Redescription of Prochas theclae Walkley, 1959 (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae) with additional new records for the genus in the Neotropical region

The Campopleginae wasp genus Prochas Walkley, 1959 is a small genus with three of its five described species found in the Neotropical region: P. brasiliensis Onody & Penteado-Dias, 2015, P. shimborii Onody & Penteado-Dias, 2015, and P. theclae Walkley, 1959. In this study, we expand the knowledge of the distribution and morphology of all three Neotropical Prochas species. We examined and analyzed specimens from various entomological collections, providing new distributional records and morphological data.

To date, Prochas theclae has only been recorded from its type locality in Trinidad. Herein we record the first continental record for P. theclae, with new occurrences in eight Brazilian states, as well as additional records for P. brasiliensis in Brazil and Argentina, and P. shimborii in Colombia. The rediscovery of P. theclae across a continental range, along with the analysis of its morphological variation, provides an updated and more robust diagnosis of the species and refines the taxonomic knowledge of Prochas in the Neotropical region.