The Darwin wasps (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) of Burmese amber

Abstract

Three new genera and five new species of Darwin wasps (Ichneumonidae) are described from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese (Kachin) amber: Heteropimpla pulverulenta sp. nov., Rasnichneumon alexandri gen. et sp. nov., R. gracilis sp. nov., Heteroichneumon rasnitsyni gen. et sp. nov., and Rogichneumon braconidicus gen. et sp. nov. The genus Heteropimpla is transferred to Novichneumoninae. The subfamily Novichneumoninae, comprising 6 genera with 8 species, is endemic to Burmese amber, and no other subfamilies of Ichneumonidae are known in the Burmese assemblage. Ichneumonids are extremely rare in Burmese amber, as well as in other Cretaceous amber faunas. However, nine known specimens represent nine different species (one is not formally described due to poor preservation), indicating a serious paleontological record gap for Burmese Darwin wasps.