One must imagine Sisyphus happy: Integrative taxonomic characterization of 22 new Ceroptres species (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Ceroptresini).

We describe new species in the genus Ceroptres Hartig, 1840 (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Ceroptresini) represented by voucher material sequenced by Ward et al. (2024). We describe 22 new species, all authored by Nastasi, Smith, & Davis: C.

Stronger interspecific sexual differences may be favored when females search for mates in the presence of congeners.

Why are some species sexually dimorphic while other closely related species are not? While all females in genus share a multiply-banded wing pattern typical of many other true fruit flies, males of four species have noticeably elongated wings with banding patterns "coalesced" into a continuous dark streak across much of the wing. We take an integrative phylogenetic approach to explore the evolution of this dimorphism and develop general hypotheses underlying the evolution of wing dimorphism in flies. We find that the origin of coalesced and other darkened male wing patterns correlate with the inferred origin of host plant sharing in While wing shape among non-host-sharing species tended to be conserved across the phylogeny, shapes of male wings for species sharing the same host plant were more different from one another than expected under Brownian models of evolution and overall rates of wing shape change differed between non-host-sharing species and host-sharing species.

Speciation in kleptoparasites of oak gall wasps often correlates with shifts into new tree habitats, tree organs, or gall morphospace.

Host shifts to new plant species can drive speciation for plant-feeding insects, but how commonly do host shifts also drive diversification for the parasites of those same insects? Oak gall wasps induce galls on oak trees and shifts to novel tree hosts and new tree organs have been implicated as drivers of oak gall wasp speciation. Gall wasps are themselves attacked by many insect parasites, which must find their hosts on the correct tree species and organ, but also must navigate the morphologically variable galls with which they interact. Thus, we ask whether host shifts to new trees, organs, or gall morphologies correlate with gall parasite diversification.

The Arthropod Associates of 155 North American Cynipid Oak Galls.

The identities of most arthropod associates of cynipid-induced oak galls in the western Palearctic are generally known. However, a comprehensive accounting of associates has been performed for only a small number of the galls induced by the estimated 700 species of cynipid gall wasps in the Nearctic. This gap in knowledge stymies many potential studies of diversity, coevolution, and community ecology, for which oak gall systems are otherwise ideal models.

Speciation in Nearctic oak gall wasps is frequently correlated with changes in host plant, host organ, or both.

Quantifying the frequency of shifts to new host plants within diverse clades of specialist herbivorous insects is critically important to understand whether and how host shifts contribute to the origin of species. Oak gall wasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Cynipini) comprise a tribe of ∼1000 species of phytophagous insects that induce gall formation on various organs of trees in the family Fagacae-primarily the oaks (genus Quercus; ∼435 sp.).

Delimiting the cryptic diversity and host preferences of Sycophila parasitoid wasps associated with oak galls using phylogenomic data.

Cryptic species diversity is a major challenge regarding the species-rich community of parasitoids attacking oak gall wasps due to a high degree of sexual dimorphism, morphological plasticity, small size and poorly known biology. As such, we know very little about the number of species present, nor the evolutionary forces responsible for generating this diversity. One hypothesis is that trait diversity in the gall wasps, including the morphology of the galls they induce, has evolved in response to selection imposed by the parasitoid community, with reciprocal selection driving diversification of the parasitoids.

Sensitivities to Chill Durations and No-Chill Temperatures Regulating Eclosion Responses Differ Between Rhagoletis zephyria (Diptera: Tephritidae) and its Braconid Parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Braconidae).

Seasonal temperatures select for eclosion timing of temperate insects and their parasitoids. In western North America, the fruit fly Rhagoletis zephyria Snow (Diptera: Tephritidae) is parasitized by the hymenopterous wasps Utetes lectoides (Gahan), an egg parasite, and Opius downesi Gahan, a larval parasite (both Braconidae). Eclosion of wasps should be timed with the presence of susceptible fly stages, but reports indicate U.

Amino acid-derived bisphenolate palladium complexes as C-C coupling catalysts.

A series of amine bisphenol (ABP) pro-ligands featuring amino acid ester pendant arms were prepared. Optimisation of the synthetic method allowed the facile incorporation of naturally occurring, chiral amino acids into the ABP scaffold with minimal racemisation. Reaction of the pro-ligands (LH) with Pd(OAc), in the presence of amines, led to the formation of complexes with an unprecedented pincer-like O,N,O coordination mode around the Pd centre.

