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Horismenus Walker, 1843 comparative info return to: prev home
Occipital margin smoothly rounded, never sharply margined but rarely with a tiny carina discernable at the top of the vertex. Flagellum with 5 postanellar flagellomeres, with at least 2 as funicular segments and at least 1 as a claval segment. Pronotal collar carinate (at least slightly so); mesoscutal midlobe with 2 pairs of setae; scutellum in most species with longitudinal groove, extending over half scutellar length; scutellar-axillar border with large dorsal pit (separate from pit sometimes present on axillular border); posterior edge of prepectus partially overlapped by narrow extension of mesepisternum; epicnemial carina absent; metapleuron with a strong, sharply pointed projection. Propodeum in most species with broad, smooth, raised median strip flanked by sunken channels, this strip with an anterior projection slightly overlapping metanotum; plicae present near spiracles in most species, formed partially or completely by ledge of median panels. Compare with: Paracrias, Pediobius.

1a-b: Horismenus propodeum (left), and scutellum and propodeum of another species (right)

2a: Horismenus mesosomal pleuron, with episternal projection indicated

Biology: Primary larval or pupal parasitoids of Coleoptera (including Psephenidae), Diptera, and Lepidoptera or secondary parasitoids mainly of Braconids and Chalcidoids (some reared from spider egg sacs, probably as secondary parasitoids).

Comments: Hansson (2009) expanded Horismenus to include the previously recognized genera Alachua, Edovum, and Podkova, based on the presence of previously used defining features of Horismenus in all of these genera.

Comparative information:

Paracrias: Scutellum without longitudinal groove; scutellar-axillar border without dorsal pit (though rarely with a small pit at the corner of the axillula, on lateral face of scutellum). Occipital margin sharp or carinate, very near ocellar triangle. Pronotal collar not carinate, usually rounded anteriorly.

Pediobius: Scutellum without longitudinal groove (but often with broad smooth area). Vertex carinate or sharply margined posteriorly. Petiole usually with dorsal flange embracing propodeal nucha, and with ventrally-projecting tooth. Propodeum in most species with 1 median carina or strip splitting posteriorly or with 2 submedian carinae diverging posteriorly. Surprisingly difficult to distinguish from Horismenus in some cases. The posteriorly split median carina often forms part of a raised area, especially apparent in Pediobius alcaeus (Walker) and related species, but these are distinguishable, though sometimes with some difficulty, by the carinate or sharply margined vertex. The scutellum in Pediobius is usually without a median sulcus, but most species have a broad smooth strip. I regard the ventrally-projecting petiolar tooth to be an unrewarding character to rely upon, as it is often difficult to assess when the petiole and nucha are short.

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References

Burks, B.D. 1971. The Nearctic species of Horismenus Walker. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 73: 68-83.

Hansson, C. 2009. Eulophidae of Costa Rica, 3 the genus Horismenus. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 82. 916 pp.

Schauff, M.E. 1987. Taxonomy and identification of the egg parasites (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae, Trichogrammatidae, Mymaridae and Eulophidae) of citrus weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 89(1): 31-42.

Schauff, M.E. 1989. A new species of Horismenus (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) parasitic on the lesser cornstalk borer, Elasmopalpus lignosellus (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 91(4): 534-537.

Schauff, M.E. 1991. The Holarctic genera of Entedoninae (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). Contributions of the American Entomological Institute 26.

Image credits: 1a, 2a: Schauff (1991). 1b: Schauff (1987).