Parasaphodinae incertae sedis new placement

Burks, Roger, Mitroiu, Mircea-Dan, Fusu, Lucian, Heraty, John M., Jansta, Petr, Heydon, Steve, Papilloud, Natalie Dale-Skey, Peters, Ralph S., Tselikh, Ekaterina V., Woolley, James B., van Noort, Simon, Baur, Hannes, Cruaud, Astrid, Darling, Christopher, Haas, Michael, Hanson, Paul, Krogmann, Lars & Rasplus, Jean-Yves, 2022, From hell's heart I stab at thee! A determined approach towards a monophyletic Pteromalidae and reclassification of Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera), Journal of Hymenoptera Research 94, pp. 13-88 : 13

Parasaphodinae incertae sedis new placement

Parasaphodinae Bouček, 1988c: 345. Type genus: Parasaphodes Schulz, 1906.

Diagnosis.

Antenna with 11 flagellomeres, including 1 anellus and 7 funiculars (Fig. 79a ). Eyes ventrally not or slightly divergent. Clypeus without transverse subapical groove. Labrum hidden (Fig. 80 ). Mandibles with 2 teeth. Mesoscutellum with frenum not distinctly indicated, without axillular sulcus. Mesopleural area without an expanded acropleuron, without pits; mesepimeron with posterior margin deeply concave and extending over anterior margin of metapleuron. All legs with 5 tarsomeres; protibial spur stout and curved. Marginal and postmarginal veins widened adjacent to stigmal vein (Fig. 79b ).

Discussion.

No molecular data are available for Parasaphodinae ; moreover, because of the poor preservation of most available specimens, several characters such as the basitarsal comb, the structure of the back of the head, or the mesofurcal pits could not be observed. It is thus very difficult to assess the taxonomic position of Parasaphodinae in relation to other chalcids, therefore we treat it as incertae sedis in Chalcidoidea . Similarities with Asaphesinae , Elatoidinae and Herbertiidae have been discussed ( Mitroiu 2017), but all these groups differ from Parasaphodinae in many respects.

Figures

Figures 79 - 84. 79 Parasaphodes afer Mitroiu (Parasaphodinae, incertae sedis) 79 a antenna b venation 80 P. iceryae (Ashmead) (Parasaphodinae): head frontal view 81, 82 Storeyia sp. (Storeyinae, incertae sedis) 81 head lateral view and antenna 82 venation 83 Caenocrepis sp. (Pteromalidae, Pteromalinae): lower face 84 Nasonia vitripennis (Walker) (Pteromalinae): head dorsal view.