Fidiobia Ashmead, 1894

details, Publication, authors, including instructions for, information, subscription, http, www. tandfonline. com, loi & tnah 20, 2010, The West Palaearctic species of Fidiobia Ashmead, 1894 (Hymenoptera: Platygastroidea), Journal of Natural History 44 (19 - 20), pp. 1131-1164 : 1135-1137

Genus Fidiobia Ashmead, 1894

Fidiobia Ashmead, 1894: 170 . Type species: Fidiobia flavipes Ashmead.

Rosneta Brues, 1908: 157 . Type species Rosneta tritici Brues. Synonymized by Fouts, 1924.

Triclavus Brèthes, 1916: 411 . Type species: Triclavus bonariensis Brèthes. Synonymized by Masner [Muesebeck and Masner in Krombein and Burks (1967)].

Fahringeria Kieffer, 1921: 68 . Type species: Fahringeria synergorum Kieffer. Synonymized by Masner and Huggert, 1989.

Platyllotropa Szelényi 1938: 126 . Type species: Platyllotropa gallicola Szelényi. Synonymized with Triclavus Brèthes by Oglobin, 1944.

Diagnosis

Minute species with body slightly to considerably depressed dorsoventrally; mostly melanic, with brightly coloured appendages; vertex rounded without hyperoccipital carina. OOL variable, but in most species very short, equal to or shorter than diameter of posterior ocellus; antenna 9- or 10-segmented, in females with abrupt, threesegmented clava; clava slightly less abrupt in males. Mesoscutum flattened; notauli (if present) incomplete, abbreviated anteriorly, gradually dilated posteriorly. Forewing in most species with short tubular submarginal vein. T2 the largest tergite, with two depressions anterolaterally.

The ovipositor of Fidiobia ( Figure 2 ), like the ovipositor of all platygastrids, is of Ceratobaeus- type (Austin and Field 1997). We have made some observations about the ovipositor in F. rugosifrons ( Figure 2C ) and in F. hispanica ( Figure 2A,B ) because these two species differ fundamentally in the structure of the metasoma. We assumed that the ovipositor of F. hispanica is longer than that of F. rugosifrons . In reality the ovipositor assemblies of the two species are of equal length, but in the ovipositor system of F. hispanica the tubular membranous, abdominal segment 9 can be extruded. Because of this membranous tube, the ovipositor system of F. hispanica is about twice as long as that of F. rugosifrons , even if the ovipositor assembly is of similar length in the two species.

Key to European species of Fidiobia

1. Antenna 10-segmented.......................................... 2 Antenna nine-segmented........................................ 3 2. Mesoscutum with notauli; OOL 3–4.1 times length of diameter of posterior ocellus; medial prominence of T1 with coarse, longitudinal ridges; T2 covered with a substrigulate sculpture on four-fifths of its surface

.............................................. F. gordoni sp. nov. Mesoscutum without notauli; OOL 2–2.2 times length of diameter of posterior ocellus; medial prominence of T1, smooth; T2 smooth and shiny, without sculpture.................................. F. hispanica sp. nov. 3. Mesoscutum without notauli..................................... 4 Mesoscutum with notauli........................................ 5 4. Body flat, strongly depressed dorsoventrally; width of mesosoma 2.7 times height; head strongly transverse, width of head 2.5–3 times length; length of metasoma 1.9–2.1 times length of mesosoma, and 2.4–2.8 times width; OOL 1.5–2 times length of diameter of posterior ocellus

..................................... F. synergorum ( Kieffer, 1921) Body moderately depressed dorsoventrally; width of mesosoma 1.4 times height; head transverse, at most 2.5 times as wide as long; length of metasoma 1.4 times length of mesosoma and 1.4 times its width; OOL equal to diameter of posterior ocellus...................... F. polita Buhl, 1998 5. Pronotum strongly developed, clearly visible in dorsal view, length of pronotum almost 0.5 times length of mesoscutum; OOL 0.7 times length of diameter of posterior ocellus; females brachypterous......... F. pronotata Szabó, 1958 Pronotum weakly developed, hardly visible in dorsal view............. 6 6. Vertex, occiput and mesoscutum areolate–rugulose; T1 convex, with distinct medial prominence with few, delicate, longitudinal costae; in anterior quarter, sides of T1 are almost parallel.......... F. rugosifrons Crawford, 1916 Vertex, occiput and mesoscutum with a very faint, barely perceptible imbricate sculpture; T1 convex, with distinct medial prominence smooth and lustrous, without costae; T1 almost trapezoidal....... F. hofferi Kozlov, 1978

Description of species of Fidiobia

Figures

Figure 2. (A) Ovipositor system in Fidiobia hispanica; (B) ovipositor assembly in F. hispanica; (C) ovipositor assembly in Fidiobia rugosifrons; scale bars 0.1 mm.