Revision of Telothyria van der Wulp (Diptera: Tachinidae) and twenty-five new species from Area de Conservación Guanacaste in northwestern Costa Rica with a key to Mesoamerican species

Abstract

Background We describe 25 new species in the genus Telothyria van der Wulp, 1890 from Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) in northwestern Costa Rica. All species herein described were reared from an ongoing inventory of wild-caught caterpillars spanning two families (Lepidoptera: Crambidae, and Tortricidae). Our study provides a concise description of each new species using morphology, life history, molecular data, and photographic documentation; a redescription of the genus, and its type species as well as a revised key to species of Telothyria occurring in the Mesoamerican region. We also suggest seven new synonymies resulting in 11 new combinations.