The Afrotropic region is one of the least studied -although some work was done in the mid 20th century by several researchers, but not much progress has been done since. We will be posting here some of our research on several interesting areas, starting with Madagascar.
Based on specimens we have seen in collections, it appears thar the Afrotropic is the less diverse among all tropical areas (both the Neotropic and Oriental regions seem to have many more genera and species of Microgastrinae). But the amount of described species in the world tropics is so low (we estimate that just 5 % of the tropical species of microgastrines have been described so far) that is too early for especulations about diversity patterns.
Nevertheless, there are a number of interesting and unique genera in the Afrotropic, and as more studies on the region advance, a clearer picture would hopefully emerge.