First Records of the Wasps Families Megalyridae and Scolebythidae (Hymenoptera: Megalyroidea,Chrysidoidea) for Northern South America

Abstract

The Hymenoptera wasp families Megalyridae and Scolebythidae are registered for the first time from Colombia, northern South America. Megalyridae was previously known in western hemisphere, from southern South America. Scolebythidae was previously known from southeastern Brazil and Costa Rica.

The intensive survey of Hymenoptera developed recently in Colombia with Malaise traps running in 14 parks and conservation areas gave interesting specimens representing new taxa for science or new records for the country. We report here the first records of two hymenopteran families previously unknown in Colombia and northern South America.

Megalyridae

The wasp superfamily Megalyroidea (Hymenoptera) comprises one family, Megalyridae, with 10 genera and 45 species in South America, Africa, Asia and Australia. The females are parasitoids of Coleoptera larvae and Pemphredoninae wasps (Apoidea: Crabronidae). In the Western Hemisphere is a very rare taxon, only 4 specimens are known, representing 3 monotypic genera from Chile and southern Brazil (Shaw 1990).

Material examined: 1 female. COLOMBIA. Caquetá: Chiribiquete National Park, Puerto Abeja. 0°14′16″N 72°26′48″WE. 310 m. Coluvial forest, Malaise trap. feb-2000, С. Arenas leg. Specimen deposited in the insect collection of the Humboldt Institute in Villa of Leyva [IAVH]. The female represents a species (and probably) a genus undescribed (Shaw, personal communication).

The family was previously known from southern South America, south of 27° S Latitude, and its distribution suggests a relictual and primarily austral taxon (Shaw 1990). This is the first record for the family (and superfamily) to Colombia and northern South America and the most meridional of the family in the Western Hemisphere. The description of the taxon, along with a phylogenetic reanalysis could enrich the biogeographical knowledge of the family.

Scolebythidae

Scolebythidae is one of the most unknown families of Hymenoptera (Goulet and Huber 1993), with five monotypic genera (keyed by Azevedo 1999), known from Madagascar, South Africa, Australia and South America. In Western Hemisphere the family was known only from Clystopsenella longiventris Kieffer from Bahia and Minas Gerais (Brazil) and Dominibytgus strictus Azevedo from Brasilia (Brazil) (Azevedo 1999). Also, Hanson and Gauld (1995) record the family from Costa Rica.

Clystopsenella longiventris Kieffer

Material examined: 1 female. COLOMBIA. Amazonas. Amacayacu National Park, Mata-Mata creek. 150 m. 20-26-mar-2000. A. Félix leg. [IAvH]. 1 female. COLOMBIA. Amazonas. Amacayacu National Park, San Martin. 150 m. 15-22-apr-2000. A. Parente leg. [IAvH]. 5 females. COLOMBIA. Chocó. Utría National Park, Boroboro. 50 m. Malaise trap. 5-19-jul-2000. J. Perez leg. [IAvH]. 1 female. COLOMBIA. Chocó. Utria National Park, Boroboro. 50 m. Malaise trap. 14-27-jul-2000. J. Perez leg. [IAvH]. 1 female. COLOMBIA. Magdalena. Tayrona National Park, Gairaca. 11°20′N 74°02′W. 5m. Malaise trap. No. 1479. 5-21-mar-2001. Henriquez, R. [IAVH].

The specimens are females that match in most items with Clystopsenella longiventris, as diagnosed in Azevedo (1999). Because of the paucity of material from these taxa in Neotropical Region, it can be premature to obtain more than one species, and the best option to date is to put these wasps conspecific with the Brazilian samples.

To date, Scolebythidae is known in America from Brazil and Costa Rica (Gauld 1995).

So, this is the first record for the family, genus and species for Colombia and northern South America.

The above new records are good examples that extensive Malaise trappings can offer a new perspective about the taxonomic and biogeographical composition of the Hymenoptera fauna in the Neotropics.