Reclassification of Bracon mendocinus, a gall‐associated doryctine wasp, and description of a new closely related species of Allorhogas (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

Abstract

One of the first reported gall‐associated braconids, from 1910, Bracon mendocinus Kieffer and Jörgensen, is removed from the subfamily Braconinae and transferred to the doryctine genus Allorhogas, A. mendocinus (Kieffer and Jörgensen) comb. nov. A new species morphologically similar to A. mendocinus, A. joergenseni Martinez and Zaldivar‐Riverón sp. nov., is also described. Additionally a neotype is designated for B. mendocinus Kieffer and Jörgensen. We base our conclusions on the morphological examination of recently collected specimens from central Argentina associated with galls on Lycium chilense (Solanaceae), as well as on the DNA variation at 28S ribosomal RNA and cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) mitochondrial DNA genes.

Keywords:

• Doryctinae
• Allorhogas
• galls
• Lycium chilense
• new combination
• new species
• barcoding

Acknowledgements

We thank David Smith and David Furth (United States National Museum and Smithsonian Institution) for the loan of the type material of Allorhogas rugosus. Arturo Roig‐Alsina and two anonymous reviewers provided very helpful comments on earlier versions of the manuscript. Graciela Alfonso and Aníbal Prina helped with the botanical identifications. We also thank Sonia Miciano for translating the original description in German. This study was supported by a doctoral grant given by Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) to J.J.M. We also thank the Ministry of Education and Science (Spain) for contracts “Juan de la Cierva” and “Ramón y Cajal” to A.Z.R. and A.G.S., respectively, and for laboratory funding through Plan Nacional I+D (CGL2005‐00307) to A.G.S. Bioportal (University of Oslo) provided computing facilities.