New species of belytine and diapriine wasps (Hymenoptera: Diapriidae) from Eocene Baltic amber

Abstract

The fossil diversity of Diapriidae in Baltic amber, dated Upper Eocene, has been poorly investigated. However, some studies suggest that this family was already diversified at this time. This is supported by our present study of the Baltic amber collection of the Natural History Museum of Denmark, from which we describe and figure ten new species belonging to the subfamilies Belytinae: Belyta knudhoejgaardi sp. nov., Cinetus breviscapus sp. nov., Cinetus elongatus sp. nov., Pantoclis globosa sp. nov., Pantolyta augustinusii sp. nov., Pantolyta chemyrevae sp. nov., Pantolyta similis sp. nov.; and Diapriinae: Basalys villumi sp. nov., Doliopria baltica sp. nov. and Spilomicrus succinalis sp. nov. The diversity of extant genera observed leads us to propose an origin in the early Cenozoic for these taxa. The fossil record of the Diapriidae in Baltic amber is also summarized.