Cales (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea): morphology of an enigmatic taxon with a review of species
2011
MOTTERN, JASON L. | HERATY, JOHN M. | HARTOP, EMILY
Calesinae is a small group of Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera) that are parasitoids of whiteflies (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae). One species, Cales noacki Howard, has been introduced from South America into citrus‐growing regions of North America, the Mediterranean and Africa for biological control. The remaining species are found in Australia and New Zealand: a classic Gondwanan disjunction. The subfamily consists of a single genus, Cales, which is currently unplaced within Chalcidoidea. Its taxonomic position has historically been unstable, although most often Cales is associated with Aphelinidae. Here, we present a detailed morphological study of the group with an emphasis on Australian species. Although Cales shares many characteristics with Aphelinidae, especially Coccophaginae and Eretmocerus, more studies of character systems across Chalcidoidea are needed to determine which features may be synapomorphic. Consequently, we leave Cales incertae sedis within Chalcidoidea. We also describe a new species from New Zealand, Cales berryisp.n., reared from the whitefly Asterochiton pittospori on lemonwood, Pittosporum eugenioides, and we present a key and review the four known species of Cales.
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