The superfamily Ceraphronoidea represents more than 600 described species in 32 genera worldwide. Modern ceraphronoidea taxa are present in all habitats except for arctic regions, and are most diverse and abundant in the wet forests of the tropics and subtropics, similar to many other parasitic Hymenoptera. Ceraphronoid wasps are minute, measuring 0.5–4.3 mm. The greatly reduced wing venation of Ceraphronoidea with only one, relatively thick, distally interrupted marginal vein and a curved, mostly elongated stigmal vein is perhaps the most useful diagnostic character of the superfamily. Most ceraphronoid wasps are parasitoids of entomophagous insects. The host range of Ceraphronoidea is large, and encompasses at least eight orders: Diptera, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Thysanoptera, Mecoptera, Homoptera, Trichoptera and Neuroptera. Pteroceraphron is a very peculiar ceraphronoid genus that is represented by only one nearctic species, P. mirabilipennis (Fig. 1). Based on the literature, the genus occurs in Ontario, Canada. Here, for the first time, we report specimens collected in the USA including one specimen from Jackson, NC.

Pteroceraphron mirabilipennis differs from all other ceraphronoid wasps in the presence of elongate marginal setae (Fig. 2) on the posterior margin of the spatulate fore wing (Fig. 2). Beside the diagnostic wing characters the combination of the enlarged last flagellomere (Fig. 3), the bifurcated anteromedian process of the propodeum-metanotum complex (Fig. 4) and the presence of three longitudinal carinae on the first metasomal tergum (Fig. 4) make this species easy to separate from other Ceraphronoidea taxa, even if the wings are lost.

The biology of Pteroceraphron mirabilipennis is unknown.

Pteroceraphron mirabilicornis specimens have been collected in oak forests both in Ontario and Georgia. However, the single specimen from North Carolina was collected in a bald cypress swamp.

Pteroceraphron mirabilipennis specimens have been collected in Ontario, Georgia, Illinois and North Carolina.
The phylogeny of Ceraphronoidea is one of the major projects of the Deans lab at the Insect Museum. We are trying to get freshly collected representatives of all ceraphronoid genera to build a robust phylogenetic tree for the superfamily. Unfortunately, we do not have GPS coordinates for NC specimen of Pteroceraphron mirabilipennis; we only know that the specimen was collected 7km South of Jackson, Northampton Co. Does anybody know a bald cypress swamp 7km South of Jackson?

• Dessart P (1995b) 8.5 Ceraphronidae. Pages 199–203 in Hanson, P and ID Gauld. Hymenoptera of Costa Rica. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 893 pp.
• Dessart P, Cancemi P (1987) Tableau dichotomique des genres de Ceraphronoidea (Hymenoptera) avec commentaries et nouvelles espèces. Frustula Entomologica 7-8: 307–372.
• Dessart P (1981) Genres, espèces et sexe nouveaux d’Hyménoptères Ceraphronoidea . Bulletin de l’Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique 53: 1–21.
• Pteroceraphron mirabilipennis Dessart, 1981. Encyclopedia of Life, available from “http://www.eol.org/pages/592829”. Accessed 23 Sep 2010.