 11 species) in amphibian species richness was encountered when comparing historic and contemporary data for Cacao. Conservation efforts sometimes focus on increasing the resilience of protected areas, by increasing their range of ecosystems. In this sense ACG is unique containing many tropical ecosystems compressed in a small geographic space, all protected and recognised as a UNESCO world heritage site. It thus provides an extraordinary platform to understand changes, past and present, and the resilience of tropical ecosystems and assemblages, or lack thereof, to climate change.

We describe three new species of the previously monotypic genus Creagrura Townes from Central and South America: C. alejandromasisi sp. n. and C. rogerblancoi sp. n. from Costa Rica and C. allpahuaya sp. n. from Peru, all of which emphasise the unknown parasitoid insect diversity yet to be revealed in the tropics.Host relationships of the two Costa Rican species are described in detail. In addition, it is inferred that the Creagrura wasps find and oviposit in the caterpillar when it is exposed at night, rather than when it is concealed during daylight hours.

This is a response to a preprint version of “A re-analysis of the data in Sharkey et al.’s (2021) minimalist revision reveals that BINs do not deserve names, but BOLD Systems needs a stronger commitment to open science”, https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.04.28.441626v2. Meier et al. strongly criticized Sharkey et al.’s publication in which 403 new species were deliberately minimally described, based primarily on COI barcode sequence data. Here we respond to these criticisms. The following points are made: 1) Sharkey et al. did not equate BINs with species, as demonstrated in several examples in which multiple species were found to be in single BINs. 2) We reiterate that BINs were used as a preliminary sorting tool, just as preliminary morphological identification commonly sorts specimens based on color and size into unit trays; despite BINs and species concepts matching well over 90% of species, this matching does not equate to equality. 3) Consensus barcodes were used only to provide a diagnosis to conform to the rules of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature just as consensus morphological diagnoses are. The barcode of a holotype is definitive and simply part of its cellular morphology. 4) Minimalist revisions will facilitate and accelerate future taxonomic research, not hinder it. 5) We refute the claim that the BOLD sequences of Plesiocoelus vanachterbergi are pseudogenes and demonstrate that they simply represent a frameshift mutation. 6) We reassert our observation that morphological evidence alone is insufficient to recognize species within species-rich higher taxa and that its usefulness lies in character states that are congruent with molecular data. 7) We show that in the cases in which COI barcodes code for the same amino acids in different putative species, data from morphology, host specificity, and other ecological traits reaffirm their utility as indicators of genetically distinct lineages.

Twenty-nine species are treated, most of which have host caterpillar and food plant records, and all but one are new to science. The first host record for the agathidine genus Amputoearinus is given. Gnathopleura josequesadai Sharkey, sp. nov. is reported as a hyperparasitoid of fly larvae, the first such record for the genus. The following new species are diagnosed primarily using COI barcode data; Sharkey is the authority for all: Agathidinae: Aerophilus davidwagneri, Aerophilus fundacionbandorum, Aerophilus nicklaphami, Lytopylus davidstopaki, Lytopylus davidschindeli; Alysiinae: Gnathopleura josequesadai; Braconinae: Bracon andreamezae, Bracon franklinpaniaguai, Bracon rafagutierrezi, Bracon guillermoblancoi, Bracon oscarmasisi, Bracon pauldimaurai, Bracon shebadimaurae, Sacirema karendimaurae; Cheloninae: Chelonus minorzunigai; Homolobinae: Homolobus stevestroudi; Macrocentrinae: Macrocentrus michaelstroudi; Orgilinae: Stantonia gilbertfuentesi; Rhysipolinae: Rhysipolis stevearonsoni; Rogadinae: Aleiodes kaydodgeae, Aleiodes kerrydresslerae, Aleiodes josesolanoi, Aleiodes juniorporrasi, Aleiodes rocioecheverri, Aleiodes ronaldzunigai, Choreborogas jesseausubeli, Triraphis doncombi, and Yelicones mayrabonillae.

We revise the genus Metaplagia Coquillett, 1895 and describe five new species from Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) in northwestern Costa Rica. All new species were reared from an ongoing inventory of wild-caught caterpillars spanning a variety of species within the family Sphingidae (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae). Our study provides a concise description of each new species using morphology, life history, molecular data, and photographic documentation. In addition to the new species, the authors provide a redescription of the genus and a revised key to species of Metaplagia.The following five new species of Metaplagia are described: Metaplagia leahdennisae Fleming & Wood sp. n., Metaplagia lindarobinsonae Fleming & Wood sp. n., Metaplagia paulinesaribasae Fleming & Wood sp. n., Metaplagia robinsherwoodae Fleming & Wood sp. n., Metaplagia svetlanakozikae Fleming & Wood sp. n.The following is proposed by Fleming & Wood as new combination of Plagiomimma Brauer & Bergenstamm, 1891: Plagiomimma latifrons (Reinhard, 1956) comb. n.

