Scorpioteleia Ashmead, 1897

Macek, Jan, 2006, Revision of the European species of Scorpioteleia (Hymenoptera: Diapriidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 46, pp. 197-210 : 98-200

Scorpioteleia Ashmead, 1897

Scorpioteleia Ashmead, 1897: 53 . Type species: Scorpioteleia mirabilis Ashmead, 1897 (by monotypy). Miota: KIEFFER (1910) : 685-691 (nec FÖRSTER 1856); KIEFFER (1916): 584 -589 (partim). Scorpioteleia: MUESEBECK & WALKLEY (1951) : 685; MUESEBECK & WALKLEY (1956): 398.

Miota: NIXON (1957) : 102, 104 (nec FÖRSTER 1856).

Scorpioteleia: MASNER (1964) : 130.

Eumiota Hellén, 1964: 7 , 15, syn. nov. Type species: Cinetus longepetiolatus Thomson, 1859 by original designation).

Eumiota: WALL (1967) : 135, 151; KOZLOV (1978): 562; JOHNSON (1992): 73.

Scorpioteleia: JOHNSON (1992) : 107.

Diagnosis (JJ, ♀♀). Mostly medium sized (3-4 mm), brownish to black species with lightcoloured appendages; head subtriangular in frontal view, with orthognathous mouth parts; mandibles slightly asymmetrical, left bidentate, right tridentate, crossing at tips; occipital carina incomplete, developed in upper part, subquadrangular, hypostomal bridge and hypostomal carina developed; clypeus slightly convex, lustrous, with lower margin truncate; labrum transverse, slightly emarginated in middle; epistomal sulcus distinct; fore tentorial pits deep; palpal formula 5-3; apical segment of maxillary palps slender, twice as long as penultimate; antennal shelf moderately prominent with shallow furrow between toruli; antennae in females 15-segmented and more or less filiform, in males 14-segmented, filiform, release and spread structure of F1 variously modified. Mesosoma slender, higher than wide, narrower than head; pronotum with angular shoulders, surrounded by distinct epomia; mesoscutum convex; notauli complete, slightly diverging posteriorly; parapsidal impressions (situated laterad of notauli) usually in form of shallow declivities; humeral sulcus posteromedial to tegula prominent; scutellum convex with large subquadrate fovea; mesopleura subdivided by deep, oblique mesopleural furrow in middle terminated by indistinct pit at its posterior end; sternaulus only slightly indicated posteriorly; dorsellum flat with three short longitudinal keels, lateral metanotum deeply furrowed; propodeum subquadrate, convex, with plicae not protruded posteriorly; medial keel of propodeum simple, nucha developed.

Radial cell of fore wings completely closed, longer than marginal vein, surpassed by postmarginal vein; poststigmal vein diverging from marginalis towards medial vein, parallel alongside basal vein; hind wings with closed indistinct basal cell.

Legs slender; tibial spur formula 1-2-2; tarsal formula 5-5-5; claws simple; fore tibiae in male slightly widened in middle with some modified setae.

Petiole short to long, cylindrical, rugose or ribbed; gaster fusiform, more or less compressed at sides with all remaining segments in repose collapsed inside the enlarged metasomal segment; pygidium spine-like, upcurved and exposed; enlarged terga surrounding the sterna thus forming a tube; macrosternite with incomplete lateral groove not reaching end of segment. Ovipositor thin and small with large gonoplacs (= third valvulae). Male genitalia with fused volsellae and dentes.

Differential diagnosis. Species of Scorpioteleia are easily recognised from both Miota and Cinetus , with which they have been confused in past, by the marginal vein being distinctly shorter than both the radial cell and parastigma (= the abscissa of Sc+R between marginal and basal veins). All species are known only from limited areas in the Holarctic region. Given the small number of described species, an attempt to reliably assess the phylogenetic position of Scorpioteleia among the Belytinae genera is premature. However, based on the fused volsellae and dentes in male genitalia, slightly posteriorly diverging notauli and strongly down- curved stigmal vein, Scorpioteleia appears to be more similar to Cinetus than to Miota , which has the male genitalia with free dentes, parallel notauli and a straight stigmal vein.

Bionomics. Hosts of most species are almost unknown, but field observations and rearing suggest that Scorpioteleia species are associated with fungivorous Nematoceran Diptera of the superfamily Mycetophiloidea , which develop in soft sporocarps of Basidiomycetes.

Distribution. The genus is distributed throughout the Holarctic region. Six species are recognized, one Nearctic ( S. mirabilis ) and five European.

Taxonomic remarks. The five European species, except for S. gracilicornis (Kieffer, 1910) which belongs to Cinetus , appear to form two species-groups based on differences in the structure of the female metasoma: the longepetiolata and the compressa groups.

The longepetiolata group is characterized by the combination of the following characters: i) petiole very long and slender; ii) gastral segment 1 distinctly laterally compressed at distal half; iii) collapsed segments of gaster high and compressed in profile; iv) pygidium always exposed in repose. This group includes two species: S. longepetiolata ( Thomson, 1859) and S. nixoni sp. nov.

The compressa group is characterized by the combination of the following characters: i) petiole short and stout; ii) gastral segment 1 constricted apically to form a tube; iii) all remaining gastral segment including pygidium collapsed inside segment 1; iv) collapsed part in exposed position forming a very long and slender tube, thus the whole structure resembling a scorpion tail. Three species belong to this group: S. compressa (Kieffer, 1910) , S. cebes ( Nixon, 1957) , and S. luteipes (Kieffer, 1910) .