The subfamily Epyrinae is the most common in the bethylid fossil record. Its geological history ranges from the Eocene to the Pleistocene, and it is the only subfamily that has no records in the Cretaceous. Here we revise, diagnose and illustrate known epyrine fossil wasps. A new genus is proposed, †Gloxinius Colombo & Azevedo gen. nov., to contain the species †Gloxinius bifossatus (Brues, 1939 Brues, C. T. 1939. New Oligocene Braconidae and Bethylidae from Baltic amber. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 31, 251–263. doi:10.1093/aesa/32.2.251 [Crossref] , [Google Scholar] ) comb. nov., transferred from Epyris Westwood, 1832 Westwood, J. O. 1832. Descriptions of several new British forms amongst the parasitic hymenopterous insects. The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, 1, 127–129. doi:10.1080/14786443208647849 [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar] . The species †Chlorepyris concaptus (Brues, 1933 Brues, C. T. 1933. The parasitic Hymenoptera of the Baltic amber. Part I. Bernstein-Forschungen, 3, 4–172. [Google Scholar] ) comb. nov., †Chlorepyris invelatus (Brues, 1933 Brues, C. T. 1933. The parasitic Hymenoptera of the Baltic amber. Part I. Bernstein-Forschungen, 3, 4–172. [Google Scholar] ) comb. nov. and †Chlorepyris setosus (Brues, 1933 Brues, C. T. 1933. The parasitic Hymenoptera of the Baltic amber. Part I. Bernstein-Forschungen, 3, 4–172. [Google Scholar] ) comb. nov. are transferred from Epyris Westwood, 1832 Westwood, J. O. 1832. Descriptions of several new British forms amongst the parasitic hymenopterous insects. The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, 1, 127–129. doi:10.1080/14786443208647849 [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar] to Chlorepyris Kieffer, 1913a Kieffer, J. J. 1913a. Nouveaux microhyménoptères de l'Afrique équatoriale. Bollettino del Laboratorio di Zoologia Generale e Agraria della R. Scuola Superiore d'Agricultura, 7, 105–112. doi:10.5281/zenodo.23805 [Crossref] , [Google Scholar] . Three species are transferred from Epyris Westwood, 1832 Westwood, J. O. 1832. Descriptions of several new British forms amongst the parasitic hymenopterous insects. The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, 1, 127–129. doi:10.1080/14786443208647849 [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar] to Pristocerinae: †Merascylla Colombo & Azevedo gen. nov. is proposed to contain †Merascylla atavella (Cockerell, 1920 Cockerell, T. D. A. 1920. Fossil arthropods in the British Museum, I. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 5, 273–279. doi:10.1080/00222932008632376 [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar] ) comb. nov., and †Pseudisobrachium elatus (Brues, 1933 Brues, C. T. 1933. The parasitic Hymenoptera of the Baltic amber. Part I. Bernstein-Forschungen, 3, 4–172. [Google Scholar] ) comb. nov. and †Pseudisobrachium inhabilis (Brues, 1923 Brues, C. T. 1923. Some new fossil parasitic Hymenoptera from Baltic amber. Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 58, 327–346. doi:10.2307/20025999 [Crossref] , [Google Scholar] ) comb. nov. are transferred to Pseudisobrachium Kieffer, 1904a Kieffer, J. J. 1904a. Descriptions de nouveaux Dryinidae et Bethylidae du Musée Civique de Gênes. Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di genova, 41, 351–412. [Google Scholar] . One species is transferred from Epyris Westwood, 1832 Westwood, J. O. 1832. Descriptions of several new British forms amongst the parasitic hymenopterous insects. The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, 1, 127–129. doi:10.1080/14786443208647849 [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar] to Scleroderminae: †Mael Colombo & Azevedo gen. nov. is proposed to contain †Mael longiceps (Brues, 1923 Brues, C. T. 1923. Some new fossil parasitic Hymenoptera from Baltic amber. Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 58, 327–346. doi:10.2307/20025999 [Crossref] , [Google Scholar] ) comb. nov. Ten new species are described from Baltic and Rovno ambers: †Chlorepyris deploegi Colombo & Azevedo sp. nov., †Chlorepyris engeli Colombo & Azevedo sp. nov., †Chlorepyris hopei Colombo & Azevedo sp. nov., †Chlorepyris jouaulti Colombo & Azevedo sp. nov., †Chlorepyris mckellari Colombo & Azevedo sp. nov., †Chlorepyris meunieri Colombo & Azevedo sp. nov., †Chlorepyris neli Colombo & Azevedo sp. nov., †Chlorepyris perrichoti Colombo & Azevedo sp. nov., †Holepyris rasnitsyni Colombo & Azevedo sp. nov. and †Holepyris terayamai Colombo & Azevedo sp. nov. The species †Laelius nudipennis Brues, 1933 Brues, C. T. 1933. The parasitic Hymenoptera of the Baltic amber. Part I. Bernstein-Forschungen, 3, 4–172. [Google Scholar] is no longer classified as Bethylidae and it is transferred to Platygastroidea incertae sedis. Eighty-one fossil species are now recognized in Bethylidae, with 30 belonging to Epyrinae and distributed within six genera. A key for fossil epyrines is provided. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank:org:pub:A7481392-3BD2-45F3-A035-34E515A34218

