ALAPTUS Westwood, 1839

(Figs 31–60)

Alaptus Westwood, 1839: 79 . Type species: Alaptus minimus Westwood, 1839, by monotypy.

Parvulinus Mercet, 1912: 332 . Type species: Parvulinus auranti Mercet, 1912, by monotypy. Synonymy by Girault, 1913 [127]: 221.

Metalaptus Malenotti, 1917: 339 . Type species: Metalaptus torquatus Malenotti, 1917, by monotypy. Synonymy by Girault 1917 [330]: 1.

Diagnosis. Body length 205–555 μm; 210–580 μm in Triapitsyn (2017). Antenna with funicle 5-segmented (Figs 35, 36), exceptionally with a minute additional segment between fu 1 and fu 2 (Fig. 33); supraorbital trabecula with alternating sclerotized and unsclerotized sections (Figs 32, 34, 41); mandible with 2 teeth (Figs 47, 48); head posteriorly with curved horizontal sulcus medially above foramen (Fig. 44); fore wing posterior margin with an abrupt, recurved notch behind venation and, thereafter, posterior margin almost straight and gradually diverging from anterior margin (Fig. 39) almost to wing apex; petiole much wider than long and almost indistinguishable from propodeum or gt 1 (Figs 49, 50, 54); mesophragma projecting into gaster; gt 1 longitudinally divided medially (Fig. 40). Male with flagellum 8-segmented (Fig. 37).

Discussion. Alaptus belongs to the Alaptus group of genera, together with Callodicopus, Dicopomorpha, Dico- pus and Litus . Its species are among the smallest Mymaridae in the Nearctic; only some Camptoptera, Dicopus and Dicopomorpha species are as small.

Nearctic hosts. Psocoptera. Despite the numerous records from species of Hemiptera (Coccoidea) catalogued by Peck (1951, 1963), Thompson (1958), Herting (1972), and Noyes (2019) additional, careful rearings are needed to be sure of the associations. Triapitsyn (2017) listed only Psocoptera as reliable host records.

Important reference. Triapitsyn (2017).