Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Type: Article
Published: 2026-09-11
Page range: 107-124
Abstract views: 338
PDF downloaded: 18

Mysterious males of Pelecinidae (Hymenoptera, Proctotrupoidea) from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber

Paleontological Institute; Russian Academy of Sciences; 123 Profsoyuznaya St.; Moscow 117647; Russia
Paleontological Institute; Russian Academy of Sciences; 123 Profsoyuznaya St.; Moscow 117647; Russia
Hymenoptera Eopelecinus new species new genus fossil wasps Burmese amber

Abstract

A new species of pelecinid wasp, Peleciserphus minaevi gen. et sp. nov., is described from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber. The genus Stelepelecinus Guo, Shih et Ren, 2016 is synonymous with Eopelecinus Zhang, Rasnitsyn et Zhang, 2002 and a new combination, Eopelecinus longus (Guo, Shih et Ren, 2016) comb. nov., is established. A new species, Eopelecinus christophi sp. nov., is described from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber based on a male inclusion. A new name, Eopelecinus wangae nom. nov., is established for Stelepelecinus minutus Wang, Shih et Gao, 2024. A key to all Eopelecinus males is provided. The segmentation features of the male metasoma of some pelecinids are discussed.

References

  1. Abe, J. & Mita, T. (2026) Phylogenetic reconstruction of Proctotrupinae (Hymenoptera: Proctotrupidae). Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny, 84, 343–370. https://doi.org/10.3897/asp.84.e175149
  2. Aguiar, A.P. (1997) Mating behavior of Pelecinus polyturator (Hymenoptera: Pelecinidae). Entomological News, 108 (2), 117–121.
  3. Bennett, A.M.R. (2003) Host location behavior in Pelecinus polyturator (Hymenoptera: Pelecinidae). Journal of the Entomological Society of Ontario, 134, 131–134.
  4. Blaimer, B.B., Santos, B.F., Cruaud, A., Gates, M.W., Kula, R.R., Mikó, I., Rasplus, J.-Y., Smith, D.R., Talamas, E.J., Brady, S.G. & Buffington, M.L. (2023) Key innovations and the diversification of Hymenoptera. Nature Communications, 14, 1212. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36868-4
  5. Brues, C.T. (1933) The parasitic Hymenoptera of the Baltic Amber. Bernstein Forschungen, 3, 4–178.
  6. Duan, Y. & Cheng, S.L. (2006) A new species of Pelecinidae (Insecta, Hymenoptera, Proctotrupoidea) from the Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of western Liaoning. Acta Palaeontologica Sinica, 45, 393–398.
  7. Engel, M.S. (2002) The fossil pelecinid Pelecinopteron tubuliforme Brues in Baltic amber (Hymenoptera: Pelecinidae). Journal of Hymenoptera Research, 11, 5–11.
  8. Engel, M.S. & Grimaldi, D.A. (2006) A diminutive pelecinid wasp in Cretaceous amber from New Jersey (Hymenoptera: Pelecinidae). Northeastern Naturalist, 13 (2), 291–297. https://doi.org/10.1656/1092-6194(2006)13[291:ADPWIC]2.0.CO;2
  9. Engel, M.S., Herhold, H.W. & Barden, P. (2022) A proctotrupid wasp in Lebanese Lower Cretaceous amber (Hymenoptera: Proctotrupidae). Palaeoentomology, 5 (5), 439–444. https://doi.org/10.11646/palaeoentomology.5.5.4
  10. Feng, H., Shih, C.K., Ren, D. & Liu, C.X. (2010) New male pelecinid wasps (Hymenoptera: Pelecinidae) from the Yixian formation of western Liaoning (China). Geologica Carpathica, 61, 463–468. https://doi.org/10.2478/v10096-010-0028-x
  11. Greenwalt, D.E. & Engel, M.S. (2014) A diminutive pelecinid wasp from the Eocene Kishenehn Formation of northwestern Montana (Hymenoptera: Pelecinidae). Novitates Paleoentomologicae, 8, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.17161/np.v0i8.4750
  12. Guo, L.C., Shih, C.K., Li, L.F. & Ren, D. (2016a) New pelecinid wasps (Hymenoptera: Pelecinidae) from the Yixian Formation of western Liaoning, China. Cretaceous Research, 61, 151–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2016.01.009
  13. Guo, L.C., Shih, C.K., Li, L.F. & Ren, D. (2016b) New pelecinid wasps (Hymenoptera: Pelecinidae) from Upper Cretaceous Myanmar amber. Cretaceous Research, 67, 84–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2016.07.003
  14. Heraty, J., Ronquist, F., Carpenter, J.M., Hawks, D., Schulmeister, S., Dowling, A.P., Murray, D., Munro, J., Wheeler, W.C., Schiff, N. & Sharkey, M. (2011) Evolution of the hymenopteran megaradiation. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 60 (1), 73–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2011.04.003