Three new genera are described: Michener (Proteropinae), Bioalfa (Rogadinae), and Hermosomastax (Rogadinae). Keys are given for the New World genera of the following braconid subfamilies: Agathidinae, Braconinae, Cheloninae, Homolobinae, Hormiinae, Ichneutinae, Macrocentrinae, Orgilinae, Proteropinae, Rhysipolinae, and Rogadinae. In these subfamilies 416 species are described or redescribed. Most of the species have been reared and all but 13 are new to science. A consensus sequence of the COI barcodes possessed by each species is employed to diagnose the species, and this approach is justified in the introduction. Most descriptions consist of a lateral or dorsal image of the holotype, a diagnostic COI consensus barcode, the Barcode Index Number (BIN) code with a link to the Barcode of Life Database (BOLD), and the holotype specimen information required by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. The following species are treated and those lacking authorship are newly described here with authorship attributable to Sharkey except for the new species of Macrocentrinae which are by Sharkey & van Achterberg: AGATHIDINAE: Aerophilus paulmarshi, Mesocoelus davidsmithi, Neothlipsis bobkulai, Plesiocoelus vanachterbergi, Pneumagathis erythrogastra (Cameron, 1905), Therophilus bobwhartoni, T. donaldquickei, T. gracewoodae, T. maetoi, T. montywoodi, T. penteadodiasae, Zacremnops brianbrowni, Z. coatlicue Sharkey, 1990, Zacremnops cressoni (Cameron, 1887), Z. ekchuah Sharkey, 1990, Z. josefernandezi, Zelomorpha sarahmeierottoae. BRACONINAE: Bracon alejandromarini, B. alejandromasisi, B. alexamasisae, B. andresmarini, B. andrewwalshi, B. anniapicadoae, B. anniemoriceae, B. barryhammeli, B. bernardoespinozai, B. carlossanabriai, B. chanchini, B. christophervallei, B. erasmocoronadoi, B. eugeniephillipsae, B. federicomatarritai, B. frankjoycei, B. gerardovegai, B. germanvegai, B. isidrochaconi, B. jimlewisi, B. josejaramilloi, B. juanjoseoviedoi, B. juliodiazi, B. luzmariaromeroae, B. manuelzumbadoi, B. marialuisariasae, B. mariamartachavarriae, B. mariorivasi, B. melissaespinozae, B. nelsonzamorai, B. nicklaphami, B. ninamasisae, B. oliverwalshi, B. paulamarinae, B. rafamoralesi, B. robertofernandezi, B. rogerblancoi, B. ronaldzunigai, B. sigifredomarini, B. tihisiaboshartae, B. wilberthbrizuelai, Digonogastra montylloydi, D. montywoodi, D. motohasegawai, D. natwheelwrighti, D. nickgrishini. CHELONINAE: Adelius adrianguadamuzi, A. gauldi Shimbori & Shaw, 2019, A. janzeni Shimbori & Shaw, 2019, Ascogaster gloriasihezarae, A. grettelvegae, A. guillermopereirai, A. gustavoecheverrii, A. katyvandusenae, A. luisdiegogomezi, Chelonus alejandrozaldivari, C. gustavogutierrezi, C. gustavoinduni, C. harryramirezi, C. hartmanguidoi, C. hazelcambroneroae, C. iangauldi, C. isidrochaconi, C. janecheverriae, C. jeffmilleri, C. jennyphillipsae, C. jeremydewaardi, C. jessiehillae, C. jesusugaldei, C. jimlewisi, C. jimmilleri, C. jimwhitfieldi, C. johanvalerioi, C. johnburnsi, C. johnnoyesi, C. jorgebaltodanoi, C. jorgehernandezi, C. josealfredohernandezi, C. josefernandeztrianai, C. josehernandezcortesi, C. josemanuelperezi, C. josephinerodriguezae, C. juanmatai, C. junkoshimurae, C. kateperezae, C. luciariosae, C. luzmariaromeroae, C. manuelpereirai, C. manuelzumbadoi, C. marianopereirai, C. maribellealvarezae, C. markmetzi, C. markshawi, C. martajimenezae, C. mayrabonillae, C. meganmiltonae, C. melaniamunozae, C. michaelstroudi, C. michellevanderbankae, C. mingfangi, C. minorcarmonai, C. monikaspringerae, C. moniquegilbertae, C. motohasegawai, C. nataliaivanovae, C. nelsonzamorai, C. normwoodleyi, C. osvaldoespinozai, C. pamelacastilloae, C. paulgoldsteini, C. paulhansoni, C. paulheberti, C. petronariosae, C. ramyamanjunathae, C. randallgarciai, C. rebeccakittelae, C. robertoespinozai, C. robertofernandezi, C. rocioecheverriae, C. rodrigogamezi, C. ronaldzunigai, C. rosibelelizondoae, C. rostermoragai, C. ruthfrancoae, C. scottmilleri, C. scottshawi, C. sergioriosi, C. sigifredomarini, C. stevearonsoni, C. stevestroudi, C. sujeevanratnasinghami, C. sureshnaiki, C. torbjornekremi, C. yeimycedenoae, Leptodrepana alexisae, L. erasmocoronadoi, L. felipechavarriai, L. freddyquesadai, L. gilbertfuentesi, L. manuelriosi, Phanerotoma almasolisae, P. alvaroherrerai, P. anacordobae, P. anamariamongeae, P. andydeansi, P. angelagonzalezae, P. angelsolisi, P. barryhammeli, P. bernardoespinozai, P. calixtomoragai, P. carolinacanoae, P. christerhanssoni, P. christhompsoni, P. davesmithi, P. davidduthiei, P. dirksteinkei, P. donquickei, P. duniagarciae, P. duvalierbricenoi, P. eddysanchezi, P. eldarayae, P. eliethcantillanoae, P. jenopappi, Pseudophanerotoma alanflemingi, Ps. albanjimenezi, Ps. alejandromarini, Ps. alexsmithi, Ps. allisonbrownae, Ps. bobrobbinsi. HOMOLOBINAE: Exasticolus jennyphillipsae, E. randallgarciai, E. robertofernandezi, E. sigifredomarini, E. tomlewinsoni. HORMIINAE: Hormius anamariamongeae, H. angelsolisi, H. anniapicadoae, H. arthurchapmani, H. barryhammeli, H. carmenretanae, H. carloswalkeri, H. cesarsuarezi, H. danbrooksi, H. eddysanchezi, H. erikframstadi, H. georgedavisi, H. grettelvegae, H. gustavoinduni, H. hartmanguidoi, H. hectoraritai, H. hesiquiobenitezi, H. irenecanasae, H. isidrochaconi, H. jaygallegosi, H. jimbeachi, H. jimlewisi, H. joelcracrafti, H. johanvalerioi, H. johnburleyi, H. joncoddingtoni, H. jorgecarvajali, H. juanmatai, H. manuelzumbadoi, H. mercedesfosterae, H. modonnellyae, H. nelsonzamorai, H. pamelacastilloae, H. raycypessi, H. ritacolwellae, H. robcolwelli, H. rogerblancosegurai, H. ronaldzunigai, H. russchapmani, H. virginiaferrisae, H. warrenbrighami, H. willsflowersi. ICHNEUTINAE: Oligoneurus kriskrishtalkai, O. jorgejimenezi, Paroligoneurus elainehoaglandae, P. julianhumphriesi, P. mikeiviei. MACROCENTRINAE: Austrozele jorgecampabadali, A. jorgesoberoni, Dolichozele gravitarsis (Muesebeck, 1938), D. josefernandeztrianai, D. josephinerodriguezae, Hymenochaonia kalevikulli, H. kateperezae, H. katherinebaillieae, H. katherineellisonae, H. katyvandusenae, H. kazumifukunagae, H. keithlangdoni, H. keithwillmotti, H. kenjinishidai, H. kimberleysheldonae, H. krisnorvigae, H. lilianamadrigalae, H. lizlangleyae, Macrocentrus fredsingeri, M. geoffbarnardi, M. gregburtoni, M. gretchendailyae, M. grettelvegae, M. gustavogutierrezi, M. hannahjamesae, M. harisridhari, M. hillaryrosnerae, M. hiroshikidonoi, M. iangauldi, M. jennyphillipsae, M. jesseausubeli, M. jessemaysharkae, M. jimwhitfieldi, M. johnbrowni, M. johnburnsi, M. jonathanfranzeni, M. jonathanrosenbergi, M. jorgebaltodanoi, M. lucianocapelli. ORGILINAE: Orgilus amyrossmanae, O. carrolyoonae, O. christhompsoni, O. christinemcmahonae, O. dianalipscombae, O. ebbenielsoni, O. elizabethpennisiae, O. evertlindquisti, O. genestoermeri, O. jamesriegeri, O. jeanmillerae, O. jeffmilleri, O. jerrypowelli, O. jimtiedjei, O. johnlundbergi, O. johnpipolyi, O. jorgellorentei, O. larryspearsi, O. marlinricei, O. mellissaespinozae, O. mikesmithi, O. normplatnicki, O. peterrauchi, O. richardprimacki, O. sandraberriosae, O. sarahmirandae, O. scottmilleri, O. scottmorii, Stantonia billalleni, S. brookejarvisae, S. donwilsoni, S. erikabjorstromae, S. garywolfi, S. henrikekmani, S. luismirandai, S. miriamzunzae, S. quentinwheeleri, S. robinkazmierae, S. ruthtifferae. PROTEROPINAE: Hebichneutes tricolor Sharkey & Wharton, 1994, Proterops iangauldi, P. vickifunkae, Michener charlesi. RHYSIPOLINAE: Pseudorhysipolis luisfonsecai, P. mailyngonzalezae Rhysipolis julioquirosi. ROGADINAE: Aleiodes adrianaradulovae, A. adrianforsythi, A. agnespeelleae, A. alaneaglei, A. alanflemingi, A. alanhalevii, A. alejandromasisi, A. alessandracallejae, A. alexsmithi, A. alfonsopescadori, A. alisundermieri, A. almasolisae, A. alvarougaldei, A. alvaroumanai, A. angelsolisi, A. annhowdenae, A. bobandersoni, A. carolinagodoyae, A. charlieobrieni, A. davefurthi, A. donwhiteheadi, A. doylemckeyi, A. frankhovorei, A. henryhowdeni, A. inga Shimbori & Shaw, 2020, A. johnchemsaki, A. johnkingsolveri, A. gonodontovorus Shimbori & Shaw, 2020, A. manuelzumbadoi, A. mayrabonillae, A. michelledsouzae, A. mikeiviei, A. normwoodleyi, A. pammitchellae, A. pauljohnsoni, A. rosewarnerae, A. steveashei, A. terryerwini, A. willsflowersi, Bioalfa pedroleoni, B. alvarougaldei, B. rodrigogamezi, Choreborogas andydeansi, C. eladiocastroi, C. felipechavarriai, C. frankjoycei, Clinocentrus andywarreni, Cl. angelsolisi, Cystomastax alexhausmanni, Cy. angelagonzalezae, Cy. ayaigarashiae, Hermosomastax clavifemorus Quicke sp. nov., Heterogamus donstonei, Pseudoyelicones bernsweeneyi, Stiropius bencrairi, S. berndkerni, S. edgargutierrezi, S. edwilsoni, S. ehakernae, Triraphis billfreelandi, T. billmclarneyi, T. billripplei, T. bobandersoni, T. bobrobbinsi, T. bradzlotnicki, T. brianbrowni, T. brianlaueri, T. briannestjacquesae, T. camilocamargoi, T. carlosherrerai, T. carolinepalmerae, T. charlesmorrisi, T. chigiybinellae, T. christerhanssoni, T. christhompsoni, T. conniebarlowae, T. craigsimonsi, T. defectus Valerio, 2015, T. danielhubi, T. davidduthiei, T. davidwahli, T. federicomatarritai, T. ferrisjabri, T. mariobozai, T. martindohrni, T. matssegnestami, T. mehrdadhajibabaei, T. ollieflinti, T. tildalauerae, Yelicones dirksteinkei, Y. markmetzi, Y. monserrathvargasae, Y. tricolor Quicke, 1996. Y. woldai Quicke, 1996. The following new combinations are proposed: Neothlipsis smithi (Ashmead), new combination for Microdus smithi Ashmead, 1894; Neothlipsis pygmaeus (Enderlein), new combination for Microdus pygmaeus Enderlein, 1920; Neothlipsis unicinctus (Ashmead), new combination for Microdus unicinctus Ashmead, 1894; Therophilus anomalus (Bortoni and Penteado-Dias) new combination for Plesiocoelus anomalus Bortoni and Penteado-Dias, 2015; Aerophilus areolatus (Bortoni and Penteado-Dias) new combination for Plesiocoelus areolatus Bortoni and Penteado-Dias, 2015; Pneumagathis erythrogastra (Cameron) new combination for Agathis erythrogastra Cameron, 1905. Dolichozele citreitarsis (Enderlein), new combination for Paniscozele citreitarsis Enderlein, 1920. Dolichozele fuscivertex (Enderlein) new combination for Paniscozele fuscivertex Enderlein, 1920. Finally, Bassus brooksi Sharkey, 1998 is synonymized with Agathis erythrogastra Cameron, 1905; Paniscozele griseipes Enderlein, 1920 is synonymized with Dolichozele koebelei Viereck, 1911; Paniscozele carinifrons Enderlein, 1920 is synonymized with Dolichozele fuscivertex (Enderlein, 1920); and Paniscozele nigricauda Enderlein,1920 is synonymized with Dolichozele quaestor (Fabricius, 1804). (originally described as Ophion quaestor Fabricius, 1804).

