Delvareus Rasplus, Mitroiu & van Noort

Benin.

ex Ficus species. Specimens were obtained from figs of an unidentified fig tree together with specimens of Dolichoris flabellatus Wiebes, 1979 (Hymenoptera: Agaonidae). This pollinating wasp is known to be associated with Ficus dicranostyla and F. variifolia Warb. in tropical Africa.
These two species belonging to subgenus Oreosycea are suspected to just be conspecific
ecotypes. The small-leaved tree (F. dicranostyla) occurs in savanna woodlands on rocks
while the tree with large and variable shaped leaves (F. variifolia) occurs in lowland and
evergreen forests. The dry habitats of northern Bénin, where the new epichrysomalid
genus has been sampled, host only F. dicranostyla, which strongly suggests that this species
is its host fig (Mitroiu et al. 2024).

References

Bouček, Z. 1988. Australasian Chalcidoidea, a biosystematic revision of genera of fourteen families, with a reclassification of species. CAB International, Wallingford, UK. 832 pp.

Burks RA , Krogmann L, Heraty JM. 2018. Simultaneous discovery and taxonomic placement of new extant and fossil genera of Herbertiinae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Pteromalidae). Insect Systematics and Diversity 2: 1-8.  https://doi.org/10.1093/isd/ixy012

Burks R, Mitroiu M-D, Fusu L, Heraty JM, Janšta P, Heydon S, Papilloud ND-S, Peters RS, Tselikh EV, Woolley JB, van Noort S, Baur H, Cruaud A, Darling C, Haas M, Hanson P, Krogmann L, Rasplus J-Y. 2022. From hell’s heart I stab at thee! A determined approach to rendering Pteromalidae (Hymenoptera) monophyletic. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 94:13-88. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.94.94263

Cruaud A, Rasplus J-Y, Zhang J, Burks R, Delvare G, Fusu L, Gibson GAP, Gumovsky A, Hanson P, Huber JT, Janšta P, Mitroiu M-D, Noyes JS, van Noort S, Baker A, Böhmová J, Baur H, Blaimer BB, Brady1 SG, Bubeníková K, Chartois M, Copeland RS, Dale-Skey Papilloud N, Dal Molin A, Darling C, Dominguez C, Fisher N, Gates MW, Gebiola M, Guerrieri E, Haas M, Hansson C, Heydon S, Kresslein RL, Krogmann L, Moriarty Lemmon E, Mottern J, Murray E, Nidelet S, Nieves Aldrey JL, Perry R, Peters RS, Pinto JD, Polaszek A, Sauné L, Schmidt S, Torréns J, Triapitsyn S, Tselikh EV, Ubaidillah R, Yoder M, Lemmon A, Woolley JB, Heraty JM. 2024. The Chalcidoidea bush of life – Evolutionary history of a massive radiation of minute wasps. Cladistics 40: 34-63. http://doi.org/10.1111/cla.12561

Gibson G.A.P. 1993. Superfamilies Mymarommatoidea and Chalcidoidea (pp. 570-655). In GOULET, H. & HUBER, J. (eds). Hymenoptera of the World: an identification guide to families. Research Branch, Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, Canada, 668 pp.

Hedqvist, K.J. 1969. New genera and species of Diparini, with notes on the tribe (Hym., Chalcidoidea, Pteromalidae). Entomologisk Tidskrift 90(3/4):179.

Heraty, J.M., Burks, R.A., Cruaud, A., Gibson, G.A.P., Liljeblad, J., Munro, J., Rasplus, J.-Y., Delvare, G., Janšta, P., Gumovsky, A., Huber, J., Woolley, J.B., Krogmann, L., Heydon, S., Polaszek, A., Schmidt, S., Darling, D.C., Gates, M.W., Mottern, J., Murray, E., Dal Molin, A., Triapitsyn, S., Baur, H., Pinto, J.D., van Noort, S., George, J. & Yoder, M. 2013. A phylogenetic analysis of the megadiverse Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera). Cladistics 29: 466–542. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/cla.12006

Mitroiu MD, van Noort S, Rasplus JY. 2024. New genera of Afrotropical Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera: Cerocephalidae, Epichrysomallidae, Pirenidae and Pteromalidae). PeerJ 12:e16798  https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.16798

Prinsloo, G.L. 1980. An illustrated guide to the families of African Chalcidoidea. Rep. S. Afr., Dept. Agric. Fish. Sci. Bull. No. 395: 1-66.

Credits

Photographs © Mircea-Dan Mitroiu (Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași).

Map illustration © Simon van Noort (Iziko Museums of South Africa).