This monograph presents a comprehensive revision of the tribe Phaeogenini (Ichneumonidae: Ichneumoninae) in the Afrotropical region. The tribe encompasses about 10% of the species within the subfamily, most of them exhibiting an unusual habitus, which makes them readily identifiable within Ichneumoninae. Lusius and Arearia are for example highly speciose genera whose taxonomic placement has oscillated over the years. Of the 32 genera and about 400 species included in the tribe to date, seven genera and 11 species were previously reported from the Afrotropical region. We describe a new genus, record two additional genera and describe 12 new species elevating these totals to 10 and 23, respectively. Both dichotomous and matrix keys are provided to facilitate their identification. All taxa are fully illustrated with high quality images. These images and online keys are freely available on the Iziko South African Museum website www.waspweb.org.
The Ichneumonoidea is a vast and important superfamily ofparasitic wasps, with some 60,000 described species and estimatednumbers far higher, especially for small-bodied tropical taxa. Thesuperfamily comprises two cosmopolitan families - Braconidae andIchneumonidae - that have largely attracted separate groups ofresearchers, and this, to a considerable extent, has meant thatunderstanding of their adaptive features has often been consideredin isolation. This book considers both families, highlightingsimilarities and differences in their adaptations. The classification of the whole of the Ichneumonoidea, along withmost other insect orders, has been plagued by typology wherebyundue importance has been attributed to particular characters indefining groups. Typology is a common disease of traditionaltaxonomy such that, until recently, quite a lot of taxa have beenassociated with the wrong higher clades. The sheer size of thegroup, and until the last 30 or so years, lack of accessibleidentification materials, has been a further impediment to researchon all but a handful of ‘lab rat’ species usuallycultured initially because of their potential in biologicalcontrol. New evidence, largely in the form of molecular data, have shownthat many morphological, behavioural, physiological and anatomicalcharacters associated with basic life history features,specifically whether wasps are ecto- or endoparasitic, or idiobiontor koinobiont, can be grossly misleading in terms of the phylogenythey suggest. This book shows how, with better supportedphylogenetic hypotheses entomologists can understand far more aboutthe ways natural selection is acting upon them. This new book also focuses on this superfamily with which theauthor has great familiarity and provides a detailed coverage ofeach subfamily, emphasising anatomy, taxonomy andsystematics, biology, as well as pointing out the importance andresearch potential of each group. Fossil taxa are included and italso has sections on biogeography, global species richness, culturing and rearing andpreparing specimens for taxonomic study. The book highlights areaswhere research might be particularly rewarding and suggestssystems/groups that need investigation. The author provides a largecompendium of references to original research on each group. Thisbook is an essential workmate for all postgraduates and researchersworking on ichneumonoid or other parasitic wasps worldwide. It willstand as a reference book for a good number of years, and whilerapid advances in various fields such as genomics and hostphysiological interactions will lead to new information, as anoverall synthesis of the current state it will stay relevant for along time.
This publication is the result of a course on identification of Hymenoptera given three times since 1985 at the Centre for Land and Biological Resources Research. The considerable interest in these courses indicated the need for a comprehensive identification guide to all extant families of Hymenoptera. The main emphasis is on family identification using the keys, which are complemented by family sketches. The sketches include a taxonomic diagnosis to supplement the keys, a summary of the biology, the size and distribution, and important literature references.
The Ichneumonoidea is a vast and important superfamily of parasitic wasps, with some 60,000 described species and estimated numbers far higher, especially for small-bodied tropical taxa. The superfamily comprises two cosmopolitan families - Braconidae and Ichneumonidae - that have largely attracted separate groups of researchers, and this, to a considerable extent, has meant that understanding of their adaptive features has often been considered in isolation. This book considers both families, highlighting similarities and differences in their adaptations. The classification of the whole of the Ichneumonoidea, along with most other insect orders, has been plagued by typology whereby undue importance has been attributed to particular characters in defining groups. Typology is a common disease of traditional taxonomy such that, until recently, quite a lot of taxa have been associated with the wrong higher clades. The sheer size of the group, and until the last 30 or so years, lack of accessible identification materials, has been a further impediment to research on all but a handful of ‘lab rat’ species usually cultured initially because of their potential in biological control. New evidence, largely in the form of molecular data, have shown that many morphological, behavioural, physiological and anatomical characters associated with basic life history features, specifically whether wasps are ecto- or endoparasitic, or idiobiont or koinobiont, can be grossly misleading in terms of the phylogeny they suggest. This book shows how, with better supported phylogenetic hypotheses entomologists can understand far more about the ways natural selection is acting upon them. This new book also focuses on this superfamily with which the author has great familiarity and provides a detailed coverage of each subfamily, emphasising anatomy, taxonomy and systematics, biology, as well as pointing out the importance and research potential of each group. Fossil taxa are included and it also has sections on biogeography, global species richness, culturing and rearing and preparing specimens for taxonomic study. The book highlights areas where research might be particularly rewarding and suggests systems/groups that need investigation. The author provides a large compendium of references to original research on each group. This book is an essential workmate for all postgraduates and researchers working on ichneumonoid or other parasitic wasps worldwide. It will stand as a reference book for a good number of years, and while rapid advances in various fields such as genomics and host physiological interactions will lead to new information, as an overall synthesis of the current state it will stay relevant for a long time.
Divided into three parts, this resource first expands on the origin and implementation of the Emerging Researcher Program (ERP), complemented by critical reflections of the program's first four years. The second and third parts examine the seminar and supervision training programs that constitute core ERP business. These latter selections are based on material developed for and presented at seminars and workshops. Participants in the ERP will gain insight into many program details and understand it as an adaptable model to address many situations both within South Africa and in the broader African context.
