Resurrection of Neocardiochiles Szépligeti, 1908 (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Cardiochilinae) with descriptions of five new species from the Neotropical region

Abstract

Neocardiochiles Szépligeti, 1908, is a rare Neotropical genus of the subfamily Cardiochilinae Ashmead, 1900. The genus was previously synonymized with Heteropteron Brullé, 1846 by Dangerfield et al. (1999). In this study, we examined multiple specimens of Heteropteron-related genera: Heteropteron, Neocardiochiles, and Wesmaelella Spinola, 1851, and resurrect Neocardiochiles as a valid genus based on morphological data. As a result, five new species, N. alexeyi Kang, sp. nov. from Ecuador, N. franki Kang, sp. nov. from Costa Rica, N. braeti Kang, sp. nov., N. chriscarltoni Kang, sp. nov., and N. victoriae Kang, sp. nov., from French Guiana are included as members of Neocardiochiles and described based on morphological and molecular data. Additionally, four species previously included in Heteropteron are transferred to Neocardiochiles: Neocardiochiles fasciipennis Szépligeti, 1908, comb. nov., Neocardiochiles hasegawai (Dabek & Whitfield, 2020) comb. nov., Neocardiochiles kidonoi (Dabek & Whitfield, 2020), comb. nov., and Neocardiochiles whitfieldi (Mercado, 2003), comb. nov.. Diagnosis of each taxon and both traditional and interactive identification keys to Neocardiochiles species are included. Molecular data of N. alexeyisp. nov., N. chriscarltonisp. nov., N. victoriaesp. nov., and N. hasegawaii (Dabek & Whitfield, 2020), are also provided.