Helegonatopus, Perkins, 1906

Noyes, John Stuart, 2023, ENCYRTIDAE OF COSTA RICA (HYMENOPTERA: CHALCIDOIDEA), 4 Subfamily Encyrtinae: tribes Arrhenophagini, Habrolepidini, Cerapterocerini, Cheiloneurini, Trechnitini, Cercobelini, Polaszekiini, Protyndarichoidini, Gahaniellini and Syrphophagini (part), mainly primary parasitoids and hyperparasitoids of Coccoidea and Psylloidea (Hemiptera), Taxonomic Monographs on Neotropical Hymenoptera (Oxford, England) 2 (11), pp. 1-921 : 152-154

Genus HELEGONATOPUS Perkins

Helegonatopus Perkins, 1906:257 . Type species: Helegonatopus pseudophanes Perkins by monotypy.

Chalcerinys Perkins, 1906:258 . Type species: Chalcerinys eximia Perkins , by monotypy. Synonymy with Helegonatopus by Noyes & Hayat (1984:283).

Schedioides Mercet, 1919:96 . Type species: Schedioides formosus Mercet , by monotypy. Synonymy with Helegonatopus Perkins by Szelényi (1972:350).

Euchalcerinys Timberlake. 1922:161 . Type species: Euchalcerinys apicicornis Timberlake , by original designation and monotypy. Synonymy with Helegonatopus by Noyes & Hayat (1984:283).

Hazmburkia Hoffer, 1954:172 . Type species: Hazmburkia dimorpha Hoffer , by original designation. Synonymy with Helegonatopus by Szelényi (1972:350).

Masencyrtus Hoffer, 1960:98 . Type species: Masencyrtus concupiens Hoffer , by original designation and monotypy. Synonymy with Helegonatopus by Hoffer (1969:173).

Paludencyrtus Hoffer, 1965:16 , Type species: Helegonatopus nikolskajae Hoffer , by original designation and monotypy (as subgenus of Helegonatopus ). Synonymy with Helegonatopus by Noyes & Hayat (1984:283).

Female. Length about 1.0- 1.6mm.

Body dark brown to black with a moderate to strong or even brilliant metallic sheen; legs sometimes completely yellow, rarely mostly darkened; tegula sometimes white with a dark apex; mesoscutum often with contrasting well-differentiated strong metallic colouration, anterior half contrasting with the posterior half; wing venation pale orange-yellow.

Head in profile fairly evenly rounded anteriorly; occipital margin rounded; frontovertex rarely more than 1/3 head width; scrobes shallow, meeting dorsally; antennal torulus about its own length from mouth margin or slightly more; scape subcylindrical, slender, funicle 6-segmented, slender, all segments usually longer than broad, rarely some transverse; clava 3-segmented, apex narrowly rounded or pointed; malar sulcus present; mandible with three acute teeth; palp formula 4-3; eye reaching occipital margin, clothed in conspicuous setae.

Mesoscutum without notaular lines; axilla meeting medially, not separated by overhanging posterior margin of mesoscutum; scutellum convex, often apically strongly metallic, apical one-third smooth and shiny; mid tibial spur shorter than basitarsus; fore wing with marginal vein at least 1.5X as long as wide, postmarginal vein absent or short; filum spinosum present; mesopleuron expanded, posteriorly reaching level with posterior margin of propodeum and widely separating propodeum from hind coxa and more or less touching base of gaster.

Gaster without paratergites; hypopygium not reaching apex of gaster; ovipositor hidden or hardly exserted, longer than mid tibia; gonostylus free.

Male. Length about 0.8-1.3mm.

Body generally dark brown or black with a moderate to strong metallic sheen; face sometimes white; funicle segments sometimes contrasting in colour; tegula sometimes white a dark apex; legs usually yellow; head about 2X as wide as frontovertex; head sometimes compressed from side to side, sometimes tapering anteriorly or with paired anterolateral projections; antenna attached very high above mouth margin; scape often triangular, broadened at base or with a deep, dorsal emargination, funicle sometimes 5-segmented, segments varying from hardly longer than broad to 2 or 3 times as long as broad; flagellum clothed in short to fairly long setae, shortest not as long as diameter of segment, longest at least 1.5X as long as diameter of segment; malar sulcus present or absent; phallobase ( Fig. 391) with a single hook on digitus, aedeagus slender with apex rounded.

DISTRIBUTION. Cosmopolitan.

HOSTS. Parasitoids of dryinids ( Hymenoptera : Dryinidae ) attacking auchenorrhynchous bugs ( Hemiptera ) and also parasitoids of Syrphid pupae ( Diptera : Syrphidae ).

COMMENTS. Females of Helegonatopus are extremely similar to those of Ooencyrtus and can be difficult to separate. Females of both genera are generally robust, strongly metallic, have a rounded occipital margin, slender antennal segments; convex scutellum. enlarged mesopleuron, pale venation, short marginal vein and weakly exserted ovipositor. In most cases females of Helegonatopus can be distinguished from those of Ooencyrtus because when the thorax is in the “resting” position, the axillae meet medially and are not separated by the strongly convex posterior margin of the mesoscutum. In Ooencyrtus the axillae are medially widely separated by the overhanging convex posterior margin of the mesoscutum. In all Helegonatopus the mandible is tridentate whereas in Ooencyrtus the mandible mostly has 1 tooth and broad truncation. Females of Helegonatopus frequently have well-defined, strongly contrasting metallic colours on the mesoscutum, whereas in Ooencyrtus the mesoscutum is more uniformly coloured or at least not with well-defined areas of different metallic colouration. On the other hand, if males of the species are present this can aid identification because males of Helegonatopus often have a 5-segmented funicle or the head compressed from side to side or with paired anterolateral projections or a contrasting white anterior part of the head. No species of Ooencyrtus is known where the male has any of these characters. Within Encyrtidae , Helegonatopus is unusual because males are easier to identify to species than are the females.

IDENTIFICATION. 13 species Worldwide. Trjapitzin, 1989 (key to 8 Palaearctic species); for additional species diagnoses see also Perkins, 1906 (Australian species), Timberlake, 1922 (Hawaiian species), Hayat & Verma, 1978 (Indian species); Prinsloo, 1979a (Afrotropical species).