Herbivorous insects represent a major fraction of global biodiversity and the relationships they have established with their food plants range from strict specialists to broad generalists. Our knowledge of these relationships is of primary importance to basic (e.g. the study of insect ecology and evolution) and applied biology (e.g. monitoring of pest or invasive species), and yet remains very fragmentary and understudied. In Lepidoptera, caterpillars of families Saturniidae and Sphingidae are rather well known and considered to have adopted contrasting preferences in their use of food plants. The former are regarded as being rather generalist feeders, whereas the latter are more specialist.To assemble and synthesize the vast amount of existing data on food plants of Lepidoptera families Saturniidae and Sphingidae, we combined three major existing databases to produce a dataset collating more than 26,000 records for 1256 species (25% of all species) in 121 (67%) and 167 (81%) genera of Saturniidae and Sphingidae, respectively. This dataset is used here to document the level of polyphagy of each of these genera using summary statistics as well as the calculation of a polyphagy score derived from the analysis of Phylogenetic Diversity of the food plants used by the species in each genus.

Here we elucidate and justify a DNA barcode approach to insect species description that can be applied to name tens of thousands of species of Ichneumonoidea and many other species-rich taxa. Each description consists of a lateral habitus image of the specimen, a COI barcode diagnosis, and the holotype specimen information required by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. We believe this approach, or a slight modification of it, will be useful for many other underdescribed hyperdiverse taxa, especially in the tropics. Due to the extreme species-richness of the Ichneumonoidea, the very low percentage of described species, and the lack of detailed biological information for most described species, the standard taxonomic approach is inefficient and overwhelmingly time consuming. A DNA barcode-based approach to initial description will provide a solid foundation of species hypotheses from which more comprehensive descriptions can be developed as other data, time, and budgets permit. Here we elucidate this view and detailed methodology that can generally be applied to species-rich underdescribed taxa. A real example is given by describing species in two genera, Hemichoma and Zelomorpha, reared from the Área de Conservación Guanacaste in northwestern Costa Rica. The generic type species Zelomorpha arizonensis is given a DNA barcode diagnosis and the following new species are described: Zelomorpha angelsolisi, Zelomorpha bobandersoni, Zelomorpha danjohnsoni, Zelomorpha donwindsori, Zelomorpha effugia, Zelomorpha johnchemsaki, Zelomorpha kellyanneae, Zelomorpha larrykirkendalli, Zelomorpha mariyavladmirovnae, Zelomorpha mikeiviei, Zelomorpha myricagaleae, Zelomorpha noahjaneae, Zelomorpha paulgoldsteini, Zelomorpha terryerwini, Zelomorpha willsflowersi, Hemichoma donwhiteheadi, Hemichoma frankhovorei, and Hemichoma johnkingsolveri.

