Genes and stings! A molecular phylogeny of the parasitoid wasp subfamily epyrinae (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae)

In this study, the subfamily Epyrinae (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae) was analyzed using molecular phylogenetics. Epyrinae is the largest subfamily of the Bethylidae, a parasitoid wasp family containing about 2,500 species that attack Coleoptera and Lepidoptera, including known agricultural pests like the navel orangeworm Amyelois transitella. In Alencar and Azevedo (2013), Epyrinae (sensu Evans) was phylogenetically analyzed for the first time with a 391-character morphological matrix in an attempt to redefine the subfamily and its tribes based on synapomorphies. Epyrinae was found to be nonmonophyletic, although two of its tribes, Epyrini and Sclerodermini, were monophyletic and raised to subfamily status. Still, Epyrinae contained several large genera that were found to be paraphyletic. These genera, like Epyris, which is the largest genus in the subfamily, likely contain numerous wastebasket taxa. Chlorepyris was also paraphyletic, and the positions of several other genera were questionable.  Here, Epyrinae (sensu Alencar and Azevedo) was analyzed using molecular phylogenetics in order to examine the status of these questionable genera. Sequences for mitochondrial 16S and COI rRNA and nuclear 18S and 28S rRNA were collected. These sequences were then phylogeneticlly analyzed using maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood methods.