A revision of the Wood wasp genus Sirex Linnaeus, 1760 [1761] (Hymenoptera: Siricoidea: Siricidae) in China

Sirex wood wasps (Hymenoptera: Siricidae) constitute a group of economically significant xylophagous pests that cause substantial damage to forestry globally. Herein, we present a systematic revision of the Chinese Sirex species. Through phylogenetic analyses, some taxonomic ambiguities were resolved.

Sirex chimera sp. nov. is described (type locality: Chifeng, Inner Mongolia). Two new synonyms are proposed: S. rufiabdominis Xiao & Wu, 1983 and S. sinicus Maa, 1949 are synonymized with S. nitobei. S. dux (Semenov, 1921) stat. rev. is confirmed as a distinct species rather than a subspecies of S. juvencus or S. cyaneus, with the male described for the first time.

Re-examination confirms that previous Chinese records of S. imperialis represent misidentifications of S. nitobei. The Chinese Sirex fauna is revised to comprise nine valid species: S. chimera sp. nov., S. dux, S. ermak, S. juvencus, S. nitobei, S. noctilio, S. piceus, S. tianshanicus, and S. vates. Comprehensive re-descriptions and a key to species are provided.