Ophiclypeus, a new genus of Cardiochilinae Ashmead (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) from the Oriental region with descriptions of three new species.

A new genus of the braconid subfamily Cardiochilinae, Ophiclypeusgen. nov., is described and illustrated based on three new species: O.chiangmaiensis Kang, sp. nov. type species (type locality: Chiang Mai, Thailand), O.dvaravati Ghafouri Moghaddam, Quicke & Butcher, sp. nov. (type locality: Saraburi, Thailand), and O.junyani Kang, sp. nov. (type locality: Dalin, Taiwan). We provide morphological diagnostic characters to separate the new genus from other cardiochiline genera. A modified key couplet (couplet 5) and a new key couplet (couplet 16) are provided with detailed images for Dangerfield's key to the world cardiochiline genera to facilitate recognition of Ophiclypeusgen. nov.

Establishing minimally important differences for cardiac MRI end-points in pulmonary arterial hypertension.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is the gold standard technique to assess biventricular volumes and function, and is increasingly being considered as an end-point in clinical studies. Currently, with the exception of right ventricular (RV) stroke volume and RV end-diastolic volume, there is only limited data on minimally important differences (MIDs) reported for CMR metrics. Our study aimed to identify MIDs for CMR metrics based on US Food and Drug Administration recommendations for a clinical outcome measure that should reflect how a patient "feels, functions or survives". METHODS: Consecutive treatment-naïve patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) between 2010 and 2022 who had two CMR scans (at baseline prior to treatment and 12 months following treatment) were identified from the ASPIRE registry. All patients were followed up for 1 additional year after the second scan. For both scans, cardiac measurements were obtained from a validated fully automated segmentation tool. The MID in CMR metrics was determined using two distribution-based (0.5sd and minimal detectable change) and two anchor-based (change difference and generalised linear model regression) methods benchmarked to how a patient "feels" (emPHasis-10 quality of life questionnaire), "functions" (incremental shuttle walk test) or "survives" for 1-year mortality to changes in CMR measurements. RESULTS: 254 patients with PAH were included (mean±sd age 53±16 years, 79% female and 66% categorised as intermediate risk based on the 2022 European Society of Cardiology/European Respiratory Society risk score). We identified a 5% absolute increase in RV ejection fraction and a 17 mL decrease in RV end-diastolic or end-systolic volumes as the MIDs for improvement. Conversely, a 5% decrease in RV ejection fraction and a 10 mL increase in RV volumes were associated with worsening. CONCLUSIONS: This study establishes clinically relevant CMR MIDs for how a patient "feels, functions or survives" in response to PAH treatment. These findings provide further support for the use of CMR as a clinically relevant clinical outcome measure and will aid trial size calculations for studies using CMR.

Plain language summaryPulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a disease of the vessels of the lung that causes their narrowing and stiffening. As a result, the heart pumping blood into these diseased lung vessels has to work harder and eventually gets worn out. PAH can affect patients' ability to function in daily activities and impact their quality of life. It also reduces their life expectancy dramatically. Patients are, therefore, often monitored and undergo several investigations to adapt treatment according to their situation. These investigations include a survey of how a patient feels (the emPHasis-10 questionnaire), functions (walking test) and how well the heart is coping with the disease (MRI of the heart). Until now, it is unclear how changes on MRI of the heart reflect changes in how a patient feels and functions. Our study identified patients that had the emPHasis-10 questionnaire, walking test and MRI of the heart at both the time of PAH diagnosis and one year later. This allowed us to compare how the changes in the different tests relate to each other. And because previous research identified thresholds for important changes in the emPHasis-10 questionnaire and the walking tests, we were able to use these tests as a benchmark for changes in the MRI of the heart. Our study identified thresholds for change on heart MRI that might indicate whether a patient has improved or worsened. This finding might have implications for how patients are monitored in clinical practice and future research on PAH treatments.

