New genus and five new species of heat-tolerant tiphiid wasps from Western Australia (Hymenoptera: Tiphiidae: Thynninae)

Abstract

Thynnine wasps are a dominant part of the Australian insect fauna. They are parasites of soil-dwelling scarab-beetle larvae. These wasps are found during the spring and summer months and some are active during the hottest hours of the summer day. The new genus Beithynnus, from Western Australia, is one of these heat-tolerant groups. The genus is based on the new species B. sulfureus, and four additional new species, B. amplus, B. moorensis, B. multimaculatus, and B. tinkeri.