Aprica Goldstein, gen. nov. is described to accommodate Xanthia patula Druce, 1898. Recent discovery of its larva, which has been recorded eating foliage of species in six families of leptosporangiate ferns, suggest a possible subfamily assignment within the Eriopinae, but this cannot be substantiated based on adult morphology. This species has no obvious close relatives either among the core noctuid pteridivore genera currently recognized in the Eriopinae (e.g., Callopistria Hübner, [1821]), nor among genera more recently discovered to be fern-feeders but which remain incertae sedis with respect to subfamily (e.g., Leucosigma Druce, 1908, Lophomyra Schaus, 1911). The recorded foodplant profile is similar to that of another ambiguously placed Nearctic species Fagitana littera (Guenée, 1852) (Noctuidae: Noctuinae: Xylenini, incertae sedis) with which it shares no obvious synapomorphies.

The first species of Dolichogenidea (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Microgastrinae) with the second mediotergite broadly quadrate to rectangular are revised, and eight new species from Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG), Costa Rica are described, all authored by Fernandez-Triana & Boudreault: alejandromasisi, angelagonzalezae, carlosmanuelrodriguezi, genuarnunezi, josealfredohernandezi, melaniamunozae, rogerblancoi, and yeimycedenoae. A new species group (carlosmanuelrodriguezi) within the genus is proposed to accommodate those species, as well as additional undescribed species from the Neotropical region found in collections. All new species are found in rainforests (120–900 m) and all are parasitoids of Depressariidae (except for one species parasitizing Choreutidae). The unique shape of the second mediotergite and long ovipositor are features shared with the alejandromorai species group in the genus Apanteles, an example of convergent evolution; both wasp groups also parasitize similar hosts in ACG.

We describe and illustrate Paphanus paloi sp. n., first generic record for Brazil, and Minanga patriciamadrigalae, first generic record for Costa Rica. We present illustrated keys for the New World genera of Sigalphinae, and the New World species of Paphanus and Minanga. Minanga patriciamadrigalae sp. n. was reared from caterpillars of Chloropteryx nordicariaDHJ01 (Geometridae).

Chytonidia Schaus, 1914, is one of two noctuine genera originally described by Schaus that includes species recently found to feed on fern foliage (Pteridophyta) as larvae. By examining museum specimens, including type material and reared specimens accompanied by DNA barcode data, Chytonidia Schaus, 1914, syn. n. is synonymized with Leucosigma Druce, 1908, all currently recognized species are re-described, including males of three species described from female holotypes, and three new species are described: Leucosigma solisae Goldstein, sp. n., Leucosigma poolei Goldstein, sp. n., and L. schausi Goldstein, sp. n. Images of adults and, where available, larvae as well as dissected genitalia are presented, with a key to adults.

Lophomyra Schaus, 1911 (Noctuidae) is the smaller of two noctuid genera originally described by Schaus that include species recently associated with ferns (Pteridophyta), in this case Polypodiaceae, as larval food plants. Following an examination of type material and reared specimens accompanied by DNA barcode data, Lophomyra is revised to include L. tacita Schaus, 1911, L. santista (Jones, 1914), and L. commixta (Schaus, 1914), comb. n., the last of which is transferred from Chytonidia Schaus, 1914 (= Leucosigma Druce, 1908). Lophomyra is characterized based on adult and larval morphology, especially that of the male genitalia. Structures associated with the valvae are discussed with reference to dissected and in situ images. Larvae of L. commixta and L. tacita are described from images, and the recorded food plants of both species are discussed in the context of known New World noctuid pteridivores.

Abstract Background Although high-throughput sequencers (HTS) have largely displaced their Sanger counterparts, the short read lengths and high error rates of most platforms constrain their utility for amplicon sequencing. The present study tests the capacity of single molecule, real-time (SMRT) sequencing implemented on the SEQUEL platform to overcome these limitations, employing 658 bp amplicons of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I gene as a model system. Results By examining templates from more than 5000 species and 20,000 specimens, the performance of SMRT sequencing was tested with amplicons showing wide variation in GC composition and varied sequence attributes. SMRT and Sanger sequences were very similar, but SMRT sequencing provided more complete coverage, especially for amplicons with homopolymer tracts. Because it can characterize amplicon pools from 10,000 DNA extracts in a single run, the SEQUEL can reduce greatly reduce sequencing costs in comparison to first (Sanger) and second generation platforms (Illumina, Ion). Conclusions SMRT analysis generates high-fidelity sequences from amplicons with varying GC content and is resilient to homopolymer tracts. Analytical costs are low, substantially less than those for first or second generation sequencers. When implemented on the SEQUEL platform, SMRT analysis enables massive amplicon characterization because each instrument can recover sequences from more than 5 million DNA extracts a year.

Thirty two new species of Lytopylus (Agathidinae) are described with image plates for each species: Lytopylus alejandromasisi sp. n., Lytopylus alfredomainieri sp. n., Lytopylus anamariamongeae sp. n., Lytopylus angelagonzalezae sp. n., Lytopylus cesarmorai sp. n., Lytopylus eddysanchezi sp. n., Lytopylus eliethcantillanoae sp. n., Lytopylus ericchapmani sp. n., Lytopylus gahyunae sp. n., Lytopylus gisukae sp. n., Lytopylus guillermopereirai sp. n., Lytopylus gustavoindunii sp. n., Lytopylus hartmanguidoi sp. n., Lytopylus hernanbravoi sp. n., Lytopylus hokwoni sp. n., Lytopylus ivanniasandovalae sp. n., Lytopylus johanvalerioi sp. n., Lytopylus josecortesi sp. n., Lytopylus luisgaritai sp. n., Lytopylus mariamartachavarriae sp. n., Lytopylus miguelviquezi sp. n., Lytopylus motohasegawai sp. n., Lytopylus okchunae sp. n., Lytopylus pablocobbi sp. n., Lytopylus robertofernandezi sp. n., Lytopylus rogerblancoi sp. n., Lytopylus salvadorlopezi sp. n., Lytopylus sangyeoni sp. n., Lytopylus sarahmeierottoae sp. n., Lytopylus sergiobermudezi sp. n., Lytopylus sigifredomarini sp. n., and Lytopylus youngcheae sp. n. A dichotomous key and a link to an electronic, interactive key are included. All specimens were reared from Lepidoptera larvae collected in Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) and all are associated with ecological information including host caterpillar, collection date, eclosion date, caterpillar food plant, and locality. Neighbor-joining and maximum likelihood analyses of the barcode region of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI DNA barcode) were conducted to aid in species delimitation.