Minimalist revision of Mesochorus Gravenhorst, 1829 (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Mesochorinae) from Área de Conservación Guanacaste, Costa Rica, with 158 new species and host records for 129 species / Revisión minimalista de Mesochorus Gravenhorst, 1829 (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Mesochorinae) del Área de Conservación Guanacaste, Costa Rica, con 158 especies nuevas y registros de hospedantes para 129 especies

Introduction: Species of Mesochorus are found worldwide and members of this genus are primarily hyperparasitoids of Ichneumonoidea and Tachinidae. Objectives: To describe species of Costa Rican Mesochorus reared from caterpillars and to a lesser extent Malaise-trapped. Methods: The species are diagnosed by COI mtDNA barcodes, morphological inspection, and host data. A suite of images and host data (plant, caterpillar, and primary parasitoid) are provided for each species. Results: A total of 158 new species of Mesochorus. Sharkey is the taxonomic authority for all. Conclusions: This demonstrates a practical application of DNA barcoding that can be applied to the masses of undescribed neotropical insect species in hyperdiverse groups.

Introducción: Las especies de Mesochorus se encuentran en todo el mundo y los miembros de este género son principalmente hiperparasitoides de las familias Ichneumonoidea y Tachinidae. Objetivos: Describir las especies de Mesochorus costarricenses obtenidas de orugas y en menor medida por trampas Malaise. Métodos: Las especies se diagnosticaron mediante el uso de código de barra molecular por COI del ADNmt, inspección morfológica y datos del huésped. Se proporciona un conjunto de imágenes y datos de los huéspedes (planta, oruga y parasitoide primario) para cada especie. Resultados: Se encontró un total de 158 nuevas especies de Mesochorus. Sharkey es la autoridad taxonómica para todas las especies. Conclusiones: Se demuestra una aplicación práctica del código de barras de ADN que se puede aplicar a grandes cantidades de especies de insectos neotropicales no descritas para grupos hiperdiversos.

Fully automatic cardiac four chamber and great vessel segmentation on CT pulmonary angiography using deep learning.

Introduction: Computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) is an essential test in the work-up of suspected pulmonary vascular disease including pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary embolism. Cardiac and great vessel assessments on CTPA are based on visual assessment and manual measurements which are known to have poor reproducibility. The primary aim of this study was to develop an automated whole heart segmentation (four chamber and great vessels) model for CTPA. Methods: A nine structure semantic segmentation model of the heart and great vessels was developed using 200 patients (80/20/100 training/validation/internal testing) with testing in 20 external patients. Ground truth segmentations were performed by consultant cardiothoracic radiologists. Failure analysis was conducted in 1,333 patients with mixed pulmonary vascular disease. Segmentation was achieved using deep learning via a convolutional neural network. Volumetric imaging biomarkers were correlated with invasive haemodynamics in the test cohort. Results: Dice similarity coefficients (DSC) for segmented structures were in the range 0.58-0.93 for both the internal and external test cohorts. The left and right ventricle myocardium segmentations had lower DSC of 0.83 and 0.58 respectively while all other structures had DSC >0.89 in the internal test cohort and >0.87 in the external test cohort. Interobserver comparison found that the left and right ventricle myocardium segmentations showed the most variation between observers: mean DSC (range) of 0.795 (0.785-0.801) and 0.520 (0.482-0.542) respectively. Right ventricle myocardial volume had strong correlation with mean pulmonary artery pressure (Spearman's correlation coefficient = 0.7). The volume of segmented cardiac structures by deep learning had higher or equivalent correlation with invasive haemodynamics than by manual segmentations. The model demonstrated good generalisability to different vendors and hospitals with similar performance in the external test cohort. The failure rates in mixed pulmonary vascular disease were low (<3.9%) indicating good generalisability of the model to different diseases. Conclusion: Fully automated segmentation of the four cardiac chambers and great vessels has been achieved in CTPA with high accuracy and low rates of failure. DL volumetric biomarkers can potentially improve CTPA cardiac assessment and invasive haemodynamic prediction.