  15. ICZN (1999) International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Fourth Edition. The International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature, London, UK, 306 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.50608
  16. Johnson, N.F. & Musetti, L. (1999) Revision of the proctotrupoid genus Pelecinus Latreille (Hymenoptera: Pelecinidae). Journal of Natural History, 33, 1513–1543. https://doi.org/10.1080/002229399299879
  17. Johnson, N.F., Musetti, L., Johnson, J.B. & Katovich, K. (1999) The larva of Pelecinus polyturator (Drury) (Hymenoptera: Pelecinidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 101, 64–68.
  18. Jouault, C., Ngô-Muller, V., Pouillon, J. & Nel, A. (2020) Taxonomic additions to the pelecinid wasps (Hymenoptera: Pelecinidae) of the ‘mid-Cretaceous’ Burmese amber. Cretaceous Research, 114, 104505. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104505
  19. Jouault, C. (2021) Mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber pelecinid wasps (Hymenoptera: Pelecinidae) support the hypothesis of an Asian origin of the family. Annales de Paleontologie, 107, 102464. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annpal.2020.102464
  20. Klopfstein, S., Vilhelmsen, L., Heraty, J.M., Sharkey, M. & Ronquist, F. (2013) The hymenopteran tree of life: evidence from protein-coding genes and objectively aligned ribosomal data. PLoS One, 8 (8), e69344. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0069344
  21. Kozlov, M.A. (1974) An early cretaceous ichneumon of the family Pelecinidae (Hymenoptera: Pelecinoidea). Paleontological Journal, 7, 136–138.
  22. Liu, C.X., Shih, C.K. & Ren, D. (2009) The earliest fossil record of the wasp subfamily Pelecininae (Hymenoptera: Proctotrupoidea: Pelecinidae) from the Yixian Formation of China. Zootaxa, 2080 (1), 47–54. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.2080.1.4
  23. Liu, C.X., Gao, T.P., Shih, C.K. & Ren, D. (2011) New pelecinid wasps (Hymenoptera: Proctotrupoidea: Pelecinidae) from the Yixian Formation of western Liaoning, China. Acta Geologica Sinica, 85, 749–757. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-6724.2011.00480.x
  24. Masner, L. (1993) Superfamily Proctotrupoidea. In: Goulet, H. & Huber, J.T. (Eds.), Hymenoptera of the World: An Identification Guide to Families. Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, pp. 537–557.
  25. Mason, W.R.M. (1984) Structure and movement of the abdomen of female Pelecinus polyturator (Hymenoptera: Pelecinidae). The Canadian Entomologist, 116, 419–426. https://doi.org/10.4039/Ent116419-3
  26. Naumann, I.D. & Masner, L. (1985) Parasitic wasps of the proctotrupoid complex: a new family from Australia and a key to world families (Hymenoptera: Proctotrupoidea sensu lato). Australian Journal of Zoology, 33, 761–783. https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO9850761
  27. Rasnitsyn, A.P. (1980) The origin and evolution of the Hymenoptera. Trudy Paleontologicheskogo Instituta, 174, 1–192. [in Russian]
  28. Rasnitsyn, A.P. (1986) Vespida (= Hymenoptera). Trudy sovmestnoy sovetsko-mongol’skoy paleontologicheskoy ekspeditsii, 28, 154–164. [in Russian]
  29. Rasnitsyn, A.P. (2008) Hymenopterous insects (Insecta: Vespida) in the Upper Jurassic deposits of Shar Teg, SW Mongolia. Russian Entomological Journal, 17, 299–310.
  30. Rasnitsyn, A.P., Jarzembowski, E.A. & Ross, A.J. (1998) Wasps (Insecta: Vespida = Hymenoptera) from the Purbeck and Wealden (Lower Cretaceous) of southern England and their biostratigraphical and palaeoenvironmental significance. Cretaceous Research, 19, 329–391.
  31. Rasnitsyn, A.P. & Öhm-Kühnle, C. (2020) Taxonomic revision of the infraorder Proctotrupomorpha (Hymenoptera). Palaeoentomology, 3 (3), 223–234. https://doi.org/10.11646/palaeoentomology.3.3.2
  32. Rasnitsyn, A.P., Kolyada, V., Vorontsov, D.D. & Öhm-Kühnle, C. (2022) The first Proctotrupidae (Hymenoptera) in Burmese amber, with description of a new genus and species. Palaeoentomology, 5 (5), 445–451. https://doi.org/10.11646/palaeoentomology.5.5.5
