Neralsia Cameron, 1883

van Noort, Simon, Buffington, Matthew L. & Forshage, Mattias, 2014, Review of Afrotropical Figitinae (Figitidae, Cynipoidea, Hymenoptera) with the first records of Neralsia and Lonchidia for the region, ZooKeys 453, pp. 37-69 : 46

Taxon classification Animalia Hymenoptera Figitidae

Neralsia Cameron, 1883

Neralsia Cameron, 1883: 4. Type species: Neralsia rufipes Cameron, 1883, by monotypy and original designation.

Xyalosema Dalla Torre & Kieffer, 1910: 73 & 94. Replacement name for Solenaspis Ashmead, 1887.

Solenaspis Ashmead, 1887: 151 & 155. Unavailable junior homonym of Solenaspis Osten Sacken, 1881 ( Diptera ). Type species: Solenaspis hyalinipennis Ashmead, 1887 by monotypy and original designation.

Diagnosis.

Along with Xyalophora , this is the only known figitine in the Afrotropical Region with a scutellar spine. Neralsia can be distinguished from Xyalophora by whether or not the notauli are horizontally striate: smooth in Neralsia , striate in Xyalophora ( Jiménez et al. 2008c). Also, most Neralsia have longer, more robust scutellar spines than Xyalophora , but in specimens we have examined, this character varies with overall size of the specimen. This taxon also resembles Prosaspicera ( Aspicerinae), which also possess a distinct scutellar spine, but can be separated from Prosaspicera by the lack of a facial impression on the head (present in Prosaspicera ), and lack of a ligulate metasoma T2.

Comments.

Rare in Afrotropical region. The genus is extremely species-rich in the Neotropical region and has recently been revised in a series of papers by Jiménez et al. (2004, 2005a, 2005b, 2006, 2007, 2008a, 2008b), Jiménez and Pujade-Villar (2009); Petersen-Silva and Pujade-Villar (2010); Petersen-Silva et al. (2010) and Pujade-Villar et al. 2006. Neralsia is also common throughout the Nearctic Region, but species limits have not been thoroughly established (Buffington, pers. obs.)

Distribution.

Mainly Neotropical, but with single species in the Nearctic and Afrotropical regions. Purported records from the Oriental region and the east Palearctic are unconfirmed. Afrotropical records: Central African Republic, South Africa (here).

Biology.

Parasitoids of calyptrate Brachycera larvae in decomposing substrates ( Díaz et al. 2000; Thomas and Morgan 1972).