Phaenospila gen. nov. (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Alysiinae) and three new species from Thailand.

A new braconid genus belonging to the tribe Alysiini. Phaenospila van Achterberg & Yao, gen. nov. (type species: Phaenospila signator Yao, sp. nov.), is described. The genus is identified with morphological characters and a phylogenetic analysis of COI sequence data; GenBank accession numbers of fifty generated sequences from the three species are included. Three new species are described and illustrated, Phaenospila brevicarinata van Achterberg & Yao sp. nov., Phaenospila areolator Yao & van Achterberg sp. nov., Phaenospila signator Yao sp. nov. A key to the species of the genus Phaenospila is included.

A new genus Anamalysia van Achterberg (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Alysiinae), six new species, and two new combinations from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

A new genus of the tribe Alysiini (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Alysiinae) is described with specimens from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, and six new species are described: Anamalysiaidiastimorpha sp. nov. (type species), A.knekosoma sp. nov., A.mellipes sp. nov., A.transversator sp. nov., A.vandervechti sp. nov., and A.vanhengstumi sp. nov.. We transfer one species from Coelalysia to Anamalysia: A.urbana (Papp, 1967) comb. nov. from Singapore and one species from Alysiasta to Anamalysia: A.triangulum (Fischer, 2006) comb. nov. from Malaysia, Laos, Indonesia and Vietnam. A key to the genus of Anamalysia is included.

Description of Chilearinus Sharkey gen. nov. and status of Nearctic Earinus Wesmael, 1837 (Braconidae, Agathidinae) with the description of new species.

The Neotropical members formerly included in Earinus Wesmael, 1837 are transferred to a new genus, Chilearinus Sharkey gen. nov. Presently three Nearctic species of Earinus are recognized, i.e., Earinuserythropoda Cameron, 1887, Earinuslimitaris Say,1835, and Earinuszeirapherae Walley, 1935, and these are retained in Earinus. Earinuschubuquensis Berta, 2000 and Earinusscitus Enderlein, 1920 are transferred to Chilearinus, i.e., C.chubuquensis, and C.scitus, comb. nov. One other species is transferred to Chilearinus, i.e., Microgasterrubricollis Spinola, 1851, Chilearinusrubricollis, comb. nov. Two other Neotropical species, Earinushubrechtae Braet, 2002 and Earinusbourguignoni Braet, 2002 were described under the genus Earinus but are here transferred to Lytopylus, L.hubrechtae, and L.bourguignoni comb. nov. Two new species of Chilearinus are described, C.covidchronos and C.janbert spp. nov. The status of Agathislaevithorax Spinola,1851, Agathisrubricata Spinola,1851, and Agathisareolata Spinola, 1851 is discussed. A neotype is designated for Earinuslimitaris (Say, 1835) and diagnosed with a COI barcode. Earinusaustinbakeri and Earinuswalleyi spp. nov. are described. The status of both Earinus and Chilearinus in the Americas is discussed. A revised key to the genera of Agathidinae of the Americas is presented.

More discussion of minimalist species descriptions and clarifying some misconceptions contained in Meier et al. 2021.

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 Plesiocoelusvanachterbergi 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.

The reproducibility of manual RV/LV ratio measurement on CT pulmonary angiography.

