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Platyplectrus
Ferrière, 1941 comparative info return to: prev home
Occipital and/or postoccipital carinae at least sometimes present. Pronotal collar
gradually sloping, almost never with anterior carina, but if so then
weakly defined "collar" is 2x or less broader than long in dorsal view; notauli
complete; scutellum nearly always with sublateral grooves or
carinae that may or may not curve to meet posteriorly. Propodeum with 1 median
carina, split anteriorly or with a basal cup. Always with 2 metatibial spurs; longest
metatibial spur reaching halfway point of 2nd metatarsal segment. Compare with: Euplectrus.
Platyplectrus scutellum and propodeum (left), and pronotum (right,
head removed)
Biology: Solitary or gregarious larval ectoparasitoids of Lepidoptera.
Comments: Many described species.
Comparative information:
Euplectrus: Scutellum smooth or at most with faint impressed sculpture, never with sublateral grooves or carinae, not rugulose. Pronotal collar well-differentiated and sharply defined by an anterior carina; horizontal, not gradually sloping, at least 3x broader than long in dorsal view [except in some small males, which are recognizable using the scutellar character].
References
Boucek, Z. 1988. Australasian Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera). A biosystematic revision of genera of fourteen families, with a reclassification of species. CAB International, Wallingford, UK.
Lin, K. 1963. Revision of the tribe Euplectrini from Taiwan. Part I. (Hymenoptera, Eulophidae). Quarterly Journal of the Taiwan Museum. 16: 101-124.
Wijesekara, G.A.W. & M.E. Schauff. 1994. Revision of the tribe Euplectrini of Sri Lanka (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). Oriental Insects. 28: 1-48.
Wijesekara, G.A.W. & M.E. Schauff. 1997. Two new genera and three new species of Euplectrini (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) from the New World. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 99(1): 101-109.
Image credits: 1a: Boucek (1988). 1b: Wijesekara & Schauff (1994).