Lathrolestes clypeatus (Zetterstedt, 1838)

Verheyde, Fons, Hoekstra, Paul, Libert, Pierre-Nicolas, Meijer, Hilco, Ketelaere, Augustijn De, Vandaudenard, Thibaud, Belgers, Dick & Brosens, Edwin, 1880, Two hundred and five ichneumonid wasps reported for the first time in Belgium and the Netherlands (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), Belgian Journal of Entomology 122, pp. 1-142 : 65

Lathrolestes clypeatus (Zetterstedt, 1838)

The genus Lathrolestes is a larger one within Ctenopelmatinae (tribe Perilissini ). It can be distinguished from other genera by the occipital carina not intercepting the hypostomal carina and the first tergite which is not elongate, its length being less than twice its width; and by the absence of a notch in the hind margin of the male’s last visible sternite ( TOWNES, 1970b; RESHCHIKOV, 2015a).

Lathrolestes clypeatus is a well-documented European species. Typical for this species is the complete occipital carina and the separation of the face and clypeus by a distinct transverse groove. The carination of the propodeum is partly complete and the clypeus is strongly projecting anteriorly (hence its name). The females have their ovipositor upcurved ( RESHCHIKOV, 2015b). The hosts are several lepidopteran leaf miners, Eriocrania spp. ( Lepidoptera : Eriocraniidae ) ( RESHCHIKOV, 2015a), with many species being common in the Low Countries. First report for Belgium; unconfirmed in the Netherlands.

MATERIAL EXAMINED:

BELGIUM: • 1 ♀; Somal (NA); 14/v/2007; P-N. Libert leg.; coll. PNL; field observation; D. Kasparyan det. • 1 ♀; Antwerpen (AN); 51°10’42”N 4°21’02”E; 12/iv/2020; R. Hendrickx leg.; field observation; G. Broad, R. Hendrickx & F. Verheyde det. (ObsID: 188521720).