Neopolynemoidea Huber gen. nov.

Figs 2-4, 5-8, 9, 10

Type species.

Neopolynemoidea chilensis Huber, here designated.

Diagnosis.

Female with the following combination of features: toruli almost touching transverse trabecula (Fig. 2a); scape over 10 × as long as greatest width and 1.4 × as long as head width, funicle 6-segmented and clava 3-segmented (Fig. 3); fore wing venation extending almost 0.7 × wing length (Fig. 7).

Description.

Female. Head. Head slightly wider than mesosoma (24: 21), ~1.8 × as wide as long, ~1.6 × as wide as high and almost 1.2 × as high as long, measured laterally; transverse trabecula entire (Fig. 2a); supraorbital trabecula apparently entire. Face 1.2 × as wide as high; torulus ~0.25 × its own height from transverse trabecula; preorbital sulcus not bulging ventral to eye. Compound eye ~2.0 × as long as malar space and with a few short setae among the ommatidia. Vertex in lateral view strongly curved, becoming vertical posteriorly so in same plane as occiput; median ocellus well separated from transverse trabecula; POL 2.0 × LOL and ~2.7 × OOL (holotype with left lateral ocellus missing entirely, with a seta where it should be). Back of head without sulci. Oral cavity posteriorly almost confluent with occipital foramen (Fig. 2b). Antenna. Scape with radicle barely differentiated; funicle 6-segmented; clava 3-segmented, with the sutures slightly oblique or transverse (Figs 3, 4). Mouthparts. Mandibles apparently with 3 teeth, barely meeting when closed (Fig. 2a). Mesosoma. Almost 2.0 × as long as wide, almost 1.4 × as long as high, and 0.75 × as wide as high. Pronotum in lateral view short, vertical, in dorsal view apparently longitudinally divided medially and not visible except laterally. Prosternum ~1.9 × as wide as long and longitudinally divided medially (Fig. 9b). Mesoscutum just over 0.9 × as long as scutellum + frenum, in lateral view strongly curved anteriorly; notauli complete (Fig. 9a). Scutellum ~1.2 × as long as frenum, with campaniform sensilla midway between anterior and posterior margins and fenestra an isosceles triangle with rounded corners; axilla slightly but distinctly advanced, ~1.8 × as wide as long; second phragma extending to apex of propodeum, with rounded apex. Metanotum ~0.75 × as long as frenum, with transversely oval/rhomboidal dorsellum. Propodeum medially about 0.6 × as long as metanotum. Wings. Fore wing (Fig. 7) fairly wide, with slight lobe posterior to parastigma, and with apex symmetrical and narrowly rounded; venation ~0.6 × as long as wing length; parastigma with proximal and slightly longer distal macrochaetae, with hypochaeta close to proximal macrochaeta (Fig. 7). Hind wing (Fig. 8) narrow and almost straight. Legs. Legs fairly long; tarsi 4-segmented, with tarsomere 1 of all legs slightly the longest segment or subequal to tarsomere 4 (Fig. 6). Metasoma. Metasoma ~0.8 × as long as mesosoma (Fig. 6). Petiole ~3.2 × as wide as long, barely visible in dorsal view. Gaster ~2.0 × as long as wide, and ~1.3 × as high as wide; gt6 the longest tergum, gt7 (syntergum) conical, gt2-gt6 subequal in length (Fig. 10a); cerci normal, but almost vertically positioned on sides of syntergum; apical sternum (outer ovipositor plate) much longer and narrower than preceeding sterna (Fig. 10b). Ovipositor arising at level of gt2 (Fig. 10c) and exserted portion ~0.75 × length of internal portion (Fig. 6).

Male. Unknown.

Derivation of genus name.

From Greek: Neo - meaning new, referring to its occurrence in the New World and Polynemoidea, a monotypic genus known so far only from Tasmania. The name Neopolynemoidea is given to draw attention to the general similarity the two genera, one from the Old World and one from the New World.

Neopolynemoidea differs from Polynemoidea by: toruli almost in contact with transverse trabecula (separated from transverse trabecula by almost its own height in Polynemoidea), scape over 10 × as long as wide (no more than 3 × as long as wide in Polynemoidea); fore wing venation at least 0.6 × as long as fore wing length (no more than 0.4 as long as fore wing length in Polynemoidea).

Relationships.

Worldwide, at least 14 genera or subgenera of Mymaridae have females with a 3-segmented clava: Allanagrus Noyes & Valentine, Allarescon Noyes & Valentine, Eustochomorpha Girault, Krokella Huber, Nesomymar Valentine, Nesopatasson Valentine, Neostethynium Ogloblin, Notomymar Doutt & Yoshimoto, Paracmotemnus Noyes & Valentine, Paranaphoidea (Idiocentrus) Gahan, Platystethynium (Platystethynium) Ogloblin, Polynemoidea, Pseudanaphes Noyes & Valentine, and Stethynium Enock. Except for Eustochomorpha, with an 8-segmented funicle in females, all have a 6-segmented funicle. The majority of these genera occur in the southern hemisphere, particularly in the southernmost areas, though several extend well into the northern hemisphere. Two other genera appear to have the clava with 3-segments in at least one species: one Eustochus (Eustochus) from China was described as having 3-segmented clava (the other described species have a 2-segmented clava) but this may be an artefact of partial antennal collapse, giving the appearance of a third segment; and Kompsomymar Huber, with a single described species from Australia, appears to have only partial divisions separating the claval segments. The hosts and biology of all but one ( Stethynium) of the above genera are unknown. Among these, Krokella, Paracmotemnus and Polynemoidea have a fore wing venation longer than half the wing length, as in Neopolynemoidea, but none have the extremely long scape in females. Females of the only described species of Polynemoidea, however, have a long, exerted ovipositor. Therefore, based wing venation and ovipositor features a close relationship of Neopolynemoidea to Polynemoidea is proposed as being the most probable.