  33. Ronquist, F., Rasnitsyn, A.P., Roy, A., Eriksson, K. & Lindgren, M. (1999) Phylogeny of the Hymenoptera: a cladistic reanalysis of Rasnitsyn's (1988) data. Zoologica Scripta, 28 (1–2), 13–50. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1463-6409.1999.00023.x
  34. Sharkey, M.J., Carpenter, J.M., Vilhelmsen, L., Heraty, J., Liljeblad, J., Dowling, A.P.G., Schulmeister, S., Murray, D., Deans, A.R., Ronquist, F., Krogmann, L. & Wheeler, W.C. (2012) Phylogenetic relationships among superfamilies of Hymenoptera. Cladistics, 28, 80–112. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-0031.2011.00366.x
  35. Shih, C.K., Liu, C.X. & Ren, D. (2009) The earliest fossil record of pelecinid wasps (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Proctotrupoidea: Pelecinidae) from Inner Mongolia, China. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 102, 20–38. https://doi.org/10.1603/008.102.0103
  36. Shih, C.K., Feng, H., Liu, C.X., Zhao, Y. & Ren, D. (2010) Morphology, phylogeny, evolution, and dispersal of pelecinid wasps (Hymenoptera: Proctotrupoidea: Pelecinidae) over 165 million years. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 103, 875–885. https://doi.org/10.1603/AN09043
  37. Sidorchuk, E.A. & Vorontsov, D.D. (2018) Preparation of small-sized 3D amber samples: state of the technique. Palaeoentomology, 1 (1), 80–90. https://doi.org/10.11646/palaeoentomology.1.1.10
  38. Solorzano-Kraemer, M.M., Peñalver, E., Herbert, M.C.M., Delclòs, X., Brown, B.V., Aung, N.N. & Peretti, A.M. (2023) Necrophagy by insects in Oculudentavis and other lizard body fossils preserved in Cretaceous amber. Scientific Reports, 13, 2907, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-29612-x
  39. Tian, X., Rasnitsyn, A.P., Li, L. & Yang, J. (in press) Eopelecinus reviewed, with a new pelecinid wasp from mid-Cretaceous Myanmar amber (Hymenoptera, Pelecinidae).
  40. Townes, H. & Townes, M. (1981) A revision of the Serphidae (Hymenoptera). Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute, 32, 1–541. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24336
  41. Uchida, K. (2023) New taxa of Pelecinidae (Hymenoptera) from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. PalZ, 98, 175–190. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-023-00663-9
  42. Wang, Z., Yang, Y., Shih, C., Ren, D. & Gao, T. (2024) New pelecinid wasps from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber, northern Myanmar (Hymenoptera: Pelecinidae). Cretaceous Research, 156, 105809. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2023.105809
  43. Yoder, M.J., Mikó, I., Seltmann, K.C., Bertone, M.A. & Deans, A.R. (2010) A gross anatomy ontology for Hymenoptera. PLoS ONE, 5, e15991. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0015991
  44. Zhang, H.C., Rasnitsyn, A.P. & Zhang, J.F. (2002) Pelecinid wasps (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Proctotrupoidea) from the Yixian Formation of western Liaoning, China. Cretaceous Research, 23, 87–98. https://doi.org/10.1006/cres.2002.0301
  45. Zhang, H.C. & Rasnitsyn, A.P. (2004) Pelecinid wasps (Insecta, Hymenoptera, Proctotrupoidea) from the Cretaceous of Russia and Mongolia. Cretaceous Research, 25, 807–825. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2004.08.002
  46. Zhang, J.F. (2005) Eight new species of the genus Eopelecinus (Hymenoptera: Proctotrupoidea: Pelecinidae) from the Laiyang Formation, Shandong Province, China. Paleontological Journal, 39, 417–427.
  47. Zhang, J.F. & Rasnitsyn, A.P. (2006) New extinct taxa of Pelecinidae sensu lato (Hymenoptera: Proctotrupoidea) in the Laiyang Formation, Shandong, China. Cretaceous Research, 27, 684–688. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2006.03.001
  48. Zhang, Y.M., Bossert, S. & Spasojevic, T. (2025) Evolving perspectives in Hymenoptera systematics: Bridging fossils and genomes across time. Systematic Entomology, 50 (1), 1–31. https://doi.org/10.1111/syen.12645

How to Cite

Chemyreva, V.G. & Kolyada, V.A. (2026) Mysterious males of Pelecinidae (Hymenoptera, Proctotrupoidea) from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber. Zootaxa, 5878 (1), 107–124. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5878.1.5