Objectives: Right ventricular (RV) dysfunction carries elevated risk in acute pulmonary embolism (PE). An increased ratio between the size of the right and left ventricles (RV/LV ratio) is a biomarker of RV dysfunction. This study evaluated the reproducibility of RV/LV ratio measurement on CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA). Methods: 20 inpatient CTPA scans performed to assess for acute PE were retrospectively identified from a tertiary UK centre. Each scan was evaluated by 14 radiologists who provided a qualitative overall opinion on the presence of RV dysfunction and measured the RV/LV ratio. Using a threshold of 1.0, the RV/LV ratio measurements were classified as positive (≥1.0) or negative (<1.0) for RV dysfunction. Interobserver agreement was quantified using the Fleiss κ and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Results: Qualitative opinion of RV dysfunction showed weak agreement (κ = 0.42, 95% CI 0.37-0.46). The mean RV/LV ratio measurement for all cases was 1.28 ± 0.68 with significant variation between reporters (p < 0.001). Although agreement for RV/LV measurement was good (ICC = 0.83, 95% CI 0.73-0.91), categorisation of RV dysfunction according to RV/LV ratio measurements showed weak agreement (κ = 0.46, 95% CI 0.41-0.50). Conclusion: Both qualitative opinion and quantitative manual RV/LV ratio measurement show poor agreement for identifying RV dysfunction on CTPA. Advances in knowledge: Caution should be exerted if using manual RV/LV ratio measurements to inform clinical risk stratification and management decisions.

Minimalist revision and description of 403 new species in 11 subfamilies of Costa Rican braconid parasitoid wasps, including host records for 219 species.

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: Aerophiluspaulmarshi, Mesocoelusdavidsmithi, Neothlipsisbobkulai, Plesiocoelusvanachterbergi, Pneumagathiserythrogastra (Cameron, 1905), Therophilusbobwhartoni, T.donaldquickei, T.gracewoodae, T.maetoi, T.montywoodi, T.penteadodiasae, Zacremnopsbrianbrowni, Z.coatlicue Sharkey, 1990, Zacremnopscressoni (Cameron, 1887), Z.ekchuah Sharkey, 1990, Z.josefernandezi, Zelomorphasarahmeierottoae. BRACONINAE: Braconalejandromarini, 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, Digonogastramontylloydi, D.montywoodi, D.motohasegawai, D.natwheelwrighti, D.nickgrishini. CHELONINAE: Adeliusadrianguadamuzi, A.gauldi Shimbori & Shaw, 2019, A.janzeni Shimbori & Shaw, 2019, Ascogastergloriasihezarae, A.grettelvegae, A.guillermopereirai, A.gustavoecheverrii, A.katyvandusenae, A.luisdiegogomezi, Chelonusalejandrozaldivari, 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, Leptodrepanaalexisae, L.erasmocoronadoi, L.felipechavarriai, L.freddyquesadai, L.gilbertfuentesi, L.manuelriosi, Phanerotomaalmasolisae, 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, Pseudophanerotomaalanflemingi, Ps.albanjimenezi, Ps.alejandromarini, Ps.alexsmithi, Ps.allisonbrownae, Ps.bobrobbinsi. HOMOLOBINAE: Exasticolusjennyphillipsae, E.randallgarciai, E.robertofernandezi, E.sigifredomarini, E.tomlewinsoni. HORMIINAE: