Meteorus melanostictus Capron, 1887

Stigenberg, Julia & Ronquist, Fredrik, 2011, Revision of the Western Palearctic Meteorini (Hymenoptera, Braconidae), with a molecular characterization of hidden Fennoscandian species diversity 3084, Zootaxa 3084 (1), pp. 1-95 : 60-61

Meteorus melanostictus Capron

Fig. 108

Meteorus melanostictus Capron in Marshall 1887:115. Syntypes ♀, Great Britain (lost).

Meteorus niger Lyle, 1913:244 . Lectotype ♀, Great Britain: England, Hampshire, New Forest, 13.v.1911 (Lyle), H. syringaria (BMNH, London) Synonymized by Huddleston, 1980:38.

Meteorus monachae Tobias, 1986: 350 Holotype ♀, Russia: (ZIN. St. Petersburg)—examined. Syn. n.

Diagnosis: Similar to M. cinctellus . Both have a blunt tubercle in front of the fore ocellus but the large ocelli and the presence of a dorsope on the petiolar tergum clearly distinguish M. melanostictus from M. cinctellus , which has small ocelli and no dorsope. M. melanostictus also resembles M. pendulus , which has a dorsope and large ocelli but lacks the blunt tubercle in front of the fore ocellus.

Studied material: 31 specimens.

Description: Size about 4–5 mm. Antennal articles 25–27, all articles at least twice as long as broad. Head strongly contracted behind eyes; a blunt tubercle medially in front of the fore ocellus. Ocelli large, OOL=1.0–1.5. Eyes large, protuberant, moderately convergent. Malar space short, distinctly less than half the basal breadth of mandible. Face about as wide as high, not strongly protuberant. Clypeus strongly protuberant. Tentorial pits deep. Mandibles strongly twisted. Precoxal sulcus thin, foveolate. Propodeum short, with only a strongly raised medial transverse carina. Petiolar tergum rather stout with distinct dorsal pits and large glymmae; ventral borders of petiolar tergum widely separated. Ovipositor short, about 1.5 times length of petiolar tergum. Legs short; hind coxa smooth, punctate; tarsal claws with a distinct basal lobe. Colour black; head mostly yellow, prothorax, legs yellow.

Distribution: Western and Eastern Palearctic. Country records: Bulgaria; Germany; Hungary; Ireland; Japan; Korea; Russia; Sweden; Switzerland; United Kingdom.

Biology: M. melanostictus mostly parasitizes on Geometridae but also on Tortricidae ( Yu et al. 2005) .

Figures

FIGURES 80–133. Anterior view of the head of Meteorus species (except for M. politutele, which is depicted in lateral view).