We describe three new species of Trigonospila Pokorny (Tachinidae: Blondeliini) from Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG), northwestern Costa Rica. All were reared from ­various species of ACG caterpillars during an ongoing inventory of caterpillars, their food plants and their parasitoids in dry forest, rain forest and cloud forest. By coupling morphology, photographic documentation, life history and molecular data, we provide a clear and concise description of each species. All species published as new, are known to be previously undescribed as a result of careful study of the genus by DMW. This study builds on the current knowledge of the genus by adding three new species to the current 7 described in the New World. Trigonospila edwinbermudezi sp. n., Trigonospila uniformis sp. n., and Trigonospila josemariamoragai sp. n. are all authored and described as new by Fleming and Wood, with a key to their identification. The authors also offer a new record and description of the previously unknown male of Trigonospila panamensis (Townsend), reared from ACG caterpillars.

We describe three new species in the genus Ametadoria Townsend from Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG), Costa Rica. All three were reared from wild-caught Zygaenidae and Lacturidae caterpillars. We provide a concise description of each species using morphology, life history and molecular data, with photographic documentation. The new species are authored and described by Fleming and Wood: Ametadoria karolramosae sp. nov., Ametadoria leticiamartinezae sp. nov., and Ametadoria mauriciogurdiani sp. nov. The following are proposed by Wood as new synonyms of Ametadoria Townsend: Adidyma Townsend syn. nov., and Abolodoria Townsend syn. nov. The following new combinations occur as a result of these new synonymies: Ametadoria abdominalis (Townsend) comb. nov., Ametadoria austrina (Coquillett) comb. nov., Ametadoria humilis (Wulp) comb. nov., Ametadoria misella (Wulp) comb. nov. Ametadoria adversa (Townsend) is proposed as a junior synonym of ​Ametadoria unispinosa Townsend, syn. nov​.

The genera Microplitis and Snellenius (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Microgastrinae) from Area de Conservacion Guanacaste (ACG), Costa Rica, are revised. A total of 28 new species are described: 23 of Snellenius (the first record for Mesoamerica) and five of Microplitis. A key is provided to all new species and five species of Microplitis previously described from Mesoamerica. In ACG, all Microplitis were reared exclusively from Sphingidae, while all Snellenius were reared from Noctuoidea (Noctuidae and Erebidae). All of the wasp species with known host records are unambiguously specialists, parasitizing one or a few related hosts. Biological information (wasp cocoon and caterpillar hosts) in the Neotropical region seems to differ from similar data reported in previous works for the Oriental region -but more studies on the world fauna are needed. Although the distinction between these two genera has been controversial, we consider that the available evidence, although not conclusive, suggests that these two genera are best kept as separate (based on the presence of at least a partial epicnemial carina in Snellenius, which is absent in Microplitis). The following 28 species, all authored by Fernández-Triana & Whitfield, are described as species nova: Microplitis adrianguadamuzi, M. alexanderrojasi, M. francopupulini, M. hebertbakeri, M. jorgehernandezi, Snellenius billburgeri, S. bobdressleri, S. donstonei, S. felipechavarriai, S. gerardoherrerai, S. irenebakerae, S. isidrochaconi, S. johnkressi, S. jorgecampabadali, S. jorgegomezlauritoi, S. josesarukhani, S. kerrydresslerae, S. lucindamcdadeae, S. luisdiegogomezi, S. mariakuzminae, S. mariamartachavarriae, S. phildevriesi, S. quiricojimenezi, S. robertoespinozai, S. sandyknappae, S. velvaruddae, S. vickifunkae, S. warrenwagneri.

90 species of Euplectrus are treated: 55 newly described, all from Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG), and 35 previously described species, of which 20 occur in ACG. Three of the previously described species (E. brasiliensis Ashmead, E. hircinus (Say), E. ronnai (Brèthes)) have unknown status, owing to missing or severely damaged type material. The new species, all authored by C. Hansson, are: Euplectrus alejandrovalerioi, E. alexsmithi, E. alvarowillei, E. andybennetti, E. andydeansi, E. annettewalkerae, E. billbrowni, E. bobwhartoni, E. carlosarmientoi, E. carlrettenmeyeri, E. charlesmicheneri, E. charlesporteri, E. chrisdarlingi, E. chrisgrinteri, E. corriemoreauae, E. daveroubiki, E. davesmithi, E. davidwahli, E. dianariasae, E. donquickei, E. eowilsoni, E. garygibsoni, E. gavinbroadi, E. gerarddelvarei, E. henrytownesi, E. howelldalyi, E. hugokonsi, E. iangauldi, E. jacklonginoi, E. jesusugaldei, E. jimwhitfieldi, E. jjrodriguezae, E. johnheratyi, E. johnlasallei, E. johnnoyesi, E. josefernandezi, E. lubomirmasneri, E. markshawi, E. mikegatesi, E. mikeschauffi, E. mikesharkeyi, E. ninazitaniae, E. pammitchellae, E. paulhansoni, E. paulheberti, E. paulhurdi, E. philwardi, E. robbinthorpi, E. ronaldzunigai, E. roysnellingi, E. scottshawi, E. sondrawardae, E. sydneycameronae, E. victoriapookae, E. wonyoungchoi. The species are described or redescribed, and thoroughly and uniformly illustrated, and included in two identification keys, one for females and one for males. Lectotypes are designated for eight species: Euplectrus catocalae Howard (♂), E. junctus Gahan (♀), E. leucotrophis Howard (♂), E. marginatus Ashmead (♀), E. pachyscaphus Girault (♀), E. platyhypenae Howard (♂), E. semimarginatus Girault (♀), Heteroscapus ronnai Brèthes (♂). One synonym is established: Euplectrus walteri Schauff is a junior synonym of E. testaceipes (Cameron). Brief image notes and host records are provided on the natural history of the wasps as well as the details of their morphology. Hosts are known for 74 Euplectrus species.

We describe seven new species of Spathidexia (Diptera: Tachinidae) reared from Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG), northwestern Costa Rica. All were reared from ­various species of ACG caterpillars during an ongoing inventory of caterpillars, their food plants and their parasitoids. By coupling morphology, photographic documentation, life history and molecular data, we provide a clear and concise description of each species. All are known to be previously undescribed as a result of a comprehensive study of the genus by DMW. Spathidexia atripalpus sp. n., Spathidexia juanvialesi sp. n., Spathidexia marioburgosi sp. n., Spathidexia luisrobertogallegosi sp. n., Spathidexia luteola sp. n., Spathidexia hernanrodriguezi sp. n. and Spathidexia aurantiaca sp. n. are all authored and described by Fleming and Wood. Minthodexiopsis Townsend is proposed by Wood as a new synonym of Spathidexia. A new combination proposed by Wood as a result of the new synonymy is S. flavicornis (Brauer & Bergenstamm) comb. n.

The Neotropical genus of parasitoid wasps Sendaphne (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae) is revised and the following six new species are described, all authored by Fernández-Triana and Whitfield: anitae, bennetti, broadi, dianariaspennae, penteadodiasae, and rogerblancoi. The greatest species richness is found in northern South America, but the genus extends north to 23° N in Mexico. Most species have been collected in rainforest below altitudes of 900 m, with only a few species found in cloud forests up to 1900 m. Nothing is known of the host caterpillars for these parasitoid wasps.

