Three new species of Promicrogaster Brues & Richardson (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from India.

The Indian fauna of the microgastrine genus Promicrogaster is reviewed and three new species are described: P. constricta, P. flava, and P. incompleta, all authored by Ranjith & Fernandez-Triana. Until now only one species had been reported from India. An illustrated key for the Oriental region, including all previously described species, is also provided.

A new genus in the braconid subfamily Miracinae from the Oriental region, with descriptions of seven new species from India and Sri Lanka.

A new genus in the braconid subfamily Miracinae is described from the Oriental region including a new species from south India. Additionally, six new species of the genus Centistidea Rohwer is described from India and Sri Lanka. Taxonomic keys to separate the new genus from other miracine genera, to the extant species of Rugosimirax gen. nov. and to the Oriental species of Centistidea are provided.

New subgeneric reports of the genus Chelonus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from India and Sri Lanka with description of nine species.

Subgenera of the braconid genus Chelonus Panzer, Carinichelonus, Megachelonus, Mirachelonus and Parachelonus from India and Areselonus from Sri Lanka are reported for the first time with the description of nine new species. Taxonomic keys for the identification of subgenera reported from India and extant species of Areselonus and Megachelonus are provided. All the subgenera included in the present study are provided with revised diagnoses.

First report of two eulophid genera (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Eulophidae) from India with the description of two new species.

The eulophid genera Dermatopelte Erdös & Novicky and Iniostichus Kamijo & Ikeda are reported for the first time from India. Two new species, Dermatopelte striata n. sp. and Iniostichus proximus n. sp. are described and illustrated. A revised key to the Indo-Malayan species of Dermatopelte and a key to the extant species of Iniostichus are included.

A new genus and two new species of Braconinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from the Oriental region.

A new genus of Braconinae, Pseudorhadinobracon Ranjith & van Achterberg, is described based on the species (P. luteus (Szpligeti) gen. et. comb. nov.) earlier classified under the genus Rhadinobracon Szpligeti. Additionally, the genus Rhadinobracon is newly reported from the Oriental region with the description of two new species from India, R. levigatus Ranjith and R. nitidus Ranjith. A taxonomic key to separate Pseudorhadinobracon from Rhadinobracon is provided. The generic diagnosis of Rhadinobracon is revised along with a taxonomic key to the extant species.

Discovery of the Darwin wasp subfamily Lycorininae Cushman amp; Rohwer (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) from India with description of a new species from Kashmir.

The Darwin wasp subfamily Lycorininae is newly reported from India with the description of a new species, Lycorina sehgali. A taxonomic key to the identification of Indomalayan and Palaearctic species is given along with the illustration of L. ruficornis, L. spilonotae and L. triangulifera.

First records of two orthocentrine genera (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) from India with description of two new species.

The orthocentrine ichneumonid genera Gnathochorisis and Symplecis are reported for the first time from India with the description of two new species. Taxonomic keys for the identification of Indomalayan Gnathochorisis and Symplecis are provided along with the illustration of the new species.

Kerevata Belokobylskij (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Rogadinae) is no longer a Papua New Guinean endemic with descriptions of three new species from the Indomalayan Region.

The rogadine genus Kerevata Belokobylskij is newly reported from the Indomalayan region. We describe and illustrate three new species, two from India (K. kethai sp. nov. and K. orientalia sp. nov.) and one from Vietnam (K. longi sp. nov.) and provide an illustrated key to the extant species of the genus along with the photographic illustration of the type species of K. pacifica Belokobylskij. Range extension and morphological characters of Kerevata are discussed.

Atree, a remarkable new genus of the subfamily Brachistinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and the first report of the tribe Diospilini from India.

The braconid tribe Diospilini (subfamily Brachistinae) is reported for the first time from India with the description of a new genus, Atree, along with the description of a new species A. rajathae from south India. The newly described genus belongs to the Aspigonus genus group showing the presence of a wide, deep sculptured groove on the propleuron. Based on morphological affinities, two species reported from Taiwan which were earlier included in the genus Diospilus have been transferred to the new genus, as A. improcerus (Chou Hsu, 1998) comb. nov. and A. validus (Chou Hsu, 1998) comb. nov. A key to the Indomalayan and Palaearctic genera of Diospilini is provided along with the key to the species of Atree gen. nov.

