Collyria, Cushman

Sheng, Mao-Ling, Broad, Gavin R. & Sun, Shu-Ping, 2012, A new genus and species of Collyriinae (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae), Journal of Hymenoptera Research 25, pp. 103-125 : 111-112

Collyriinae Cushman

Diagnosis.

Collyriinae can be distinguished from all other subfamilies of Ichneumonidae by the following combination of characters: 1) dorsal part of face with a bifurcate carina extending between the antennal sockets and 2) antenna short, only slightly longer than combined length of head and mesosoma, 0.65-0.7 × length of fore wing. Additional distinctive characters, in combination (individually, all are shared with other taxa) are the elongate propodeum with strong lateromedian longitudinal carinae, very stout hind femur, elongate hind coxa and the subclavate shape of the metasoma.

As the concept of Collyriinae has now been expanded since Townes’s (1971) definition, we provide a modified description of the subfamily below.

Description.

Antenna short, c. 0.65-0.7 × length of fore wing. Male flagellum without tyloids. Mesosoma subcylindric. Occipital carina complete, evenly arched dorsally. Ventrally reaching hypostomal carina well behind base of mandible. Dorsal part of face with a bifurcate carina extending between antennal sockets. Clypeal suture vestigial between clypeal foveae, clypeus faintly convex, apical margin with median tooth or protruberance. Basal portion of mandible wider, strongly narrowed toward apex, teeth sharp, teeth subequal or lower tooth longer than upper tooth. Maxillary palpus with 5 segments, labial palpus with 4 segments. Foramen magnum not expanded laterally. Anterior slope of mid lobe of mesoscutum approximately vertical. Epomia absent. Notaulus long. Epicnemial carina present. Postpectal carina incomplete. Propodeum long, rather cylindrical, longitudinal carinae developed to varying degrees, transverse carinae absent, juxtacoxal carina absent, propodeal spiracle oval. Apex of fore tibia without a tooth on outer side. Fore and hind tibiae each with two spurs. Fore and mid tarsal claws each with either tooth at mid-length or basal lobe, hind tarsal claw large, simple, strongly curved. Hind femur stout, 3.0-3.6 × as long as maximally deep. Metasoma subclavate, weakly laterally compressed in distal half. First metasomal segment long, narrow, spiracles anterior to middle, sclerotized part of first sternum extending to middle of tergite or anterior to this. Last visible tergite usually elongate. Hypopygium not elongate. Ovipositor slightly to markedly decurved. Fore wing vein 1 cu-a opposite 1/ M, vein 3 rs-m absent. Hind wing with abscissa of Cu between M+Cu and cu-a strongly reclivous, about 0.2 × as long as cu-a.

Biology.

Collyria coxator (Villers) is a common parasitoid of Cephus pygmaeus (Linnaeus) ( Hymenoptera : Cephidae ) in Europe and a detailed account of its life history was published by Salt (1931). Another species of Collyria , Collyria catoptron Wahl, has been reared from Cephus fumipennis Eversmann( Wahl et al. 2007). Little is known about the biology of other species but they are likely to all be parasitoids of Cephidae . The biology of the genus is unusual for Ichneumonidae in that oviposition is into the host egg with emergence from the fully grown host larva after it has spun its cocoon ( Salt 1931). Nothing is known of the biology of Bicurta sinica sp. n. or of Aubertiella nigricator (Aubert 1964).

Geographic range.

The nine described Collyria species are found across the Palaearctic, although with few published records from the Eastern Palaearctic ( Yu et al. 2009). Collyria coxator was introduced to Canada (Saskatchewan) ( Smith 1931) in an unsuccessful ( Carlson 1979) attempt to control the native Cephus cinctus Norton. However, it does seem to have become established in North America as a parasitoid of the introduced Cephus pygmaeus ( Filipy et al. 1985). Aubertiella nigricator is known from Israel and Syria ( Kuslitzky and Kasparyan 2011).

Included species.

Aubertiella nigricator (Aubert, 1964) (originally described in Collyria ), Collyria catoptron Wahl, 2007; Collyria coxator (Villers, 1789); Collyria distincta Izquierdo & Rey del Castillo, 1985; Collyria fuscipennis (Kriechbaumer, 1894); Collyria iberica Schmiedeknecht, 1908; Collyria isparta Gurbuz & Kolarov, 2006; Collyria orientator Aubert, 1979; Collyria sagitta Kuzin, 1950; Collyria trichophthalma (Thomson, 1877); and Bicurta sinica sp. n.