1a: Ophelimus maskelli (Ashmead, 1900) habitus
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Ophelimus Haliday, 1844 comparative
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Antenna with at least 8 flagellomeres, but funicular count difficult because the first few are anelliform. Notauli complete, deep, nearly straight. Scutellum without longitudinal grooves, with 2 pairs of setae that may be difficult to distinguish. Fore wing with parastigmal break, thickened marginal vein, and postmarginal vein that is longer than the marginal and stigmal veins; admarginal setae longer than the discal setae (therefore distinct). Compare with: Tetrastichinae, Euderomphalini, Entiinae.
1a: Ophelimus maskelli (Ashmead, 1900) habitus
2a-2b. O. maskelli fore wing (left), and antenna (right), with close-up of basal flagellomeres.
Biology: Gall associates, either as gall-makers or as inquilines. Pest species are all gall-makers on Eucalyptus.
Comments: Ophelimus is a highly variable genus that is exceedingly diverse in Australia and New Zealand, with a few species that have spread across the world as pests on Eucalyptus.
Comparative information:
Tetrastichinae: Fore wing very different, especially only a few species with a long postmarginal vein. Admarginal setae not distinct. Most species of Tetrastichinae have scutellar grooves, which are never present in Ophelimus.
Euderomphalini: Notauli absent or hardly indicated, not deep or complete. If axillar grooves advanced such that they could be confused with notauli, then they are strongly angular and not nearly straight.
Entiinae: Very similar to Ophelimus in mesosomal features, but antenna only similar in one Neotropical species, otherwise without many anelliform basal flagellomeres. Fore wing with different venation, especially marginal vein not short and thickened.
References
Bouček, Z. 1988. Australasian Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera). A biosystematic revision of genera of fourteen families, with a reclassification of species. CAB International, Wallingford, UK.
Burks, R.A., Mottern, J.L,, Waterworth, R. & Paine, T.D. 2015. First report of the Eucalyptus gall wasp, Ophelimus maskelli (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), an invasive pest on Eucalyptus, from the Western Hemisphere. Zootaxa 3926(3): 448-450.
Protasov, A., La Salle, J. Blumberg, D., Brand, D. Saphir, N., Assael, F., Fisher, N. & Mendel, Z. 2007. Biology, Revised Taxonomy and Impact on Host Plants of Ophelimus maskelli, an Invasive Gall Inducer on Eucalyptus spp. in the Mediterranean Area. Phytoparasitica 35(1): 50-76.
Image credits: 2b: Protasov et al. 2007.