Synopsis of the wasp genus Clystopsenella Kieffer (Hymenoptera: Scolebythidae)

Abstract

Scolebythidae are ectoparasitoid wasps which develop gregariously as idiobionts on wood-boring beetle larvae. Among them, the genus Clystopsenella is restricted to the Neotropical region and the eastern coast of Australia. The genus also includes a fossil species, †Clystopsenella mirabilis Engel, 2015, from Miocene Dominican amber. In the present study we review the genus Clystopsenella and describe a new species from Costa Rica, Clystopsenella pacifica sp. nov. A key to the extant and extinct species is provided. The type locality of Clystopsenella longiventris Kieffer, 1911 is reinterpreted based on the original labels. The distribution of the genus is mostly confined to woodlands under tropical and subtropical climates. The biology of scolebythids is discussed based on a new host record for C. longiventris