Notes on the genus Mama Belokobylskij (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Euphorinae), and on the use of monotype taxa

The genus Mama Belokobylskij, 2000 (Braconidae; Euphorinae) is re-assessed and the type species is compared with three similar species: Microctonus cephalicus Provancher, 1886, Microctonus reclinator Ruthe, 1856, and Euphorus spiniscapus Muesebeck, 1936. The results are discussed in relation to the use of taxa based on one specimen (“monotype taxa”). Problems concerning our knowledge of important groups of Euphorinae are outlined. The context of the peculiarly tangled taxonomical situation, which this paper deals with, is considered to be widespread in parasitoid taxonomy, and should be borne in mind in current studies of parasitoid biodiversity assessment.