2024/10/28 by Ronald Zuñiga, Alejandro Valerio, Paul Hanson +3 · 1 voice · 1 citation
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Environmental Science · #Forest Insect Ecology and Management #Hymenoptera taxonomy and phylogeny #Lepidoptera: Biology and Taxonomy
paper · doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5529.3.5
openalex publication_date 2024/10/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
As a consequence of COI barcoding hundreds of reared specimens of what appeared to be Leurus caeruliventris, a parasitoid of leaf-rolling Crambidae (Lepidoptera) from the Area de Conservación Guanacaste, northwestern Costa Rica, and matching them with their host caterpillars and morphological traits, we describe ten new sympatric species and redescribe L. caeruliventris. The new species, authored by Zuñiga & Valerio, are: Leurus billeberhardi, L. henrytownesi, L. hugokonsi, L. iangauldi, L. jesusugaldei, L. marjorietownesae, L. maryjanewestae, L. pammitchellae, L. sondrawardae, and L. wahli. We also provide an illustrated key to the eleven species and an ecological glimpse into the lives of these very similar wasp species.