We discuss 45 Costa Rican species of Ethmia Hübner, 1819, including 23 previously described: E. delliella (Fernald), E. bittenella (Busck), E. festiva Busck, E. scythropa Walsingham, E. perpulchra Walsingham, E. terpnota Walsingham, E. elutella Busck, E. janzeni Powell, E. ungulatella Busck, E. exornata (Zeller), E. phylacis Walsingham, E. mnesicosma Meyrick, E. chemsaki Powell, E. baliostola Walsingham, E. duckworthi Powell, E. sandra Powell, E. nigritaenia Powell, E. catapeltica Meyrick, E. lichyi Powell, E. transversella Busck, E. similatella Busck, E. hammella Busck, E. linda Busck, and 22 new species: E. blaineorum, E. millerorum, E. dianemillerae, E. adrianforsythi, E. stephenrumseyi, E. berndkerni, E. dimauraorum, E. billalleni, E. ehakernae, E. helenmillerae, E. johnpringlei, E. laphamorum, E. petersterlingi, E. lesliesaulae, E. turnerorum, E. normgershenzi, E. nicholsonorum, E. hendersonorum, E. randyjonesi, E. randycurtisi, E. miriamschulmanae and E. tilneyorum. We illustrate all species and their male and female genitalia, along with distribution maps of Costa Rican localities. Immature stages are illustrated for 11 species, and food plants are listed when known. Gesneriaceae is added as a new food plant family record for Ethmia. CO1 nucleotide sequences (“DNA barcodes”) were obtained for 41 of the species.

We describe a new species of Cordyligaster Macquart (Diptera: Tachinidae) from Area de Conservacion Guanacaste (ACG) in northwestern Costa Rica. Cordyligaster capellii sp. n., is described and photographed. All specimens of C. capellii were reared from Syngamia florella (Stoll, 1781) (Lepidoptera, Crambidae, Spilomelinae), a leaf-rolling caterpillar collected in ACG rain forest. By coupling morphology, photographic documentation, life history and molecular data, we provide a clear and concise description of this new species. In addition the authors provide new distribution and host records for C. fuscipennis (Macquart) reared in ACG.

The New World genus Venanus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Microgastrinae) is a small group of parasitoid wasps that includes two Nearctic and seven Neotropical species. Here two additional species, authored by Fernández-Triana & Whitfield, are described from Costa Rica: V. johnnyrosalesi sp. n. from Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) and V. randallgarciai sp. n. from Area de Conservación Cordillera Volcanica Central. They represent the first record of the genus for Mesoamerica. A previous key to all known Venanus (Whitfield et al. 2011) is modified to include the new species. The Costa Rican species were collected at altitudes of 1,400–1,460 m, but nothing is known of their biology. DNA barcodes were obtained for both species and are included as part of the description along with extensive photos. This paper is part of a series inventorying the diversity of Microgastrinae in ACG.

Pseudapanteles is a moderately diverse genus of Microgastrinae parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), endemic to the New World and with the vast majority of its species (including many undescribed) in the Neotropical region. We describe here 25 new species from Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG), northwestern Costa Rica, based on 400 studied specimens. A key to all 36 known species of Pseudapanteles is provided (except for P. brunneus, only known from a single male), and species are placed in three newly created species-groups. Host records are known for only 25% of the species; most are solitary parasitoids of the caterpillars of several families of small Lepidoptera (Crambidae, Elachistidae, Gelechiidae, Incurvariidae, Sesiidae, Tineidae). DNA barcodes (part of the CO1 gene) were obtained for 30 species (83%), and provide a start for future study of the genus beyond ACG. Brief descriptions (generated by Lucid 3.5 software) and extensive illustrations are provided for all species. The following new taxonomic and nomenclatural acts are proposed: Pseudapanteles moerens (Nixon, 1965), comb. n., Pseudapanteles brunneus Ashmead, 1900, comb. rev., a lectotype is designated for Pseudapanteles ruficollis (Cameron, 1911), and the following 25 species nova of Pseudapanteles (all authored by Fernández-Triana and Whitfield): alfiopivai, alvaroumanai, analorenaguevarae, carlosespinachi, carlosrodriguezi, christianafigueresae, hernanbravoi, jorgerodriguezi, josefigueresi, laurachinchillae, luisguillermosolisi, margaritapenonae, mariobozai, mariocarvajali, maureenballesteroae, munifigueresae, oscarariasi, ottonsolisi, pedroleoni, raulsolorzanoi, renecastroi, rodrigogamezi, rosemarykarpinskiae, soniapicadoae, teofilodelatorrei.

The genus Symmerista Hübner (Notodontidae, Nystaleinae) is reviewed for Costa Rica, based on 49 wild-caught specimens. Four species are newly described: Symmerista luisdiegogomezi Chacón, Symmerista inbioi Chacón, Symmerista minaei Chacón and Symmerista aura Chacón. All are from the cloud forests of the Talamanca moutain range, southern Costa Rica. Photographs of the adults, male and female genitalia, and barcodes are also provided. The species Symmerista tlotzin Schaus (1892) is removed from Symmerista and assigned to the genus Elymiotis Walker as a new combination.

The Microgastrinae genus Prasmodon is revised and the following 16 new species are described: erenadupontae and verhoogdenokus (authored by Braet and Fernández-Triana), and almasolisae, aureus, bobpoolei, bobrobbinsi, dondavisi, johnbrowni, masoni, mikepoguei, nixoni, paulgoldsteini, scottmilleri, silvatlanticus, subfuscus, and tijucaensis (authored by Fernández-Triana and Whitfield). The greatest species richness is found in the Amazon basin, but the genus extends throughout the rain forests of Central and South America. Leaf-rolling and webbing caterpillars of Crambidae and Elachistidae are the only known hosts for these parasitoids.

