title: Revision of the genus Pseudapanteles (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae), with emphasis on the species in Area de Conservación Guanacaste, northwestern Costa Rica.
abstract: Pseudapanteles is a moderately diverse genus of Microgastrinae parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), endemic to the New World and with the vast majority of its species (including many undescribed) in the Neotropical region. We describe here 25 new species from Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG), northwestern Costa Rica, based on 400 studied specimens. A key to all 36 known species of Pseudapanteles is provided (except for Pseudapantelesbrunneus, only known from a single male), and species are placed in three newly created species-groups. Host records are known for only 25% of the species; most are solitary parasitoids of the caterpillars of several families of small Lepidoptera (Crambidae, Elachistidae, Gelechiidae, Incurvariidae, Sesiidae, Tineidae). DNA barcodes (part of the CO1 gene) were obtained for 30 species (83%), and provide a start for future study of the genus beyond ACG. Brief descriptions (generated by Lucid 3.5 software) and extensive illustrations are provided for all species. The following new taxonomic and nomenclatural acts are proposed: Pseudapantelesmoerens (Nixon, 1965), comb. n., Pseudapantelesbrunneus Ashmead, 1900, comb. rev., a lectotype is designated for Pseudapantelesruficollis (Cameron, 1911), and the following 25 species nova of Pseudapanteles (all authored by Fernández-Triana and Whitfield): alfiopivai, alvaroumanai, analorenaguevarae, carlosespinachi, carlosrodriguezi, christianafigueresae, hernanbravoi, jorgerodriguezi, josefigueresi, laurachinchillae, luisguillermosolisi, margaritapenonae, mariobozai, mariocarvajali, maureenballesteroae, munifigueresae, oscarariasi, ottonsolisi, pedroleoni, raulsolorzanoi, renecastroi, rodrigogamezi, rosemarykarpinskiae, soniapicadoae, teofilodelatorrei.
authors.affiliation: Canadian National Collection of Insects, 960 Carling Ave., Ottawa, ON K1A 0C6 Canada ; Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1 Canada.
authors.forename: Jose L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Fernández-Triana
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6018 USA.
authors.forename: Daniel H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Janzen
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6018 USA.
authors.forename: Winnie
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hallwachs
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801 USA.
authors.forename: James B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Whitfield
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1 Canada.
authors.forename: M Alex
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Systematic Entomology Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, c/o National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, P.O. Box 37012, MRC-168, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kula
keywords: Area de Conservación Guanacaste; DNA barcoding; Lucid software; Microgastrinae; New World; Pseudapanteles; caterpillars; host species; parasitoid wasps; taxonomic review