Contrast in Post-Chill Eclosion Time Strategies Between Two Specialist Braconid Wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) Attacking Rhagoletis Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Western North America.

Parasitoids comprise a speciose insect group, displaying a wide array of life history strategies. In the Pacific Northwest of the United States, the tephritid fruit flies Rhagoletis tabellaria (Fitch) and Rhagoletis indifferens Curran infest red osier dogwood, Cornus sericea L. (Cornaceae), and bitter cherry, Prunus emarginata (Douglas ex Hooker) Eaton (Rosaceae), respectively.

Description of the new species (Hymenoptera, Diapriidae), a pupal parasitoid of Marcovitch (Diptera, Tephritidae), and revised partial keys to Nearctic Say.

A new species of the parasitic wasp Say was previously distinguished from other species via correspondence between ecological (host) differences and DNA barcodes. A description and figures for , along with revisions to existing keys that allow it to be distinguished from other Nearctic species without the aid of molecular characters, is provided in this work.

Host shifting and host sharing in a genus of specialist flies diversifying alongside their sunflower hosts.

Congeneric parasites are unlikely to specialize on the same tissues of the same host species, likely because of strong multifarious selection against niche overlap. Exceptions where >1 congeneric species use the same tissues reveal important insights into ecological factors underlying the origins and maintenance of diversity. Larvae of sunflower maggot flies in the genus Strauzia feed on plants in the family Asteraceae.

Genome of the Parasitoid Wasp Diachasma alloeum, an Emerging Model for Ecological Speciation and Transitions to Asexual Reproduction.

Parasitoid wasps are among the most speciose animals, yet have relatively few available genomic resources. We report a draft genome assembly of the wasp Diachasma alloeum (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a host-specific parasitoid of the apple maggot fly Rhagoletis pomonella (Diptera: Tephritidae), and a developing model for understanding how ecological speciation can "cascade" across trophic levels. Identification of gene content confirmed the overall quality of the draft genome, and we manually annotated ∼400 genes as part of this study, including those involved in oxidative phosphorylation, chemosensation, and reproduction.

A keeper of many crypts: a behaviour-manipulating parasite attacks a taxonomically diverse array of oak gall wasp species.

Parasites of animals and plants can encounter trade-offs between their specificity to any single host and their fitness on alternative hosts. For parasites that manipulate their host's behaviour, the added complexity of that manipulation may further limit the parasite's host range. However, this is rarely tested.

Sex loss in insects: causes of asexuality and consequences for genomes.

Boasting a staggering diversity of reproductive strategies, insects provide attractive models for the comparative study of the causes and consequences of transitions to asexuality. We provide an overview of some contemporary studies of reproductive systems in insects and compile an initial database of asexual insect genome resources. Insect systems have already yielded some important insights into various mechanisms by which sex is lost, including genetic, endosymbiont-mediated, and hybridization.

Quantifying the unquantifiable: why Hymenoptera, not Coleoptera, is the most speciose animal order.

Background: We challenge the oft-repeated claim that the beetles (Coleoptera) are the most species-rich order of animals. Instead, we assert that another order of insects, the Hymenoptera, is more speciose, due in large part to the massively diverse but relatively poorly known parasitoid wasps. The idea that the beetles have more species than other orders is primarily based on their respective collection histories and the relative availability of taxonomic resources, which both disfavor parasitoid wasps.

Anatomy of a Neotropical insect radiation.

Background: Much evolutionary theory predicts that diversity arises via both adaptive radiation (diversification driven by selection against niche-overlap within communities) and divergence of geographically isolated populations. We focus on tropical fruit flies (Blepharoneura, Tephritidae) that reveal unexpected patterns of niche-overlap within local communities. Throughout the Neotropics, multiple sympatric non-interbreeding populations often share the same highly specialized patterns of host use (e.

Retention of Core Meiotic Genes Across Diverse Hymenoptera.

The cellular mechanisms of meiosis are critical for proper gamete formation in sexual organisms. Functional studies in model organisms have identified genes essential for meiosis, yet the extent to which this core meiotic machinery is conserved across non-model systems is not fully understood. Moreover, it is unclear whether deviation from canonical modes of sexual reproduction is accompanied by modifications in the genetic components involved in meiosis.

Description of a new species of Haliday from the southeastern United States (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea, Eulophidae): the crypt-keeper wasp.