More than half a million specimens of wild-caught Lepidoptera caterpillars have been reared for their parasitoids, identified, and DNA barcoded over a period of 34 years (and ongoing) from Area de Conservación de Guanacaste (ACG), northwestern Costa Rica. This provides the world’s best location-based dataset for studying the taxonomy and host relationships of caterpillar parasitoids. Among Hymenoptera, Microgastrinae (Braconidae) is the most diverse and commonly encountered parasitoid subfamily, with many hundreds of species delineated to date, almost all undescribed. Here, we reassess the limits of the genus Apanteles sensu stricto, describe 186 new species from 3,200+ parasitized caterpillars of hundreds of ACG Lepidoptera species, and provide keys to all 205 described Apanteles from Mesoamerica –including 19 previously described species in addition to the new species. The Mesoamerican Apanteles are assigned to 32 species-groups, all but two of which are newly defined. Taxonomic keys are presented in two formats: traditional dichotomous print versions and links to electronic interactive versions (software Lucid 3.5). Numerous illustrations, computer-generated descriptions, distributional information, wasp biology, and DNA barcodes (where available) are presented for every species. All morphological terms are detailed and linked to the Hymenoptera Anatomy Ontology website. DNA barcodes (a standard fragment of the cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) mitochondrial gene), information on wasp biology (host records, solitary/gregariousness of wasp larvae), ratios of morphological features, and wasp microecological distributions were used to help clarify boundaries between morphologically cryptic species within species-complexes. Because of the high accuracy of host identification for about 80% of the wasp species studied, it was possible to analyze host relationships at a regional level. The ACG species of Apanteles attack mainly species of Hesperiidae, Elachistidae and Crambidae (Lepidoptera). About 90% of the wasp species with known host records seem to be monophagous or oligophagous at some level, parasitizing just one host family and commonly, just one species of caterpillar. Only 15 species (9%) parasitize species in more than one family, and some of these cases are likely to be found to be species complexes. We have used several information sources and techniques (traditional taxonomy, molecular, software-based, biology, and geography) to accelerate the process of finding and describing these new species in a hyperdiverse group such as Apanteles.The following new taxonomic and nomenclatural acts are proposed. Four species previously considered to be Apanteles are transferred to other microgastrine genera: Dolichogenidea hedyleptae (Muesebeck, 1958) comb. n., Dolichogenidea politiventris (Muesebeck, 1958) comb. n., Rhygoplitis sanctivincenti (Ashmead, 1900) comb. n., and Illidops scutellaris (Muesebeck, 1921) comb. rev. One European species that is a secondary homonym to a Mesoamerican species is removed from Apanteles and transferred to another genus: Iconella albinervis (Tobias, 1964) stat. rev. The name Apanteles albinervican Shenefelt, 1972, is an invalid replacement name for Apanteles albinervis (Cameron, 1904) stat. rev., and thus the later name is reinstated as valid. The following 186 species, all in Apanteles and all authored by Fernández-Triana, are described as species nova: adelinamoralesae, adrianachavarriae, adrianaguilarae, adrianguadamuzi, aichagirardae, aidalopezae, albanjimenezi, alejandromasisi, alejandromorai, minorcarmonai, alvarougaldei, federicomatarritai, anabellecordobae, rostermoragai, anamarencoae, anamartinesae, anapiedrae, anariasae, andreacalvoae, angelsolisi, arielopezi, bernardoespinozai, bernyapui, bettymarchenae, bienvenidachavarriae, calixtomoragai, carloscastilloi, carlosguadamuzi, eliethcantillanoae, carlosrodriguezi, carlosviquezi, carloszunigai, carolinacanoae, christianzunigai, cinthiabarrantesae, ciriloumanai, cristianalemani, cynthiacorderoae, deifiliadavilae, dickyui, didiguadamuzi, diegoalpizari, diegotorresi, diniamartinezae, duniagarciae, duvalierbricenoi, edgarjimenezi, edithlopezae, eduardoramirezi, edwinapui, eldarayae, erickduartei, esthercentenoae, eugeniaphilipsae, eulogiosequeira, felipechavarriai, felixcarmonai, fernandochavarriai, flormoralesae, franciscopizarroi, franciscoramirezi, freddyquesadai, freddysalazari, gabrielagutierrezae, garygibsoni, gerardobandoi, gerardosandovali, gladysrojasae, glenriverai, gloriasihezarae, guadaluperodriguezae, guillermopereirai, juanmatai, harryramirezi, hectorsolisi, humbertolopezi, inesolisae, irenecarrilloae, isaacbermudezi, isidrochaconi, isidrovillegasi, ivonnetranae, jairomoyai, javiercontrerasi, javierobandoi, javiersihezari, jesusbrenesi, jesusugaldei, jimmychevezi, johanvargasi, jorgecortesi, jorgehernandezi, josecalvoi, josecortesi, josediazi, josejaramilloi, josemonteroi, joseperezi, joserasi, juanapui, juancarrilloi, juangazoi, juanhernandezi, juanlopezi, juanvictori, juliodiazi, juniorlopezi, keineraragoni, laurahuberae, laurenmoralesae, leninguadamuzi, leonelgarayi, lilliammenae, lisabearssae, luciariosae, luisbrizuelai, luiscanalesi, luiscantillanoi, luisgarciai, luisgaritai, luishernandezi, luislopezi, luisvargasi, manuelarayai, manuelpereirai, manuelriosi, manuelzumbadoi, marcobustosi, marcogonzalezi, marcovenicioi, mariachavarriae mariaguevarae, marialuisariasae, mariamendezae, marianopereirai, mariatorrentesae, sigifredomarini, marisolarroyoae, marisolnavarroae, marvinmendozai, mauriciogurdiani, milenagutierrezae, monicachavarriae, oscarchavesi, osvaldoespinozai, pablotranai, pabloumanai, pablovasquezi, paulaixcamparijae, luzmariaromeroae, petronariosae, randallgarciai, randallmartinezi, raulacevedoi, raulsolorsanoi, wadyobandoi, ricardocaleroi, robertmontanoi, robertoespinozai, robertovargasi, rodrigogamezi, rogerblancoi, rolandoramosi, rolandovegai, ronaldcastroi, ronaldgutierrezi, ronaldmurilloi, ronaldnavarroi, ronaldquirosi, ronaldzunigai, rosibelelizondoae, ruthfrancoae, sergiocascantei, sergioriosi, tiboshartae, vannesabrenesae, minornavarroi, victorbarrantesi, waldymedinai, wilbertharayai, williamcamposi, yeissonchavesi, yilbertalvaradoi, yolandarojasae, hazelcambroneroae, zeneidabolanosae.

Food plants and information on life history are presented for six species of Argidae and four species of Tenthredinidae in Costa Rica. The Argidae include cocoons of Atomacera josefernandezi Smith, sp. n., found on Hampea appendiculata (Donn. Sm.) Standl. (Malvaceae) and likely feeding on its leaves before pupation, and larvae of Eriglenum tristum Smith feeding on Machaerium seemanii Benth. Ex Seem. (Fabaceae), Ptenos leucopodus (Cameron) feeding on Inga oerstediana Benth. and I. vera Willd. (Fabaceae), Ptilia peleterii (Gray) feeding on Cnestidium rufescens (Connaraceae), and Scobina lepida (Klug) and S. notaticollis (Konow) feeding on Sida rhombifolia L. (Malvaceae). The Tenthredinidae include larvae of Dochmioglene crassa (Cameron) feeding on the fern Lomariopsis vestita E. Fourn. (Lomariopsidaceeae), Dochmiogleme Smith03 feeding on Blechnum occidentale L. (Blechnaceae), Waldheimia laeta (Cameron) feeding on Cissus alata Jacq. (Vitaceae), and Waldheimia lucianocapellii Smith, sp. n., feeding on Davilla nitida (Vahl) Kubitzki (Dilleniaceae). Waldheimia lucianocapellii is described from specimens from both Panama and Costa Rica. Selandria crassa Cameron, 1883 is a comb. n. in Dochmioglene.

