Contribution to the phylogeny of Microgastrinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) based on mitochondrial COI and nuclear 28S rDNA genes, with comments on the identity of Pholetesor circumscriptus (Nees, 1834)

Microgastrines are diverse group of endoparasitoid wasps attacking caterpillars (Lepidoptera). Despite their importance in biological control, there is still no consensus concerning the phylogeny relationships among taxa. Although previous phylogenetic analyses have advanced the overall understanding of phylogenetic relationships of Microgastrinae, the small numbers of sampled taxa have led to disagreement in taxonomic assignments. In the present study, we performed a molecular genetic survey using both mitochondrial and nuclear data, increasing the taxons’ sampling, to clarify the generic relationships and improve the inferences of the taxonomic status within Microgastrinae. We reconstructed a phylogenomic tree of Microgastrinae with sequences that exist up till now, from fifty-five genera for COI and thirty genera for 28S rDNA, both new and from previous studies. Several species and genera have been sequenced for the first time. In this study, we identified some of the closest phylogenetic relatives of Microgastrinae genera by analyzing DNA sequences from the mitochondrial COI and 28S rDNA. Most clades of the current findings correspond to the latest morphological classification of Microgastrinae. New clades and several well-supported clades, conform to the most previously recorded clades and provide an increased understanding of the Microgastrinae evolution. Based on molecular examination, Pholetesor psedocircumscriptus Abdoli, 2019 is synonymized with Pholetesor circumscriptus (Nees, 1834).