Hormiusanamariamongeae, 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: Oligoneuruskriskrishtalkai, O.jorgejimenezi, Paroligoneuruselainehoaglandae, P.julianhumphriesi, P.mikeiviei. MACROCENTRINAE: Austrozelejorgecampabadali, A.jorgesoberoni, Dolichozelegravitarsis (Muesebeck, 1938), D.josefernandeztrianai, D.josephinerodriguezae, Hymenochaoniakalevikulli, H.kateperezae, H.katherinebaillieae, H.katherineellisonae, H.katyvandusenae, H.kazumifukunagae, H.keithlangdoni, H.keithwillmotti, H.kenjinishidai, H.kimberleysheldonae, H.krisnorvigae, H.lilianamadrigalae, H.lizlangleyae, Macrocentrusfredsingeri, 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: Orgilusamyrossmanae, 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, Stantoniabillalleni, S.brookejarvisae, S.donwilsoni, S.erikabjorstromae, S.garywolfi, S.henrikekmani, S.luismirandai, S.miriamzunzae, S.quentinwheeleri, S.robinkazmierae, S.ruthtifferae. PROTEROPINAE: Hebichneutestricolor Sharkey & Wharton, 1994, Proteropsiangauldi, P.vickifunkae, Michenercharlesi. RHYSIPOLINAE: Pseudorhysipolisluisfonsecai, P. mailyngonzalezaeRhysipolisjulioquirosi. ROGADINAE: Aleiodesadrianaradulovae, 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, Bioalfapedroleoni, B.alvarougaldei, B.rodrigogamezi, Choreborogasandydeansi, C.eladiocastroi, C.felipechavarriai, C.frankjoycei, Clinocentrusandywarreni, Cl.angelsolisi, Cystomastaxalexhausmanni, Cy.angelagonzalezae, Cy.ayaigarashiae, Hermosomastaxclavifemorus Quicke sp. nov., Heterogamusdonstonei, Pseudoyeliconesbernsweeneyi, Stiropiusbencrairi, S.berndkerni, S.edgargutierrezi, S.edwilsoni, S.ehakernae, Triraphisbillfreelandi, 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, Yeliconesdirksteinkei, Y.markmetzi, Y.monserrathvargasae, Y.tricolor Quicke, 1996. Y.woldai Quicke, 1996. The following new combinations are proposed: Neothlipsissmithi (Ashmead), new combination for Microdussmithi Ashmead, 1894; Neothlipsispygmaeus (Enderlein), new combination for Microduspygmaeus Enderlein, 1920; Neothlipsisunicinctus (Ashmead), new combination for Microdusunicinctus Ashmead, 1894; Therophilusanomalus (Bortoni and Penteado-Dias) new combination for Plesiocoelusanomalus Bortoni and Penteado-Dias, 2015; Aerophilusareolatus (Bortoni and Penteado-Dias) new combination for Plesiocoelusareolatus Bortoni and Penteado-Dias, 2015; Pneumagathiserythrogastra (Cameron) new combination for Agathiserythrogastra Cameron, 1905. Dolichozelecitreitarsis (Enderlein), new combination for Paniscozelecitreitarsis Enderlein, 1920. Dolichozelefuscivertex (Enderlein) new combination for Paniscozelefuscivertex Enderlein, 1920. Finally, Bassusbrooksi Sharkey, 1998 is synonymized with Agathiserythrogastra Cameron, 1905; Paniscozelegriseipes Enderlein, 1920 issynonymized with Dolichozelekoebelei Viereck, 1911; Paniscozelecarinifrons Enderlein, 1920 is synonymized with Dolichozelefuscivertex (Enderlein, 1920); and Paniscozelenigricauda Enderlein,1920 is synonymized with Dolichozelequaestor (Fabricius, 1804). (originally described as Ophionquaestor Fabricius, 1804).

