E. gladiatrix subgroup

Recognition. All E. gladiatrix subgroup species have four thoracic vittae on both the presutural and postsutural area of the thorax (e.g., Figs 1F–I, 5–20), but otherwise species vary widely in appearance. Females of three species, E. charapensis, E. falcata sp. nov., and E. fordlandia sp. nov., have the end tergite fused at base and apically forked (Figs 113–115), a characteristic also shared by the E. ferox subgroup. The remainder of E. gladiatrix subgroup species have paired female end tergites, which range in length relative to the length of the piercer (e.g., Figs 116–120).

Relationships and ecology. This subgroup includes the majority of known E. ferox group species; species for which sequence data is available are well supported as a clade (Fig. 1). As in the E. kopis sp. nov. subgroup, the average distance between E. gladiatrix subgroup species (0.0236) is much lower than the distance between the E. kopis sp. nov. and E. gladiatrix subgroups (0.04). They are unified by their ecology, as all known hosts of the E. gladiatrix subgroup are Crambidae caterpillars. Several species, including E. strigata, E. aurata, and E. woodorum sp. nov., appear to be closely related, as females of these species possess short piercers (Figs 95, 103) and the male cercus is bent at mid length (Figs 140, 148, 150). Total data suggest that all Nearctic E. ferox group species belong to the E. gladiatrix subgroup, although genetic data from the key species E. texana is missing. Furthermore, the deep nesting of these species within the otherwise entirely Neotropical clade (Fig. 1) suggests that the E. ferox group likely originated in the tropics and later dispersed to the temperate zone.