Twelve new species of Dipara Walker, 1833 (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea, Pteromalidae, Diparinae) from Kenya, with a key to the Afrotropical species

Abstract

Based on 261 female specimens of the genus Dipara Walker, 1833 from leaf litter samples of the Kakamega Forest in Kenya, we describe the following twelve new species: Diparaandreabalzerae sp. nov., Diparacorona sp. nov., Diparafastigata sp. nov., Diparakakamegensis sp. nov., Diparalux sp. nov., Diparanigroscutellata sp. nov., Diparanyani sp. nov., Diparareticulata sp. nov., Dipararodneymulleni sp. nov., Diparasapphirus sp. nov., Diparatenebra sp. nov., and Diparatigrina sp. nov. For Diparaalbomaculata (Hedqvist, 1963) and Diparanigrita Hedqvist, 1969, we give new distribution records. We examined the available type material of all described Dipara species from the Afrotropical mainland, i.e., Diparaalbomaculata (Hedqvist, 1963), Diparamachadoi (Hedqvist, 1971), Diparamaculata (Hedqvist, 1963), Diparanigrita Hedqvist, 1969, Diparapallida (Hedqvist, 1969), Diparapunctulata (Hedqvist, 1969), Diparasaetosa (Delucchi, 1962), Diparastraminea (Hedqvist, 1969), Diparastriata (Hedqvist, 1969), and Diparaturneri Hedqvist, 1969. We provide figures, descriptions, and diagnoses of the newly described species and figures and diagnoses of the ten known species as well as an identification key to all species of the Afrotropical mainland.

Keywords: Morphometry; parasitoid wasps; taxonomy.