A world review of the bristle fly parasitoids of webspinners

Background Dipteran parasitoids of Embioptera (webspinners) are few and extremely rare but known from all biogeographical regions except Australasia/Oceania. All belong to the fly family Tachinidae, a hyperdiverse and widespread clade of parasitoids attacking a variety of arthropod orders. Results The webspinner-parasitizing Diptera are reviewed based mostly on records from the collecting and rearing by Edward S. Ross. A new genus is erected to accommodate a new Afrotropical species, Embiophoneus rossi gen. et sp. nov. The genus Perumyia Arnaud is reviewed and a new species, Perumyia arnaudi sp. nov., is described from Central America while P. embiaphaga Arnaud is redescribed and new host records are given. A new species of Phytomyptera Rondani, P. woodi sp. nov., is described from Myanmar, representing the first report of a member of this genus obtained from webspinners. The genus Rossimyiops Mesnil is reviewed, R. longicornis (Kugler) is redescribed and R. aeratus sp. nov., R. fuscus sp. nov. and R. rutilans sp. nov. are newly described from the Oriental Region, and an updated key to species is given. Conclusions Webspinners were probably colonized independently at least four times by tachinids shifting from other hosts, most likely Lepidoptera.

Automated summary

Dipteran parasitoids of Embioptera have been found in all biogeographical regions except Australasia/Oceania, and they all belong to the hyperdiverse and widespread fly family Tachinidae. The paper reviewed Diptera species parasitizing webspinners, with a new genus and several new species described. Multiple colonization events of webspinners by different tachinid species were likely independent, originating from hosts such as Lepidoptera.