Completely predatory development is described in a braconid wasp.

Hymenopteran parasitoids are well known for their ubiquitous diversity, important ecological roles and biocontrol potential. We report the first detailed documentation of mite predation by a parasitoid wasp, Bracon predatorius Ranjith & Quicke sp. nov., (Insecta: Hymenoptera), first case of obligate predatory behaviour in the family Braconidae and first case of mite feeding within the superfamily Ichneumonoidea. Larvae of a new wasp species are shown to develop entirely as predators of eriophyid mites that induce leaf galls in a commercially important plant. They display highly modified head capsule morphology that we interpret as being associated with this atypical life style. We propose that the new feeding strategy evolved separately from recently described entomophytophagy in another species of the same genus. The divergent larval morphological adaptations of both species indicate a high degree of evolutionary developmental plasticity in the developmental stage.

A Novel Deep Learning-Based Black Fungus Disease Identification Using Modified Hybrid Learning Methodology.

Currently, countries across the world are suffering from a prominent viral infection called COVID-19. Most countries are still facing several issues due to this disease, which has resulted in several fatalities. The first COVID-19 wave caused devastation across the world owing to its virulence and led to a massive loss in human lives, impacting the country's economy drastically. A dangerous disease called mucormycosis was discovered worldwide during the second COVID-19 wave, in 2021, which lasted from April to July. The mucormycosis disease is commonly known as "black fungus," which belongs to the fungus family Mucorales. It is usually a rare disease, but the level of destruction caused by the disease is vast and unpredictable. This disease mainly targets people already suffering from other diseases and consuming heavy medication to counter the disease they are suffering from. This is because of the reduction in antibodies in the affected people. Therefore, the patient's body does not have the ability to act against fungus-oriented infections. This black fungus is more commonly identified in patients with coronavirus disease in certain country. The condition frequently manifests on skin, but it can also harm organs such as eyes and brain. This study intends to design a modified neural network logic for an artificial intelligence (AI) strategy with learning principles, called a hybrid learning-based neural network classifier (HLNNC). The proposed method is based on well-known techniques such as convolutional neural network (CNN) and support vector machine (SVM). This article discusses a dataset containing several eye photographs of patients with and without black fungus infection. These images were collected from the real-time records of people afflicted with COVID followed by the black fungus. This proposed HLNNC scheme identifies the black fungus disease based on the following image processing procedures: image acquisition, preprocessing, feature extraction, and classification; these procedures were performed considering the dataset training and testing principles with proper performance analysis. The results of the procedure are provided in a graphical format with the precise specification, and the efficacy of the proposed method is established.

Mischochalcis, an enigmatic new genus of Chalcididae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) from the Old World tropics with the description of a new species.

A new chalcidid genus, Mischochalcis (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae), is erected with the description M. enigmatus sp. nov. from the Western Ghats as the type species. An Afrotropical species, initially described in Haltichella Spinola, is transferred into the new genus as Mischochalcis inermis (Schmitz) comb. nov. The new genus belongs to the very diverse subfamily Haltichellinae and differs from other genera of the subfamily in having an obliquely truncate metatibia in which the truncation ends in a spine formed by the continuation of an additional carina. The systematic placement of Mischochalcis and its presence in two distant biogeographic realms showing disrupted distribution are discussed.

First record of the genus Nedinoschiza Cameron (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from the Indian subcontinent with the description of a new species from the Western Ghats.

The Indo-Australian braconine genus, Nedinoschiza Cameron, 1911 is reported for the first time from the Indian subcontinent. A new species, N. indica Ranjith sp. nov. is described and illustrated with the taxonomic key for the extant Nedinoschiza species. The generic diagnosis of Nedinoschiza is revised along with the illustrations of two species viz., N. seminigra (Szépligeti) and N. pinguis Papp.

Discovery of the braconid subfamily Dirrhopinae van Achterberg (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonoidea) from the Indian subcontinent with the description of a new species from south India.

The subfamily Dirrhopinae van Achterberg, 1984 is reported from the Indian subcontinent for the first time. A new species, Dirrhope indica Ranjith sp. nov. is hereby described and illustrated. An updated key to the extant species of Dirrhope is provided along with illustrations of the following species; D. eoa Belokobylskij, D. minor Belokobylskij, and D. rufa Foerster.

