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Descriptions, Ecological Associations And Predictive Species Distribution Models Of New Species Of Psilochalcis Kieffer (Hymenoptera; Chalcididae) Occurring In Utah's Eastern Great Basin, Mark J. Petersen

Theses and Dissertations

The genus Psilochalcis, of the Family Chalcididae, was originally described in 1905 by Kieffer. Mainly considered an Old-World taxon, the first North American Psilochalcis were not identified until 1981 by Grissell and Schauff. Little is known about the species distributions, biologies and ecological relationships of these parasitic wasps. This dissertation describes research conducted in central Utah setting arrays of Malaise traps in 4 different habitat types common to the Great Basin at three separate locations. A result of this sampling revealed a high abundance of multiple species of Psilochalcis wasps, particularly from one location and two habitat types. Chapter 1 …