Zelodia van Achterberg

van Achterberg, Cornelis & Long, Khuat Dang, 2010, Revision of the Agathidinae (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) of Vietnam, with the description of forty-two new species and three new genera, ZooKeys 54, pp. 1-184 : 116-117

Zelodia van Achterberg gen. n.

Type species.

Zelomorpha varipes van Achterberg & Maetô, 1990 [examined].

Etymology.

From “zelo” (first part of the genus name Zelomorpha ) and “dia” (Latin for “between” because of its resemblance to the New World genus Zelomorpha Ashmead, 1900. Gender: feminine.

Diagnosis.

Apex of antenna with spine; area between antennal sockets with a pair of crests (Figs 415, 425), rarely with a trough; frons without a pair of carinae or crests laterally; malar space smooth, often comparatively long, usually hardly or not protruding posteriorly (Fig. 426); temples medium-sized (Fig. 425); notauli at least in anterior half of mesoscutum impressed and comparatively narrow (Fig. 421); vein M+CU of hind wing at most 0.8 times as long as vein 1-M; fore spur with a short, straight and setose apical spine (Figs 418, 436); fore tarsal claws bifurcate, its inner tooth usually as large as its outer tooth, but sometimes smaller; outer face of middle tibia only with apical pegs (Figs 427, 436); inner spur of middle tibia 0.8-1.1 times as long as middle basitarsus (Figs 409, 436); hind coxa without longitudinal carina or rugae; hind trochantellus usually with a distinct ventral carina on its outer edge or edge distinctly angulate; ventral surface of hind femur distinctly sculptured; ovipositor sheath short, about as long as apical height of metasoma, hardly or not protruding in dorsal view; apex of the ovipositor sheath rather blunt apically and with numerous ampulliform papillae.

Phylogenetic position.

Probably sister to the genus Euagathis Szépligeti according to Sharkey et al. (2009), but it belongs to the Coccygidium complex. It shares with the complex two synapomorphies: the apical spine of the antenna and the elongate inner spur of the middle tibia.Apomorphous character states of the new genus Zelodia within the Coccygidium complex are the comparatively narrow notauli and the densely sculptured ventral face of the hind femur. The genus Coccygidium de Saussure has the following synapomorphies: the fore spur with a long glabrous apical spine, the hind coxa with a longitudinal carina or rugae and the frons with more or less developed carinae or crests.

Notes.

Sharkey et al. (2006) included the Zelomorpha sulana group of Bhat and Gupta (1977) in Hypsostypos Baltazar, because of the rugose ventral surface of the hind femur and some other character-states. However, the type species of Hypsostypos has several autapomorphies and lacks the apical spine of the antenna typical for the Coccygidium complex to which this group belongs. Therefore, the Zelomorpha sulana group is excluded from Hypsostypos and Sharkey et al. (2009) intended to name this group Amputostypos . Unfortunately, they overlooked that the designated type species ( Disophrys concolor Szépligeti, 1908) does not belong to this group. To the newly proposed genus Zelodia belong the following described species (all are new combinations):

Zelodia absoluta (Chen & Yang, 1998) China

Zelodia achterbergi (Chen & Yang, 2006) China

Zelodia albopilosella (Cameron, 1908) Sarawak

Zelodia chromoptera (Roman, 1913) Philippines (Mindanao)

Zelodia cordata (Bhat & Gupta, 1977) India, Burma, Singapore

Zelodia diluta (Turner, 1918) Australia (Queensland)

Zelodia dravida (Bhat & Gupta, 1977) India, China

Zelodia exornata (Turner, 1918) Australia (Queensland)

Zelodia longidorsata (Bhat & Gupta, 1977) India

Zelodia longiptera (Yang & Chen, 2006) China

Zelodia maculipes (Cameron, 1911) New Guinea (ZMA)

Zelodia nigra (Bhat & Gupta, 1977) Philippines (Mindoro),? China

Zelodia nihonensis (Sharkey, 1996) Far East Russia, China, Korea, Japan.

Syn.: Coccygidium concolor sensu Chou & Sharkey (1989) and Sharkey et al. (2009).

Zelodia penetrans (Smith, 1860) Sulawesi, North Moluccas

Zelodia philippinensis (Bhat & Gupta, 1977) Philippines (Mindoro)

Zelodia quadrifossulata (Enderlein, 1920) Sundaland (Sumatra LT, Singapore),? India,? Sri Lanka,? Nepal,? Philippines (Leyte, Mindoro, Luzon, Negros)

Zelodia reticulosa (Yang & Chen, 2006) China

Zelodia ruida (Sharkey, 1996) Japan, Korea

Zelodia similis (Bhat & Gupta, 1977) Philippines (Mindoro, Palawan)

Syn.: Euagathis sulana Enderlein, 1920.

Zelodia varipes (van Achterberg & Maetô, 1990) Japan, China

Distribution.

East Palaearctic, Oriental, Australian and (rarely) in Afrotropical region.

Biology.

Unknown, but phylogenetically related genera contain parasitoids of Noctuidae .

Key to Vietnamese species of the genus Zelodia van Achterberg