Rhoptromeris nigriventris Nordlander, 1978

Costa Baião, Guilherme & Forshage, Mattias, 2018, Revision of the West Palaearctic species of Rhoptromeris Förster, 1869 (Hymenoptera: Figitidae: Eucoilinae), Journal of Natural History (J. Nat. Hist.) 52 (17 - 20), pp. 1201-1224 : 1220

Rhoptromeris nigriventris Nordlander, 1978

( Figure 5g,h )

Diagnosis

This species shares with R. ru fi ventris and R. macaronesiensis sp. nov. the lack of the anteroventral cavity of the metapleura. It can be distinguished by the pronotal foveae separated by a medial bridge, larger eyes, broader wings and higher scutellum with relatively broad scutellar plate.

Several studied specimens exhibited a mix of diagnostic characters of both R. nigriventris and R. ru fi ventris, and more extensive molecular studies could be useful to better elucidate the relationship between these species.

Redescription

Compound eyes relatively large. Antennae rather long in both sexes. Male F2 enlarged, strongly curved. Female antennae with an indistinct 7-segmented club. Pronotal foveae separated by a medial bridge. Dorsal scutellar surface usually smooth, sometimes more or less strongly sculptured in the posterior half. Scutellar plate large. Anteroventral cavity of metapleura absent, posterior incision of metapleura absent. Wings relatively broad.

Distribution

Widespread throughout Europe. Records listed here follow Fauna Europaea and Nordlander (1978), with additions by the authors. EUROPE: Bosnia, England, Finland, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden.

Biology

Specimens of Rhoptromeris nigriventris have been collected in field and forest areas. The species is probably a parasitoid of grass-inhabiting Chloropidae ( Nordlander 1978) .

Figures

Figure 5. Habitus of Rhoptromeris heptoma (a: female, b: male), Rhoptromeris villosa (c: female, d: male), Rhoptromeris strobigena (e: female, f: male), Rhoptromeris nigriventris (g: female, h: male) and Rhoptromeris rufiventris (i: female).