Revision of the Nearctic species of the genus Pholetesor Mason (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) Author Whitfield, James B. text Zootaxa 2006 2006-03-10 1144 1 1 94 https://biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.1144.1.1 journal article 10.11646/zootaxa.1144.1.1 1175­5334 5057957 0F094220-5052-4F81-AF5F-CFBED72B1E4C The circumscriptus ­group To this group I assign two species previously known from the Palearctic region: P. circumscriptus (Nees) , known in the Nearctic Region only from Alaska , and P. pedias ( Nixon) , introduced into Ontario for biological control of Phyllonorycter blancardella (Fabricius) on apple leaves. Several other Palearctic species, including P. arisba (Nixon) and P.elpis (Nixon) , also appear to belong to this group. These species are grouped together based on their common possession of the following features (most of which are shared by the ornigis ­group): 1) metanotum broadly retracted from scutellum, exposing portions of mesothoracic postphragma; sublateral setiferous lobes often not reaching scutellum; 2) areola and transverse carinae of propodeum absent, replaced by two series of ridges diverging obliquely from nucha; 3) metasomal tergite I much longer than broad, narrowing posteriorly, polished and sculptureless or very weakly sculptured posteriorly; 4) tergite II subtriangular, unsculptured, shorter than III down midline; 5) tergum III unsculptured, not rounded posterolaterally; 6) tergum IV unmodified, anteriorly overlapped by III and similar to succeeding terga; 7) sternites 3–6 of female anteromedially split or notched; 8) hypopygium evenly sclerotized to medial fold, not produced at tip; 9) ovipositor sheaths arising at or above midheight of valvifers; 10) volsellae of male genitalia each with 2 setae along medioventral edge (in Palearctic males from bisexual populations of P. circumscriptus —no males are known of either species in North America); 11) gonobase (basal ring of male genitalia approximately as long as broad, not transverse (see also comment under 10); 12) final instar larva with 6–7 pairs of labial setae; 13) final instar larva with 3 setae on each maxilla; 14) cocoon smooth, slender, capsule­ like, often banded by a region of thinner silk layer in middle, suspended within the mine of the host by a thread from each end; 15) hosts are various blotchmining genera of Gracillariidae , Tischeriidae and Elachistidae . The smooth anterior metasomal tergites in the adults and 3 maxillary setae in the final instar larvae are the distinctive features of this group, separating it from the closely related ornigis ­group. The two groups together comprise an almost certainly monophyletic lineage within Pholetesor , and may eventually reach generic status.