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.

Diversity of Platygastridae in Leaf Litter and Understory Layers of Tropical Rainforests of the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot, India.

Platygastridae is the third largest family of parasitic Hymenoptera in the world. It includes important egg and larval parasitoids of insects and spiders. Therefore, Platygastridae is functionally important in maintaining the stability of tropical rainforests and agroecosystems. Although the diversity of Platygastridae is relatively well-known in agroecosystems, we know little about their diversity in tropical rainforests, and particularly about that of the leaf litter layer. Here, we address the importance of monitoring Platygastridae in tropical rainforests, using data from the relic primary forests of the sacred groves of the Western Ghats. First, we demonstrate that pitfall traps allow us to catch a wide array of representative diversity of Platygastridae of the tropical rainforests, and we establish an efficient collection method to study Platygastridae of leaf litter layer. Second, we demonstrate that the community structure and composition of Platygastridae of the leaf litter layer is different from that seen in the understory of the forests. This indirectly informs us that the Malaise traps capture only a minor subset of the species active in the rainforests. Third, we find that the dry and wet seasons captured dissimilar community of Platygastridae, suggesting that the season might alter the potential host species or host stages. We conclude that monitoring parasitic Hymenoptera in the leaf litter layer of tropical rainforests can provide fresh insights on the species distribution of both the parasitoids and their hosts, and allows us to examine the current state of the tropical rainforests from a functional point of view.

A new genus of Braconinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from India with remarkable head ornamentation.

A new braconine genus, Stephanobracon Ranjith & Quicke (type-species: Stephanobracon narendrani Ranjith & Quicke sp. nov.) from south India is described and illustrated. It belongs to the tribe Braconini and it displays autapomorphic characters of having two pairs of sharp protuberances near to the antennal sockets and corrugated protuberances on the lateral part of the frons. Its possible relationship to other braconine genera, notably Dolabraulax Quicke, Simra Quicke and Syntomernus Enderlein, is discussed.

First report of the genus Conostigmus Dahlbom (Hymenoptera: Ceraphronoidea: Megaspilidae) from India with description of a new species.

The genus Conostigmus Dahlbom (Hymenoptera: Ceraphronoidea: Megaspilidae) is reported for the first time from India, along with description and illustration of Conostigmusneotubifer sp. n. A comparative discussion on the morphological affinities of the new species with its putative sister Conostigmustubifer Dessart is provided. An intermixing of character states of genera Conostigmus as well as Dendrocerus Ratzeburg is observed.