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Hemiptarsenus Westwood, 1833 comparative info return to: prev(eul 24) prev(eul 25) home
Body elongate. Clypeal margin truncate. Toruli very high on face, at or above center of face; scape exceeding vertex at least slightly (scape slightly exceeds vertex in some other genera). Flagellum with 4 or 5 funicular segments; basal 3 flagellomeres branched in males. Notauli incomplete; mesosoma elongate and dorsoventrally flattened; axillae only slightly advanced anteriad of scutellar margin. Forewing and costal cell unusually long and narrow: forewing at least 2.6x longer than broad and costal cell 7-15x longer than broad; some females brachypterous. Scutellum without submedian or sublateral grooves. Propodeum of two distinct types: long and flat, slightly longer than broad in some species, but in others 2x or more broader than long; median carina and plicae present or absent; sometimes with raised median panels, especially in forms where propodeum is <3x broader than long. Legs elongate. Compare with: Sympiesis, Notanisomorphella, Pnigalio.

2a: Hemiptarsenus dorsal view of species with long propodeum

3a: Hemiptarsenus habitus of species with short propodeum

Biology: Parasitoids of leaf-miners (mostly Diptera).

Comments: 23 described species. Simply defined (scape exceeding vertex, body and forewing elongate), this genus is problematic in that many of its most common species are easily confused with certain species of Sympiesis. It seems likely that it renders Sympiesis paraphyletic in one or more ways, and may itself be polyphyletic. In this light, the synonymy of Notanisomorpha with Hemiptarsenus may prove to be a bad move. Many Pnigalio species also have an elongate scape, and may be confused with Hemiptarsenus at first glance.

Comparative information:

Sympiesis, Notanisomorphella: Scape not exceeding vertex by >1.5x its own width. If scape slightly exceeding vertex then propodeum >2x broader than long. Forewing usually <2.6x longer than broad, costal cell usually <7x longer than broad.

Pnigalio: Propodeum almost always with carinate costula. If not, then forewing <2.6x longer than broad and costal cell <7x longer than broad.

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References

Boucek, Z. 1959. A study of central European Eulophidae, 1: Eulophinae (Hymenoptera). Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae. 33: 117-170.

Boucek, Z. 1988. Australasian Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera). A biosystematic revision of genera of fourteen families, with a reclassification of species. CAB International, Wallingford, UK.

Schauff, M.E. & J. LaSalle. 1993. Nomenclatural notes on genera of North American Eulophidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 95(3): 488-503.

Image credits: 1a: Boucek (1988).