Flacopimpla Gauld, 1991

Khalaim, Andrey I., Ruíz-Cancino, Enrique & Coronado-Blanco, Juana María, 2024, Darwin wasps of the subfamily Pimplinae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) of Mexico: Polysphincta genus-group, Zootaxa 5458 (2), pp. 151-196 : 167

Genus Flacopimpla Gauld, 1991

Flacopimpla Gauld 1991: 360 . Type species: Flacopimpla varelae Gauld, 1991 , by original designation.

References. Gauld et al. 1998: 123 [1 species in Costa Rica]. Kumagai & Graf 1998 [1 new species from Brazil]. Gauld & Dubois 2006: 550 [description; remarks on taxonomy; 5 species in New World]. Tanque et al. 2010 [record of F. varelae Gauld from Brazil]. Khalaim & Ruíz-Cancino 2011 [review of 5 North and Central American species (1 described as new); 1 species in Mexico; key]. Fritzen 2014: 119 [1 new species from Europe; host, biology].

Flacopimpla is a small genus with seven species in the Americas and one species in Europe. Two species of Flacopimpla occur in Canada and USA, two species in Costa Rica and two species in South America. Three species, including a new one, are recorded here from Mexico. All Mexican species are very rarely collected.

Species of the genus are koinobiont ectoparasitoids of adult spiders of the family Theridiidae : in the Nearctic region, F. parva (Cresson) was recorded as parasitoid of Theridion punctipes Emerton ( Cushman 1926: 35) ; in Brazil, F. varelae Gauld was reared from Achaearanea tingo Levi ( Sobczak et al. 2017) ; and natural history of the European species F. barathrica Fritzén parasitizing on Thymoites bellisimus (L. Koch) was published by Fritzén (2014: 123).

Key to species of Flacopimpla occurring in Mexico

1. Lateral lobe of mesoscutum dull, with micro-reticulation. Hind femur reddish brown; tibia whitish with subapical fuscous mark and apical 0.4 blackish. Hind tibia without bare longitudinal stripe on its inner side. Hind coxa strongly granulate, with longitudinal row of fine denticles on its ventrolateral outer side. Hind wing with distal abscissa of CU absent or weak. Female with conspicuous ventral subtriangular swelling on trochanter of mid leg. Submetapleural carina complete, strong.......................................................................................... 2. F. nigriceps (Walsh)

– Lateral lobe of mesoscutum highly polished, shining. Hind femur whitish; tibia whitish, without distinct subapical fuscous mark and with apical 0.15–0.2 blackish. Hind tibia with bare longitudinal stripe on its inner side. Hind coxa smooth dorsally, without row of denticles on its ventrolateral outer side. Hind wing with distal abscissa of CU distinct. Trochanter of mid leg without ventral swelling. Submetapleural carina absent or present.............................................. 2

2. Submetapleural carina complete. Fore wing with vein 2rs-m almost 0.3× as long as abscissa of M between 2rs-m and 2m-cu. Hind wing with nervellus intercepted in its posterior 0.15. Propodeum posteriorly finely transversely striate............................................................................................... 3. F. oaxacana sp. nov.

– Submetapleural carina incomplete, present as tubercle anteriorly or short carina posteriorly. Fore wing with vein 2rs-m very short, 0.1–0.2× as long as abscissa of M between 2rs-m and 2m-cu. Hind wing with nervellus intercepted in its posterior 0.3–0.4. Propodeum posteriorly granulate............................... 1. F. kasparyani Khalaim & Ruíz-Cancino