Biota Colombiana ISSN: 0124-5376 [email protected] Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos "Alexander von Humboldt" Colombia Fernández C., Fernando Checklist of Genera and Subgenera of Aculeate Hymenoptera of the Neotropical Region (Hymenoptera: Vespomorpha) Biota Colombiana, vol. 2, núm. 2, noviembre, 2001, pp. 87- 130 Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos "Alexander von Humboldt" Bogotá, Colombia Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=49120201 How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative FernándezBiota Colombiana 2 (2) 87 - 130, 2001 Himenópteros con Aguijón del Neotrópico -87 Checklist of Genera and Subgenera of Aculeate Hymenoptera of the Neotropical Region (Hymenoptera: Vespomorpha) Fernando Fernández C. Instituto Humboldt A.A. 8693, Bogotá D.C. Colombia. [email protected] Key Words: Aculeate Hymenoptera, Synopsis, Genera, Subgenera, Neotropical Region The aculeate hymenoptera comprises common insects reduction in some groups), and (2) the seventh metasomal like ants, bees and both potter and paper wasps tergum of females is hidden and substantially desclerotized. (Hymenoptera: Vespomorpha or Aculeata). These insects have a significant role in terrestrial ecosystems, especially Superfamily Chrysidoidea in the tropics, acting as pollinators, predators, decomposers, etc. Cuckoo wasps and relatives. This group is basal among the Aculeates. Its phylogeny has been studied by Carpenter The aculeates of the Neotropical Region comprise 3 (1986a, 1999) and Brothers and Carpenter (1993). In the superfamilies, 25 families, 807 genera and about 13000 Neotropical Region it is comprised of 7 families with around described species (Boxes 1 and 2). They are represented 1000 species. All species are solitary and the females of from the upper Jurassic and most families were common by some groups specialize on specific types of prey. The family the Cretaceous. Some of the extant genera appeared between Plumariidae has a gondwanan distribution and its biology the Paleocene and Miocene. is poorly known. Scolebythidae is a small family that has been reported in Neotropical America and Australia. Phylogeny of Vespomorpha Bethylidae is the largest family, with some ectoparasitic species of coleopterans and other insects. Chrysididae The stinging Hymenoptera (Aculeata or Vespomorpha) (cuckoo wasps) includes species that are ectoparasitic of constitute a monophyletic clade within the order sawflies, phasmids and nesting Hymenoptera. Hymenoptera. It has been proposed that Aculeata and Sclerogibbidae is a small family, rarely collected, whose Ichneumonoidea are sister groups (Ronquist et al. 1999; members presumably are parasitoids of Embiidina Sharkey & Wahl 1992). Aculeata is composed of three (webspinners) (Richards 1939; Argaman 1988; Fernández monophyletic superfamilies: Chrysidoidea, Apoidea and et al. 1996). Females of the family Dryinidae are both endo- Vespoidea. and ectoparasites of auchenorrhynchan homopterans (Cicadelloidea, Fulgoroidea and some Membracoidea) Works including those by Brothers (1975), Brothers and (Hanson & Gauld 1995). Embolemidae is a rare family, of Carpenter (1993), and Brothers (1999) deal with Aculeata unknown biology, represented in the Neotropics by five phylogeny. Vespomorpha is considered to be a species reviewed by Olmi (1995b). monophyletic clade, although robust synapomorphies have not been identified for the group (females lacking cerci). Superfamily Apoidea Two synapomorphies have been proposed for the superfamilies Apoidea and Vespoidea (aculeates sensu Sphecid wasps and bees. Apoidea is the sister group of stricto): (1) males have 13 antennomeres and females have Vespoidea (Brothers & Carpenter 1993). The works of 12 (although this number has undergone secondary Alexander (1992b) and Melo (1999) explore the internal Biota Colombiana 2 (2), 2001 8 8 - Aculeate Hymenoptera of the Neotropics Fernández phylogeny of the group. Depending on the authority, the attack ground insects. The phylogenetic relationships spheciformes are clumped into a single family (Bohart & among subfamilies of this group were studied by Kimsey Menke 1976) or split into several families (Goulet & Huber (1991). The Pompilidae family includes the spider-hunting 1993). Three families were recently established: Ampulicidae wasps; Shimizu (1994) explores the phylogenetic (sister group of Sphecidae s. str. + (Crabronidae + relationships within the family. In spite of some basic studies Apiformes)), Sphecidae s. str. and Crabronidae (Brothers (Banks 1946, 1947; Evans 1966), this family is poorly known 1999; Melo 1999). The life histories of the spheciformes