Spalangia simplex Perkins, 1910

Shimbori, Eduardo Mitio, Costa, Valmir Antonio & Zucchi, Roberto Antonio, 2020, Annotated checklist and illustrated key to parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Diapriidae Eulophidae and Pteromalidae) of fruit flies (Diptera, Tephritidae) in Brazil, Zootaxa 4858 (1), pp. 53-70 : 64

Spalangia simplex Perkins, 1910

( Figs 3 , 11, 14, 15 )

Diagnosis. Head and pronotal collar smooth, with scattered setae originating from pinprick-like punctures on head and tiny bumps on pronotal collar; gena with malar sulcus present; midlobe of mesoscutal median lobe smooth and shiny, with only a transverse row of setiferous punctures and a single median puncture posteriorly males with ventral setae of scape distinctly longer than dorsal setae ( Bouček 1963; Gibson 2009).

Taxonomy. See S. endius .

Biology. This species has fewer host records than the other two species of Spalangia discussed here, most of them associated with species of Tephritidae and Drosophilidae ( Gibson 2009; Sureshan & Farsana 2014). Tephritid hosts in Brazil are A. serpentina ( Fernandes et al. 2013) , Ce. capitata ( Silva et al. 2020) .

Biological control. There is insufficient information on the host range to address the potential of this species for biological control programs.

Distribution. Mainly tropical, but reaching temperate zones of the New and Old World, and Australasia.

Distribution in Brazil (associated with Tephritidae ). AP ( Silva et al. 2007), CE and RN ( Silva et al. 2020) and SP ( Fernandes et al. 2013).

Figures

FIGURES 1–8. 1, 2, Trichopria sp. aff. anastrephae, head; 3, Spalangia simplex, head; 4, 5, Tetrastichus giffardianus: 4, mesosoma dorsal and 5, fore wing; 6–8, Pachycrepoideus vindemmiae: 6, head, 7, mesosoma dorsal and 8, fore wing. Arrows indicating: point of insertion of the antenna (Figs 1–3, 6); submedian grooves on scutellum (Fig. 4); thickened marginal vein (Fig. 8). (bar = 0.1 mm)

FIGURES 9–17. 9–11, Head: 9, Spalangia endius; 10, Spalangia gemina; 11, Spalangia simplex. 12–14, Pro- and mesonotum (arrows at pronotal sculpturing): 12, S. endius; 13, S. gemina; 14, S. simplex (arrow at median pit of mesoscutum). 15–17, Fore wing: 15, S. simplex; 16, Trichopria sp. aff. anastrephae; 17, Coptera haywardi (adapted from Loiácono 1981). (bar = 0.2 mm)