Taxonomic review of the elampine cuckoo wasps from northeastern Brazil (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae), with the description of three new species.

The diversity of the Elampini cuckoo wasps in northeastern Brazil is reviewed. Three new species are described: Hedychrum oxente Lucena & Zanella sp. nov., Holopyga lunae Lucena sp. nov., and Muesebeckidium clemensi Lucena & Zanella sp. nov. A lectotype is designated for Holopyga piliventris Ducke, 1907 and herein illustrated. Elampus aequinoctialis Ducke, 1901 is restored as a valid species (previously synonymized with Elampus gayi Spinola, 1851) and diagnosed. Holophris huberi (Ducke, 1901) and Muesebeckidium clemensi sp. nov. represent the first records of both genera to northeastern Brazil. New records along with up-to-date distributional maps are discussed, and an identification key to the species of Holopyga from northeastern Brazil is provided. The total diversity of Elampini recorded for northeastern Brazil is now represented by the following eight species: Elampus aequinoctialis Ducke, 1901, Exallopyga guatemalensis (Cameron, 1888), Hedychrum oxente Lucena & Zanella sp. nov., Holophris huberi (Ducke, 1901), Holopyga iheringi du Buysson, 1901, H. lunae Lucena sp. nov., H. piliventris Ducke, 1907, and Muesebeckidium clemensi Lucena & Zanella sp. nov.

Are the TTAGG and TTAGGG telomeric repeats phylogenetically conserved in aculeate Hymenoptera?

Despite the (TTAGG)n telomeric repeat supposed being the ancestral DNA motif of telomeres in insects, it was repeatedly lost within some insect orders. Notably, parasitoid hymenopterans and the social wasp Metapolybia decorata (Gribodo) lack the (TTAGG)n sequence, but in other representatives of Hymenoptera, this motif was noticed, such as different ant species and the honeybee. These findings raise the question of whether the insect telomeric repeat is or not phylogenetically predominant in Hymenoptera. Thus, we evaluated the occurrence of both the (TTAGG)n sequence and the vertebrate telomere sequence (TTAGGG)n using dot-blotting hybridization in 25 aculeate species of Hymenoptera. Our results revealed the absence of (TTAGG)n sequence in all tested species, elevating the number of hymenopteran families lacking this telomeric sequence to 13 out of the 15 tested families so far. The (TTAGGG)n was not observed in any tested species. Based on our data and compiled information, we suggest that the (TTAGG)n sequence was putatively lost in the ancestor of Apocrita with at least two subsequent independent regains (in Formicidae and Apidae).

The Neotropical cuckoo wasp genus Ipsiura Linsenmaier, 1959 (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae): revision of the species occurring in Brazil.

The species of the chrysidid genus Ipsiura are reviewed with emphasis on the taxa occurring in Brazil. In the present study 34 Ipsiura species are recognized, diagnosed, and illustrated. Two new species are described here: Ipsiura bohartiana Lucena sp. nov. and I. duckeana Lucena sp. nov., and two others are transferred from Neochrysis to Ipsiura: I. assecia (Linsenmaier, 1997), comb. nov. and I. guayanensis (Linsenmaier, 1997), comb. nov., increasing to 41 the total of valid species in the genus. New diagnoses and redescriptions are provided for 34 species based on study of their types. For the first time, a comparative and illustrated study of male genitalia is presented for the majority of Ipsiura species. Notes on types and depository collections, a revised key for identification of species along with illustrations of diagnostic features, as well as geographical distribution maps are also given.

New species of Elampus Spinola, 1806 (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae), with a key to the Neotropical species of the genus.

Three species of Elampus Spinola are reviewed. A new species, Elampus macuxi Lucena, sp. nov. (Brazil, Roraima) is described and illustrated. The lectotype is designated for Elampus aequinoctialis Ducke 1901. A key for three Neotropical species is given.