The original description of Parandricus mairei Kieffer, 1906 included a misinterpretation of a relevant forewing trait. The species was subsequently transferred to the genus Andricus, despite presenting two very peculiar morphological characters, namely a simple tarsal claw and the absence of irradiating carinae on the lower face. Similarly, the original descriptions of Andricus deqingis Wang, Gui, Chen, 2013 and A. flavus Pujade-Villar, Wang, Guo Chen, 2014 included some relevant mistakes. Here, we present the results of a molecular analysis that reveals that individuals of the three species are genetically very similar; supporting the proposal that A. mairei is a senior synonym of the other two species, A. deqingis n. syn. and A. flavus n. syn. In addition, our results indicate that Parandricus renders Andricus paraphyletic, which supports that Parandricus is a junior synonym of Andricus. We re-describe and illustrate the relevant characters of A. mairei and provide additional comments on the characters erroneously interpreted in the former descriptions and give notes about the biology and intraspecific variability.
Keywords: Hymenoptera, Parandricus, Andricus, mairei, deqingis, flavus, morphology, taxonomy, phylogeny, China.