Hemiptarsenus collapsus Burks, 2012

Burks, R. A., 2012, Taxonomic studies on some little known genera of Palearctic Eulophidae and Pteromalidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea), Zootaxa 3487, pp. 24-40 : 32

Hemiptarsenus collapsus Burks nom. nov.

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( Figs 19–22)

Parpholema collaris Szelényi 1981c: 276 . Junior subjective homonym of Hemiptarsenus collaris ( Ashmead 1904) .

Etymology. Latin participle, meaning “collapsed.”

Material examined ( HNHM). Holotype (♀): “HUNGARIA Püspökladány. Ágotapuszta. 1975.IV.16-17. leg. Kaszab & Mahunka” / “Hym. Typ. No. 6240 Mus. Budapest.”

Remarks. Parpholema was described to accommodate a single aberrant species that was believed to belong to Entedoninae . However, the holotype of P. collaris is a dwarf, collapsed specimen of the eulophine genus Hemiptarsenus . Transfer of this species to Hemiptarsenus renders it a junior subjective homonym of Hemiptarsenus collaris (Ashmead) , and therefore the replacement name Hemiptarsenus collapsus is proposed.

The apparent facial grooves of this specimen ( Fig. 20) are a frequent result of facial collapse in eulophines (see Fig. 14 as an example), and may not represent a useful characteristic of the species. The apparent presence of only two submarginal vein setae may be due to specimen breakage, but this condition has been noted in other dwarf eulophine specimens from species that usually have more than two submarginal vein setae ( Burks 2003). The propleura in H. collapsus meet for a long distance medially ( Fig. 22), indicating that it belongs to Eulophini ( Gauthier et al. 2000). In Entedoninae , the propleura are expected to meet for a very short distance anteriorly, as in Fig. 27. Placement of H. collapsus in Hemiptarsenus is based on its having an elongate body, scape, and fore wing, together with its 4 funicular segments and relatively long postmarginal vein ( Figs 19–20).

Hemiptarsenus collapsus appears to be distinct from other described species of Hemiptarsenus , but more information is needed to determine if this apparent distinction is due to artefacts of specimen collapse. In Zhu and Huang's (2003) key to Hungarian species of Hemiptarsenus , H. collapsus keys with difficulty to Hemiptarsenus unguicellus (Zetterstedt) . However, Zhu and Huang's key relies strongly upon characters that tend to vary in dwarf specimens, such as leg color, wing color, and fine sculptural details. Bouček (1959) also mentioned that Hemiptarsenus can be variable in color due to environmental conditions, rendering use of Zhu and Huang’s coloration characters problematic. The propodeum of the holotype of H. collapsus is embedded in glue, and for this reason the specimen does not key satisfactorily in Bouček's (1959) key to species of the genus. Therefore, it seems best to keep H. collapsus as a distinct species awaiting a new review of Hemiptarsenus species.