The New World species of Iconella (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Microgastrinae) are revised. Iconella andydeansi Fernández-Triana, sp. n., I. canadensis Fernández-Triana, sp. n., and I. jayjayrodriguezae Fernández-Triana, sp. n., are described as new. Iconella isolata (Muesebeck, 1955), stat. r., previously considered as a subspecies of I. etiellae (Viereck, 1911), is here elevated to species rank. All species have different, well defined geographic distributions and hosts. Taxonomic keys are presented in two formats: traditional dichotomous hardcopy versions and links to electronic interactive versions (software Lucid 3.5). Numerous illustrations, computer-generated descriptions, distributional information, host records (mostly Lepidoptera: Crambidae and Pyralidae), and DNA barcodes (where available) are presented for every species. Phylogenetic analyses of the barcoding region of COI indicate the possibility that Iconella is not monophyletic and that the New World species may not form a monophyletic group; more data is needed to resolve this issue.

The genus Wilkinsonellus Mason is a poorly sampled but widely distributed tropical genus of Microgastrinae (Braconidae), parasitoid wasps that exclusively attack caterpillars (Lepidoptera). Currently, species of Wilkinsonellus have been described only from the Palaeotropics, but the genus was known to occur in the Neotropics. Here we describe the first three species from Central and South America: Wilkinsonellus alexsmithi sp. n., Wilkinsonellus kogui sp. n., and Wilkinsonellus panamaensis sp. n. These species descriptions confirm that Wilkinsonellus is a Pantropical genus. A dichotomous key for the three new Neotropical species is given. The first recorded host for the genus, Microthyris prolongalis (Crambidae), is also reported, for Wilkinsonellus alexsmithi.

Sparganocosma docsturnerorum Brown, new genus and new species, is described and illustrated from Área de Conservación (ACG) in northwestern Costa Rica. The new genus shares a long, crescent- or ribbon-shaped signum in the corpus bursae of the female genitalia with Aesiocopa Zeller, 1877, Amorbia Clemens, 1860, Amorbimorpha Kruse, 2011, Coelostathma Clemens, 1860, Lambertiodes Diakonoff, 1959, Paramorbia Powell & Lambert, 1986, Rhynchophyllus Meyrick, 1932, Sparganopseustis Powell & Lambert, 1986, Sparganothina Powell, 1986, and Sparganothoides Lambert & Powell, 1986. Putative autapomorphies for Sparganocosma include the extremely short uncus; the smooth (unspined) transtilla; and the upturned, free, distal rod of the sacculus. Adults of Sparganocosma docsturnerorum have been reared numerous times (>50) from larvae collected feeding on rain forest Asplundia utilis (Oerst.) Harling and A. microphylla (Oerst.) Harling (Cyclanthaceae) at intermediate elevations (375–500 m) in ACG. Whereas most Sparganothini are generalists, typically feeding on two or more plant families, Sparganocosma docsturnerorum appears to be a specialist on Asplundia, at least in ACG. The solitary parasitoid wasp Sphelodon wardae Godoy & Gauld (Ichneumonidae; Banchinae) has been reared only from the larvae of S. docsturnerorum.

A new species and subspecies of Idalus Walker are described from Costa Rica, Honduras and Guatemala. Images of males and females and their genitalia are provided. Locality information and distribution maps for Costa Rica and for Guatemala are included. The biology and phylogeny of Idalus are discussed.

Based on almost 1,700 recently reared and wild-collected specimens, the genus Dunama Schaus (Notodontidae, Nystaelinae) in Costa Rica is reviewed. Eight species are recorded of which seven are newly described: Dunama jessiehillae Chacón, Dunama jessiebarronae Chacón, D. janewaldronae Chacón, D. jessiebancroftae Chacón, D. janecoxae Chacón, D. biosise Chacón, D. indereci Chacón. Dunama angulinea Schaus is redescribed and associated with its correct genitalia. D. tuna (Schaus), previously listed as ocurring in Costa Rica, is restricted to Colombia. Most species are described through their distinctive CO1 barcodes, genitalia and life histories. Dunama adults and caterpillars, their foodplants, and their parasites in Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) in northwestern Costa Rica are described where known. Many life history stages are illustrated.

Five species of Trigonalidae, hyperparasitoids of Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera) and Tachinidae (Diptera) that parasitize caterpillars (Lepidoptera), have been reared during the ongoing caterpillar inventory of Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG), Guanacaste Province, northwestern Costa Rica: Lycogaster apicipennis (Cameron), Taeniogonalos woodorum Smith, sp. n., Taeniogonalos fasciatipennis (Cameron), Trigonalys championi Cameron, and Trigonalys maculifrons Sharp. Morphological and DNA barcoding data support species separation of these generalist hyperparasitoids. Taeniogonalos gundlachii (Cresson) is not a widespread, color-variable species as previously treated and is probably confined to eastern North America. The species previously considered as T. gundlachii in Costa Rica is regarded as Taeniogonalos fasciatipennis, a species found only in ACG dry forest. Taeniogonalos woodorum is a similar species but found only in the ACG rain forest. Habitat and host records are given for these five species of trigonalids.

A new genus of microgastrine parasitoid wasps, Mariapanteles Whitfield & Fernández-Triana, gen. n., is described from rain forests of the Neotropics. The new genus is related to the common and speciose genus Pseudapanteles, but can be distinguished from the latter bya complete transverse carina on the propodeum which forks around the spiracles. A molecular analysis based on data from COI from specimens of the proposed new genus plus possibly related genera confirms its generic distinctness. A key to two known species, M. felipei Whitfield, sp. n. (Costa Rica) and M. dapkeyae Fernández-Triana, sp. n. (Brazil) is provided. Evidence from collections suggests that there are other undescribed Neotropical congenerics. Specimens of Mariapanteles were likely confused in the past with the genus Beyarslania (referred to as Xenogaster until recently) but present information suggests that Beyarslania is restricted to the Afrotropical region while the Neotropical species clearly belong to a different genus, which we propose as new.

Twelve species of Costa Rican Lytopylus are treated; these include all species reared from Lepidoptera caterpillars in Area de Conservación Guanacaste, Costa Rica, over 32 years of caterpillar inventory, as well as two species recorded in the literature as occurring in Costa Rica. Ten new species are described, i.e., Lytopylus bradzlotnicki, Lytopylus colleenhitchcockae, Lytopylus gregburtoni, Lytopylus jessicadimauroae, Lytopylus jessiehillae, Lytopylus mingfangi, Lytopylus rebeccashapleyae, Lytopylus robpringlei, Lytopylus sandraberriosae, Lytopylus vaughntani. The following species are transferred to Lytopylus: Metriosoma flavicalcar Enderlein 1920 to Lytopylus flavicalcar comb. n.; Bassus macadamiae Briceño and Sharkey 2000 to Lytopylus macadamiae comb. n.; Metriosoma bicarinatum Enderlein 1920 to Lytopylus bicarinatum comb. n.; Metriosoma brasiliense Enderlein 1920 to Lytopylus brasiliense comb. n.; Bassus tayrona Campos 2007 to Lytopylus tayrona comb. n.; Microdus femoratus Cameron 1887 to Lytopylus femoratus comb. n.; Microdus melanocephalus Cameron 1887 to Lytopylus melanocephalus comb. n.; Bassus pastranai Blanchard 1952 to Lytopylus pastranai comb. n.; Agathis nigrobalteata Cameron 1911 to Lytopylus nigrobalteatus comb. n. Two keys to species of Lytopylus are presented, one interactive and the other static.