Discovery of the chelonine tribe Adeliini Viereck, 1918 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from the Indian subcontinent with the description of a new genus from south India.

The small chelonine tribe Adeliini is one of the derived groups with the postpectal carina absent, which is considered to be an apomorphic character for the Cheloninae. Adeliine genera generally exhibit a narrow endemism although the genus Adelius is widely distributed. Adeliini are reported from the Indian subcontinent for the first time with the description of a new genus and a new species, Carinadelius medicus Ranjith van Achterberg gen. et sp. nov. from south India. A revised key to the genera of Adeliini is provided with the illustrations of all included genera. The genus Myriola, which was previously included under Adelius, is re-instated based on morphological characters. The New World species of the genus Paradelius are transferred to Sculptomyriola Belokobylskij: Sculptomyriola neotropicalis (Shimbori Shaw, 2019), S. nigra (Whitfield, 1988) and S. rubra (Whitfield, 1988) are new combinations.

The genus Aivalykus Nixon, 1938 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Doryctinae) with description of a new species from India and Arabian Peninsula.

The ecphyline genus Aivalykus Nixon, 1938 is discussed. A new species, A. microaciculatus Ranjith et Belokobylskij, sp. nov. from India and United Arab Emirates is described and illustrated. A key to all extant species of the genus Aivalykus is provided.

Discovery of the ichneutine genus Paroligoneurus Muesebeck (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from the Indian subcontinent with the description of a new species from Northwest India.

The small braconid subfamily, Ichneutinae is one of the least studied groups within the Braconidae. Old world species of the widely distributed ichneutine genus, Paroligoneurus (unknown from the Neotropical region) is revised along with description of a new species, P. harishi Ranjith van Achterberg sp. nov. We reinstate the genera Anaprixia Mason and Muesebeckia Mason based on the following characters; exodont mandibles and absence of spiracles in the alternate tergites (in Anaprixia) and presence of carinae on propodeum and anterior subalar depression with carina (in Muesebeckia). Five species, Paroligoneurus cosmopterygivorus (He, 2000), P. crassicornis (He, 2000), P. flavifacialis (He, 2000), P. sinensis (He, 2000) and P. songyangensis (He, 2000) were described from the Oriental part of China are transferred from Oligoneurus to Paroligoneurus. A taxonomic key to the Old world species Paroligoneurus and a provisional checklist of extant species are provided.

A new micropterous species of the genus Spathius Nees (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Doryctinae) from the North Eastern Himalayas, India.

Worldwide species of the genus Spathius Nees with reduced wings are reviewed. A new micropterous species, Spathius himalayicus Ranjith et Belokobylskij, sp. nov. from Northeast India is described and illustrated. A key to all known brachypterous, micropterous and apterous Spathius species is provided. Images of seven species not previously imaged, viz., S. apotanus Wilkinson, 1931, S. canariensis Hedqvist, 1976, S. critolaus Nixon, 1939, S. cursor Wilkinson, 1931, S. maderi Fahringer, 1930, S. pedestris Wesmael, 1838 and S. turneri Nixon, 1943, are provided.

First record of Undabracon Quicke, 1986 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Braconinae) from the Indian subcontinent with the description of a new species.

The Australasian braconine genus Undabracon Quicke, 1986 is recorded from the Indian subcontinent for the first time and we describe a new species, U. binduae Ranjith sp. nov. An illustrated key is provided for all the extant species together with the re-illustration of the species U. jacundus (Enderlein, 1920).

Four new species of Philoplitis Nixon (Braconidae, Microgastrinae) with an updated key and illustrations of all described species.

The Microgastrinae genus Philoplitis Nixon is revised and four new species are described: P.keralensis sp. n. and P.trifoveatus sp. n. authored by Ranjith & Fernandez-Triana, and P.dzangasangha sp. n. and P.margalla sp. n. authored by Fernandez-Triana & Ranjith. A key to all nine known species is provided. Philoplitisadustipalpus Ahmad is redescribed and illustrated. Additional specimen records are presented, and the diagnostic value of some morphological characters previously used is discussed. Based on the very few specimens available for study in collections, Philoplitis seems to be restricted to the Old World tropics (Afrotropical and Oriental regions), with most known species found in the Oriental region. The first DNA barcodes for the genus are presented. No host data is currently available, but for one species a mass of five wasp cocoons was found and is illustrated for the first time.