Genus Acerota Förster, 1856

(junior synonym of Inostemma Haliday, 1833)

Acerota Förster, 1856: 107, 110. Type species Acerota caryae Ashmead, 1887, by subsequent designation by Muesebeck et al. 1951: 707. Junior synonym of Inostemma Haliday, 1833 (Masner 1964: 146) .

Inocerota Szelényi, 1939: 121 . Type species Inocerota discessus Szelényi, 1939 by original designation.

Inocerota Szelényi, 1939 – Masner 1964: 148.

Remarks

Acerota was described by Förster as resembling Inostemma, except in the lack of a horn (cornutus) on the first metasomal tergite of the females. He did not include any species. Acerota caryae Ashmead, 1887, was the first species described in the genus, and thus was automatically the type species. This species was transferred to Inostemma by Masner (1964), implicitly treating Acerota as a synonym.

Acerotella Masner, 1964 was erected to accommodate the remaining species of Acerota, with Acerota evanescens Kieffer, 1914 as the type of the genus. Kieffer described Acerota evanescens from a Förster nomen nudum in NHMW, and thus Förster’s concept of Acerota persisted and his specimens constituted the type material, albeit with the name Acerotella . The genus can be distinguished from Inostemma by the semicircular mesoscutellum in dorsal view (Fig. 1D).