Genitalia are rich source of characters in insect taxonomy. Usually, they are examined after dissection and cleaning with potassium hydroxide (KOH), procedure that may damage both genital morphological structures and intracellular molecular contents. Enzymatic procedure with Proteinase K has been used to clean muscle off the genitalia while extract DNA, but its damage to the genital structures has not been evaluated. Herein, we qualitatively compare the use of KOH and Proteinase K to prepare genital structures in minute insects (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae). We show that Proteinase K is better to preserve the genital structure and provides quality DNA.

Spider wasps (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) constitute a monophyletic family supported by numerous morphological and behavioural traits. The subfamilial an

It is difficult to make reliable sex associations in several species of Hymenoptera due to sexual dimorphism. Only a few species of the flat wasp genus Dissomphalus Ashmead, 1893 have had their sexes associated, since females are rarely collected and differ morphologically from their conspecific males. Collecting couples during their phoretic copula is difficult, but it is the most reliable way to associate the sexes in Dissomphalus . Herein, we associate the sexes and discuss the mating system based on couples of six Dissomphalus species collected during copulation: D. bisserratus Azevedo, 1999, D. connubialis Evans, 1966, D. rettenmeyeri Evans, 1964, D. simulatus (Evans, 1969), comb. nov., D. mendicus Evans, 1969, and D. firmus Redighieri & Azevedo, 2006. The females of the latter three are described for the first time. The distribution of two species is expanded. Apenesia simulata Evans, 1969 is transferred to Dissomphalus and is now D. simulatus comb. nov. Finally, we briefly discuss the genital structures used during phoretic copulation, analyzing the male and female genitalia in copulation. During copulation, the mating female is attached to the male only by the genitalia and is apparently grasped by muscles attached to the male's metasoma.

This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the author(s) and published by Polskiej Akademii Nauk, Instytut Paleobiologii. The published article can be found at: http://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app000732014.htmlSpider wasps had long been proposed to originate in the mid-Cretaceous based on the\ud Burmese amber fossil Bryopompilus interfector Engel and Grimaldi, 2006. We performed\ud a morphological examination of this fossil and determined it does not belong to\ud Pompilidae or any other described hymenopteran family. Instead, we place it in the new\ud family Bryopompilidae. The oldest verifiable member of the Pompilidae is from Baltic\ud amber, which suggests the family probably originated in the Eocene, not in the\ud mid-Cretaceous as previously proposed. The origin of spider wasps appears to be\ud correlated with an increase in spider familial diversity in the Cenozoic. We also we add\ud two genera to the extinct pompilid fauna: Tainopompilus gen. nov., and Paleogenia gen. nov.,\ud and describe three new species of fossil spider wasps: Anoplius planeta sp. nov., from\ud Dominican amber (Burdigalian to Langhian); Paleogenia wahisi sp. nov., from Baltic amber\ud (Lutetian to Priabonian); and Tainopompilus argentum sp. nov, from Dominican amber (Chattian to\ud Langhian)