Biodiversity of Monodontomerus wasps

It’s estimated that 50% of all known species are a plant, a phytophagous insect or its natural enemy. These “tri-trophic chains” hold importance due to their vital role in agriculture, such as in the pollination of crops. Natural enemies such as parasitoid wasps are thought to play a major part in structuring these systems, but a lack of taxonomic literature has impeded research in this area.

Here we describe several wasps in the genus Monodontomerus, parasitoids of important native bees such as Osmia. We examine the morphological characteristics of Monodontomerus specimens from the western Nearctic region; species limits are established and host ranges are provided.