New fossil Stylops (Strepsiptera: Stylopidae) from Dominican amber

ABSTRACT

Description of a new species of the genus Stylops from Dominican amber expands the number of families of this order represented by fossils of the mid-Eocene in the Neotropical region. The specimen described herein is reasonably well preserved, except for the tip of the abdomen that hampered observation of the aedeagus. The specimen fits definition of the comtemporary genus Stylops and differs from a related species, Jantarostylops kinzelbachi Kulicka, from Baltic amber, by the larger number of ommatidia, relative proportion of antennal segments, and venation of hind wings. The specimen differs from other contemporary species of Nearctic Stylops in, among other characters, the smaller size, sub-costa detached from costa and maxillary structure. Discovery of this fossil species of Stylops provides evidence of a possibly more temperate climate in the Antilles, since most contemporary species of the genus occur predominantly in the temperate zones of the Nearctic, Palearctic, and Oriental regions. All known species of the genus parasitize bees of the genus Andrena ( sensu lato). Existence of a fossil andrenid, Protandrena eickworti Rozen Jr, of the same Dominican amber, offers evidence of a potential host for this new species of Stylops.