?Addendum to a minimalist revision of Costa Rican Braconidae: 28 new species and 23 host records.

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. Gnathopleurajosequesadai 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: Aerophilusdavidwagneri, Aerophilusfundacionbandorum, Aerophilusnicklaphami, Lytopylusdavidstopaki, Lytopylusdavidschindeli; Alysiinae: Gnathopleurajosequesadai; Braconinae: Braconandreamezae, Braconfranklinpaniaguai, Braconrafagutierrezi, Braconguillermoblancoi, Braconoscarmasisi, Braconpauldimaurai, Braconshebadimaurae, Saciremakarendimaurae; Cheloninae: Chelonusminorzunigai; Homolobinae: Homolobusstevestroudi; Macrocentrinae: Macrocentrusmichaelstroudi; Orgilinae: Stantoniagilbertfuentesi; Rhysipolinae: Rhysipolisstevearonsoni; Rogadinae: Aleiodeskaydodgeae, Aleiodeskerrydresslerae, Aleiodesjosesolanoi, Aleiodesjuniorporrasi, Aleiodesrocioecheverri, Aleiodesronaldzunigai, Choreborogasjesseausubeli, Triraphisdoncombi, and Yeliconesmayrabonillae.

Orientocardiochiles, a new genus of Cardiochilinae (Hymenoptera, Braconidae), with descriptions of two new species from Malaysia and Vietnam.

For the first time in 21 years, a new genus of cardiochiline braconid wasp, Orientocardiochiles Kang & Long, gen. nov. (type species Orientocardiochiles joeburrowi Kang, sp. nov.), is discovered and described. This genus represents the ninth genus in the Oriental region. Two new species (O. joeburrowi Kang, sp. nov. and O. nigrofasciatus Long, sp. nov.) are described and illustrated, and a key to species of the genus, with detailed images, is added. Diagnostic characters of the new genus are analyzed and compared with several other cardiochiline genera to allow the genus to key out properly using an existing generic treatment. The scientific names validated by this paper and morphological data obtained from this project will be utilized and tested in the upcoming genus-level revision of the subfamily based on combined morphological and molecular data.

A new genus and species of Neotropical gregarious braconine parasitoid (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) of a caterpillar (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae).

A new genus of braconine parasitoid wasp, Acgorium Sharkey Quicke gen. nov., based on a new species from Costa Rica, Acgorium felipechavarriai Sharkey sp. nov., is described and illustrated, based on specimens reared from wild-caught hesperiid caterpillars of Dyscophellus phraxanor (Hewitson). Acgorium felipechavarriai is the first known braconine gregarious ectoparasitoid of a butterfly caterpillar.

Two species and a genus new for Thailand, with description of a new species of Neurolarthra Fischer (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Alysiinae).

Neurolarthra Fischer, 1976, is a small braconid genus with two described species. The genus is revised using morphological characters and a phylogenetic analysis of COI sequence data; GenBank accession numbers of seven COI sequences from two species are included. A new species from Thailand is described and illustrated: N. karensharkeyae Yao n. sp. Neurolarthra Fischer and N. procera are reported for the first time from Thailand. A key to species of the genus Neurolarthra is presented.

Separatatus Chen Wu (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Alysiinae) newly recorded from Thailand, with description of one new species and one new combination.

Separatatus Chen Wu, 1994, is reported for the first time from Thailand and one new species is described and illustrated: Separatatus xuexincheni n. sp. In addition, one species is newly recorded from Thailand (S. parallelus Zhu et al., 2017) and we transfer one species from Phasmidiasta to Separatatus: S. malaysiae (Fischer, 2006) n. comb. A key to species of the genus Separatatus is presented.

Ten new genera of Agathidini (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Agathidinae) from Southeast Asia.

The Agathidini (Braconidae: Agathidinae) genera of Southeast Asia are revised based on a phylogenetic analysis of COI and 28S. Ten new genera are proposed, i.e., Agathigma, Asperagathis, Chimaeragathis, Cymagathis, Liragathis, Leuroagathis, Scabagathis, Trochantagathis, Xanthagathis, and Zosteragathis. An illustrated key to the Southeast Asian genera of this tribe is presented. Species from Thailand are keyed and described for all genera of Agathidini except Bassus and Zosteragathis which have too many species for this publication and will be dealt with separately. The phylogenetic analyses indicate that Bassuss.s. is polyphyletic. However, there are no morphological characters to support this and we have retained the current concept of Bassus, which is basically those Agathidini with simple tarsal claws. Numerous new combinations are proposed based on species that are moved to the newly erected genera.

Revision of the species of Lytopylus from Area de Conservación Guanacaste, northwestern Costa Rica (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Agathidinae).

