Molecular Weevil Identification Project: A thoroughly curated barcode release of 1300 Western Palearctic weevil species (Coleoptera, Curculionoidea)

Three new species of flightless Cryptorhynchinae from the Caucasus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Three new weevil species, Kyklioacalles ocellus Stüben & Astrin, sp. nov., Onyxacalles gibbosus Stüben & Astrin, sp. nov., and Echinodera borjomiensis Stüben & Astrin, sp. nov. are described from the Caucasus (Georgia, Armenia, and Russia) and are distinguished from related species based on morphological and molecular data. The new taxa are included in a phylogram and a CO1 distance matrix is given including the closest species from the Caucasus and the eastern mediterranean region. Acalles reitteri Meyer, 1896 is transferred to the genus Kyklioacalles as Kyklioacalles reitteri (Meyer, 1896) comb. n. based on both morphological and molecular evidence.

First Report of Polydrusus tibialis Gyllenhal (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Infesting Peaches in Northern Greece

Peach [Prunus persica (L [...].

The era of cybertaxonomy: X-ray microtomography reveals cryptic diversity and concealed cuticular sculpture in Aphanerostethus Voss, 1957 (Coleoptera, Curculionidae)

Weevils represent one of the most speciose and economically important animal clades, but remain poorly studied across much of the Oriental Region. Here, an integrative revision of the Oriental, flightless genus Aphanerostethus Voss, 1957 (Curculionidae: Molytinae) based on X-ray microtomography, multi-gene DNA barcoding (CO1, Cytb, 16S), and traditional morphological techniques (light microscopy, dissections) is presented. Twelve new species, namely, A.armatus Lewis & Kojima, sp. nov., A.bifidus Kojima & Lewis, sp. nov., A.darlingi Lewis, sp. nov., A.decoratus Lewis & Kojima, sp. nov., A.falcatus Kojima, Lewis & Fujisawa, sp. nov., A.incurvatus Kojima & Lewis, sp. nov., A.japonicus Lewis & Kojima, sp. nov., A.magnus Lewis & Kojima, sp. nov., A.morimotoi Kojima & Lewis, sp. nov., A.nudus Lewis & Kojima, sp. nov., A.spinosus Lewis & Kojima, sp. nov., and A.taiwanus Lewis, Fujisawa & Kojima, sp. nov. are described from Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Malaysia. A neotype is designated for A.vannideki Voss, 1957. The hitherto monotypic genus Darumazo Morimoto & Miyakawa, 1985, syn. nov. is synonymized under Aphanerostethus based on new morphological data and Aphanerostethusdistinctus (Morimoto & Miyakawa, 1985), comb. nov. is transferred accordingly. X-ray microtomography is successfully used to explore for stable interspecific differences in cuticular, internal and micro morphology. Remarkable species-specific sexual dimorphism in the metatibial uncus is described in seven of the newly described Aphanerostethus species and the evolution of this character is discussed.

Scratching the tip of the iceberg: integrative taxonomy reveals 30 new species records of Microgastrinae (Braconidae) parasitoid wasps for Germany, including new Holarctic distributions

Substantial parts of the European and German insect fauna still remain largely unexplored, the so-called "dark taxa". In particular, midges (Diptera) and parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera) are abundant and species-rich throughout Europe, yet are often neglected in biodiversity research. One such dark taxon is Microgastrinae wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a group of parasitoids of lepidopteran caterpillars with 252 species reported in Germany so far. As part of the German Barcode of Life Project GBOL III: Dark Taxa, reverse DNA barcoding and integrative taxonomic approaches were used to shed some light on the German Fauna of Microgastrinae wasps. In our workflow, DNA barcoding was used for molecular clustering of our specimens in a first step, morphological examination of the voucher specimens in a second step, and host data compared in a third step. Here, 30 species are reported for the first time in Germany, adding more than 10% to the known German fauna. Information for four species is provided in a new Holarctic context, reporting them for the Nearctic or, respectively, Palaearctic region, and 26 additional country records are added from sequenced material available in the collections accessible to us. Molecular clusters that show signs of discrepancies are discussed. Results show that we are just scratching the tip of the iceberg of the unexplored Microgastrinae diversity in Germany.