Proctotrupoidea currently comprises a loose assemblage of families that may or may not be related, and the superfamily is therefore difficult to define morphologically as a cohesive unit. The wasps in these families generally share the following characteristics:

• not metallic (usually black/brown to yellow in color)
• strongly sclerotized
• antennae with consistent flagellomere numbers
• no placoid sensilla present
• metasomal segment II is the longest segment
• ovipositor is housed internally or, if external, protected by heavily sclerotized sheaths

These families also vary widely in their host preference and developmental strategies, and most are parasitoids of other insects:

• beetle larvae (Pelecinidae, Vanhorniidae, and most Proctotrupidae)
• flies (Diapriidae, Monomachidae, some Proctotrupidae)
• sawfly larvae (Roproniidae)
• lacewing larvae (Heloridae)

One thrust of the PCC phylogenetics project is to determine whether these families make sense phylogenetically and how this phylogeny explains what we know about their host relationships, their evolutionary histories, and the biogeographic patterns we observe today in these wasps. These lineages have never been examined using modern phylogenetic methods, and what we know about their relationships to one another is based on hypothetical or intuitive tree diagrams (see figure above; based on Kozlov, 1970 and Townes & Townes, 1981).

We are trying to acquire specimens (exemplar taxa listed below) for rigorous morphological- and DNA-based analyses.

PROCTOTRUPIDAE Proctotrupinae Apoglypha Brachyserphus Codrus Disogmus Exallonyx Phaenoserphes Proctotrupes Heloriserphinae Heloriserphus Austroserphinae Austroserphus albofasciatus Austrocodrus

VANHORNIIDAE Vanhornia eucnemidarum AUSTRONIIDAE Austronia nitida MONOMACHIDAE Monomachus antipodalis Other Monomachus ROPRONIIDAE Ropronia garmani Xiphyropronia tianmushiensis HELORIDAE Helorus

PERADENIIDAE Peradenia clavipes PROCTORENYXIDAE Proctorenyxa PELECINIDAE Pelecinus polyturator MAAMINGIDAE Maaminga DIAPRIIDAE Ismarinae Ismarus

Belytinae Belyta Aclista Stylaclista Diapriinae Chilomicrus Coptera Spilomicrus Poecilopsilus Pentapria Idiotypa Entomacis Neurogalesus Ambositrinae Ambositra Diphoropria Pantolytomyia

Kozlov, M. A. 1970. Supergeneric groups of the Proctotrupoidea (Hymenoptera). Entomological Review (Entomologicheskoe Obozrenie) 49 (1): 115-127. [English translation of original Russian text]

Townes, H. K. & M. Townes. 1981. A revision of the Serphidae (Hymenoptera). Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 32: i-iv+1-541.