A new species of the genus Haliday, , is described and illustrated from the southeastern United States, where it parasitizes the crypt gall wasp, Ashmead, 1896, on live oaks in the genus Quercus (subsection Virentes). This is the 1 species of the genus reported from the southeastern United States to parasitize cynipid gall wasps and the 3 species of the genus reported to attack cynipids in North America. Modified sections of the identification keys to subgenera and species of (Yoshimoto, 1971) are included to integrate the new species.

Tales from the crypt: a parasitoid manipulates the behaviour of its parasite host.

There are many examples of apparent manipulation of host phenotype by parasites, yet few examples of hypermanipulation-where a phenotype-manipulating parasite is itself manipulated by a parasite. Moreover, few studies confirm manipulation is occurring by quantifying whether the host's changed phenotype increases parasite fitness. Here we describe a novel case of hypermanipulation, in which the crypt gall wasp Bassettia pallida (a phenotypic manipulator of its tree host) is manipulated by the parasitoid crypt-keeper wasp Euderus set, and show that the host's changed behaviour increases parasitoid fitness.

Revisiting the particular role of host shifts in initiating insect speciation.

The notion that shifts to new hosts can initiate insect speciation is more than 150 years old, yet widespread conflation with paradigms of sympatric speciation has led to confusion about how much support exists for this hypothesis. Here, we review 85 insect systems and evaluate the relationship between host shifting, reproductive isolation, and speciation. We sort insects into five categories: (1) systems in which a host shift has initiated speciation; (2) systems in which a host shift has made a contribution to speciation; (3) systems in which a host shift has caused the evolution of new reproductive isolating barriers; (4) systems with host-associated genetic differences; and (5) systems with no evidence of host-associated genetic differences.

Sequential divergence and the multiplicative origin of community diversity.

Phenotypic and genetic variation in one species can influence the composition of interacting organisms within communities and across ecosystems. As a result, the divergence of one species may not be an isolated process, as the origin of one taxon could create new niche opportunities for other species to exploit, leading to the genesis of many new taxa in a process termed "sequential divergence." Here, we test for such a multiplicative effect of sequential divergence in a community of host-specific parasitoid wasps, Diachasma alloeum, Utetes canaliculatus, and Diachasmimorpha mellea (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), that attack Rhagoletis pomonella fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae).

Chilling and Host Plant/Site-Associated Eclosion Times of Western Cherry Fruit Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) and a Host-Specific Parasitoid.

The western cherry fruit fly, Rhagoletis indifferens Curran (Diptera: Tephritidae), is an endemic herbivore of bitter cherry, Prunus emarginata (Douglas ex Hooker) Eaton, but ∼100 years ago established on earlier-fruiting domesticated sweet cherry, Prunus avium (L.) L. Here, we determined if eclosion times of adult R.

Urban land use decouples plant-herbivore-parasitoid interactions at multiple spatial scales.

Intense urban and agricultural development alters habitats, increases fragmentation, and may decouple trophic interactions if plants or animals cannot disperse to needed resources. Specialist insects represent a substantial proportion of global biodiversity and their fidelity to discrete microhabitats provides a powerful framework for investigating organismal responses to human land use. We sampled site occupancy and densities for two plant-herbivore-parasitoid systems from 250 sites across a 360 km2 urban/agricultural landscape to ask whether and how human development decouples interactions between trophic levels.

Lethal interactions between parasites and prey increase niche diversity in a tropical community.

Ecological specialization should minimize niche overlap, yet herbivorous neotropical flies (Blepharoneura) and their lethal parasitic wasps (parasitoids) exhibit both extreme specialization and apparent niche overlap in host plants. From just two plant species at one site in Peru, we collected 3636 flowers yielding 1478 fly pupae representing 14 Blepharoneura fly species, 18 parasitoid species (14 Bellopius species), and parasitoid-host associations, all discovered through analysis of molecular data. Multiple sympatric species specialize on the same sex flowers of the same fly host-plant species-which suggests extreme niche overlap; however, niche partitioning was exposed by interactions between wasps and flies.

Ecological adaptation and reproductive isolation in sympatry: genetic and phenotypic evidence for native host races of Rhagoletis pomonella.

Ecological speciation with gene flow may be an important mode of diversification for phytophagous insects. The recent shift of Rhagoletis pomonella from its native host downy hawthorn (Crataegus mollis) to introduced apple (Malus domestica) in the northeastern United States is a classic example of sympatric host race formation. Here, we test whether R.