Thirty two new species of Lytopylus (Agathidinae) are described with image plates for each species: Lytopylus alejandromasisisp. n., Lytopylus alfredomainierisp. n., Lytopylus anamariamongeaesp. n., Lytopylus angelagonzalezaesp. n., Lytopylus cesarmoraisp. n., Lytopylus eddysanchezisp. n., Lytopylus eliethcantillanoaesp. n., Lytopylus ericchapmanisp. n., Lytopylus gahyunaesp. n., Lytopylus gisukaesp. n., Lytopylus guillermopereiraisp. n., Lytopylus gustavoinduniisp. n., Lytopylus hartmanguidoisp. n., Lytopylus hernanbravoisp. n., Lytopylus hokwonisp. n., Lytopylus ivanniasandovalaesp. n., Lytopylus johanvalerioisp. n., Lytopylus josecortesisp. n., Lytopylus luisgaritaisp. n., Lytopylus mariamartachavarriaesp. n., Lytopylus miguelviquezisp. n., Lytopylus motohasegawaisp. n., Lytopylus okchunaesp. n., Lytopylus pablocobbisp. n., Lytopylus robertofernandezisp. n., Lytopylus rogerblancoisp. n., Lytopylus salvadorlopezisp. n., Lytopylus sangyeonisp. n., Lytopylus sarahmeierottoaesp. n., Lytopylus sergiobermudezisp. n., Lytopylus sigifredomarinisp. n., and Lytopylus youngcheaesp. 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.

Multiple Lines of Evidence from Mitochondrial Genomes Resolve Phylogenetic Relationships of Parasitic Wasps in Braconidae.

The rapid increase in the number of mitochondrial genomes in public databases provides opportunities for insect phylogenetic studies; but it also provides challenges because of gene rearrangements and variable substitution rates among both lineages and sites. Typically, phylogenetic studies use mitochondrial sequence data but exclude other features of the mitochondrial genome from analyses. Here, we undertook large-scale sequencing of mitochondrial genomes from a worldwide collection of specimens belonging to Braconidae, one of the largest families of Metazoa. The strand-asymmetry of base composition in the mitochondrial genomes of braconids is reversed, providing evidence for monophyly of the Braconidae. We have reconstructed a backbone phylogeny of the major lineages of Braconidae from gene order of the mitochondrial genomes. Standard phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequences provided strong support for both Cyclostomes and Noncyclostomes. Four subfamily complexes, that is, helconoid, euphoroid, sigalphoid, and microgastroid, within the Noncyclostomes were reconstructed robustly, the first three of which formed a monophyletic group sister to the last one. Aphidiinae was recovered as a lineage sister to other groups of Cyclostomes, while the Ichneutinae was recovered as paraphyletic. Separate analyses of the subdivided groups showed congruent relationships, employing different matrices and methods, for the internal nodes of the Cyclostomes and the microgastroid complex of subfamilies. This research, using multiple lines of evidence from mitochondrial genomes, illustrates multiple uses of mitochondrial genomes for phylogenetic inference in Braconidae.

Phylogenetic analyses elucidate the inter-relationships of Pamphilioidea (Hymenoptera, Symphyta).

The phylogeny of the superfamily Pamphilioidea is reconstructed using morphology and DNA sequence data of living and fossil taxa by employing two phylogenetic methods (maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference). Based on our results, the monophyly of Pamphilioidea and Pamphiliidae are corroborated, whereas two extinct families, Xyelydidae and Praesiricidae, are not monophyletic. Because members of Praesiricidae together with Megalodontes form a monophyletic group, we propose that the paraphyletic Praesiricidae is synonymized under Megalodontesidae (syn. nov.). The origin of Pamphilioidea is hypothesized to be as early as the Early Jurassic. To better understand morphological evolution in the early lineages of Pamphilioidea, ancestral states of the first flagellomere and the first and second abdominal terga are reconstructed on the morphology-based tree. In addition, three new genera (Medilyda, Brevilyda, Strenolyda) with five new species (Medilyda procera, M. distorta, Brevilyda provecta, Strenolyda marginalis and S. retrorsa) are described based on well-preserved xyelydid fossils from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of north-eastern China.