Philoctetes Abeille

Rosa, Paolo, Wei, Na-Sen, Notton, David & Xu, Zai-Fu, 2015, The genus Philoctetes Abeille de Perrin, 1879 from China, with description of two new species (Hymenoptera, Chrysididae), Zootaxa 4040 (4), pp. 433-444 : 434

Genus Philoctetes Abeille de Perrin, 1879

Philoctetes Abeille de Perrin, 1879: 26. Type species: Holopyga cicatrix Abeille, 1879 (= Philoctetes micans (Klug, 1835)) , by subsequent designation of Ashmead 1902.

Ellampus (Philoctetes) : Mocsáry 1889: 107 (part.); Semenov-Tian-Shanskij 1932: 7 (part.).

Philoctetes : du Buysson 1892: 153 (part.); Bischoff 1913: 10 (part.); Trautmann 1927: 44 (part.); Mingo 1994: 85 (part.); Kimsey & Bohart 1991: 251; Rosa 2006: 119.

Omalus (Philoctetes) : Linsenmaier 1959: 20 (part.), 1994: 151 (part.), 1999: 20 (part.); Arens 2014: 569 (part.).

Diagnosis. The most relevant characteristics of Philoctetes sensu Kimsey & Bohart (1991) are combined short malar space not bisected by genal carina and punctures on mesosoma mostly clumped along notauli. These two characteristics well separate Philoctetes from the similar genera Holophris , Omalus and Pseudomalus .

Description. Representative of the genus Philoctetes can be identified for the following characteristics: malar space usually short (<1 MOD) and not bisected by curved genal carina; genal carina usually faint or not sharply elevated; pronotum more or less concave laterally, and punctate medially; mesoscutum with punctures clumped along notauli, or more evenly distributed, but anyway gathering together toward notauli; Mesopleuron extending at an oblique angle toward venter, ecarinate and not strongly projecting on juncture between omaulus and scrobal carina; metanotum usually conical, project backward in few species, or distinctly mucronate, spine-like; fore wing with medial cell asetose, medial vein strongly arched, stigma short; fore femur often carinate ventrally; tarsal claw with 1–3 subsidiary teeth.

Biology. The species of Philoctetes are known as nest parasites of Crabronidae (Pemphredoninae) ( Trautmann 1927; Krombein 1963; Kimsey & Bohart 1991; Rosa 2006).

Distribution. The genus Philoctetes is distributed in the Holarctic Region, with an unusual species in the Afrotropical Region. It is not yet collected from the Oriental Region.