Calonecrinae represent a unique but small subfamily of Nitidulidae that is endemic to South Asia. Their habitats, the South Asian lowland forests, are under the imminent threat of degradation, posing a risk of rapid extinction for these species in their specific locales. Despite the looming threat to their existence, our understanding of this enigmatic group remains limited. We conducted an examination of museum and newly collected specimens, alongside a review of the literature, leading to the discovery of a new species, Calonecrus mindanaoensis, from Mindanao, Philippines. For the first time, the morphology of all immature stages of the Calonecrinae was described, with detailed photographs including SEM images. Additionally, their natural history was uncovered for the first time, revealing that all life stages are uniquely adapted to spending their entire life cycle within sticky resin. We re-evaluated the phylogenetic placement of the Calonecrinae by constructing a phylogenetic tree based on the mitochondrial genome. Calonecrinae are positioned within the Epuraeinae clade and show significant affinity with the genus Trimenus. Consequently, this study proposes reclassifying Calonecrinae as Calonecrini stat nov, an extremely modified tribe within the Epuraeinae.

• Min Hyeuk Lee(Insect Biosystematics Laboratory, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Korea, National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Korea)
• Seunghyun Lee(Insect Biosystematics Laboratory, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Korea, Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China)
• Josef Jelínek(Department of Entomology, National Museum, Horní Počernice, Czech Republic)
• Richard A. B. Leschen(New Zealand Arthropod Collection, Auckland, New Zealand)
• Ming Bai(Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China)
• Seunghwan Lee(Insect Biosystematics Laboratory, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Korea, Research Institute for Agricultural and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Korea)