Revision of the Cales noacki species complex (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea, Aphelinidae)

The genus Cales (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) includes 13 species worldwide, of which 10 form a highly morphologically uniform species complex with a native range in the Neotropical region. We recognize ten species previously attributed to a single Neotropical species, Cales noacki Howard, which in the strict sense is a species broadly disseminated to control woolly whitefly. A neotype is designated for C. noacki, and it is redescribed based on specimens molecularly determined to be conspecific with the neotype. Newly described species include: C. bicolor Mottern, n.sp., C. breviclava Mottern, n.sp., C. brevisensillum Mottern n.sp., C. curvigladius Mottern, n.sp., C. longiseta Mottern, n.sp., C. multisensillum Mottern n.sp., C. noyesi Mottern, n.sp., C. parvigladius Mottern, n.sp. and C. rosei Mottern, n.sp. Species are delimited based on a combination of morphological and molecular data (28S-D2 rDNA and COI). Additional specimens are included in the phylogenetic analyses and although these likely represent several new species, we lack sufficient specimen sampling to describe them at this time. Cales are highly morphologically conserved and character-poor, resulting in several cryptic species. A molecular phylogeny of the known Neotropical species based on 28S-D2-5 rDNA and a 390-bp segment of COI is included, and identification keys to males and females are provided. This published work has been registered in ZooBank, .