in South America. Mutillidae are the velvet ants (Nonvellier include hunting strategies and nidification habits that range 1990), represented by conspicuous females that are well from solitary and communal nesting to eusociality in one of equipped to attack other Hymenoptera nests. There are no its genus. available keys of genera for the Neotropical representatives of this family. Sapygidae are parasitoid wasps of other The apiformes are grouped into a single family (Gauld & Hymenoptera, and are a poorly known family (Pate 1947). Bolton 1988) or split into several families (Goulet & Huber 1993). Works by Roig-Alsina and Michener (1993), and Catalogues of Vespomorpha Alexander and Michener (1995) explore the phylogeny of the long-tongued and short-tongued bees, respectively. There is a lack of recent catalogues of Neotropical Aculeata. Five families are currently accepted for the Neotropical Including fossils, Pagliano and Scaramozzino (1990) Region: Colletidae, Andrenidae (including Oxaeidae), presented a synonymy of the 17000 genera and subgenera Halictidae, Megachilidae (including Fideliidae) and Apidae of Hymenoptera described to date. Gordh and Moczar (1990) (including Anthophoridae). Michener (2000) reviews the offered a catalogue of the Bethylidae of the world and it is biology, phylogeny and systematics of the bees of the world. possible to extract from Kimsey and Bohart (1990) the list of His work includes keys for all the categories above species the Chrysididae species of the world. Olmi et al. (2000) list level. the neotropical Dryinidae species. The work on Sphecidae by Bohart and Menke (1976) includes lists of species Superfamily Vespoidea worldwide, as well as synonyms of all the categories above species level. Amarante (in press) presents the first available Hunter wasps, paper wasps and ants. In spite of their size catalogue of sphecid wasps from the Neotropical Region, and importance, there are no autopomorphies available for and Moure and Hurd (1987) provide a catalogue of the Vespoidea (Brothers & Carpenter 1993). This group has an Halictidae of the western hemisphere. There is an abridged enormous richness in terms of life forms and biology (Gauld catalogue available for the ants of the Netropical Region & Bolton 1988; Hanson & Gauld 1995). It is composed of 10 (Kempf 1972; Brandão 1991) and a catalogue of the ants of families and about 7.000 Neotropical species. the world (Bolton 1995). Sierolomorphidae is the basal group of the superfamily (its biology is unknown) with few representatives in Mesoamerica (Evans 1963). Rhopalosomatidae is a Diversity of Families and Superfamilies parasitoid family that attacks crickets (Townes 1977). Bradynobaenidae is a poorly known group (Genise 1986; Vespoidea and Apoidea are large superfamilies, each of Quintero & Rodríguez 1990). The ants (Formicidae) which contains more than 4000 species. The following are constitute a monophyletic group comprised of 17 the most diverse families of Vespomorpha (taking in account subfamilies, whose phylogenetic relationships are studied the number of described species with an arbitrary minimum by Baroni et al. (1992) and Grimaldi et al. (1997). A biological number of 300): Bethylidae, Chrysididae, Dryinidae, synthesis of the group is offered by Hölldobler and Wilson Crabronidae, Colletidae, Andrenidae, Halictidae, (1990). The family Vespidae, with social groups present, Megachilidae, Apidae, Formicidae, Vespidae, Pompilidae includes potter, paper and mason wasps. Vespidae, and all and Mutillidae. Diverse families, with more than 1000 of its subfamilies, are monophyletic (Carpenter 1982). described species in the Neotropics, include Crabronidae, Generic-level keys have been published for the Masarinae Apidae, Formicidae, Vespidae and Mutillidae. Formicidae is (Richards 1962a; Carpenter 1989), as well as for Eumeninae a hyperdiverse family, with more than 3000 species in the and Polistinae (Richards 1978). The small family Scoliidae region. The families, subfamilies and tribes of aculeates of includes wasps that attack the larvae of scarabaeoid beetles, the Neotropical Region and the number of described species with about 20 species occurring in the Neotropical Region (or approximate number) for each family and superfamily (Bradley 1945). Tiphiidae includes ectoparasitic wasps that are summarized in Box 2. Biota Colombiana 2 (2), 2001 Fernández Himenópteros con Aguijón del Neotrópico -89 Listado de Géneros y Subgéneros de Himenópteros con Aguijón de la Región Neotropical (Hymenoptera: Vespomorpha) Fernando Fernández C. Palabras Clave: Hymenoptera Aculeata, Sinopsis, Géneros, Subgéneros, Neotrópico Los himenópteros