Amblyaspis tritici ( Walker, 1835 )

Awad, Jessica, Krogmann, Lars & Talamas, Elijah, 2023, Taxonomic history and review of the Förster genera of Platygastridae (Hymenoptera: Platygastroidea), European Journal of Taxonomy 875 (1), pp. 1-46 : 8-9

Amblyaspis tritici ( Walker, 1835)

Fig. 4

Platygaster tritici Haliday, 1830 – Curtis 1830: 309 (nomen nudum). — Walker 1835: 233.

Platygaster tritici Curtis, 1831 – Muesebeck & Walkley 1956: 327 (nomen nudum).

Platygaster tritici Walker, 1835 – Vlug & Graham 1984: 119; 1995: 12.

Amblyaspis tritici ( Walker, 1835) – Vlug 1995: 13.

Material examined

Lectotype

[WESTERN EUROPE] • 1 ♂; [Haliday leg.]; NMINH NMINH_2018_11_30 .

Remarks

The type species of Amblyaspis was first designated by Ashmead (1893) as “ Amblyaspis aliena Förster ”. Although Amblyaspis aliena ( Nees, 1834) is a valid species with which Förster was familiar, Ashmead’s combination was considered a nomen nudum by Muesebeck & Walkley (1956), who designated “ Platygaster tritici Curtis, 1831 ” instead. The latter name first appeared in Curtis’s British Entomology, a series of illustrations published periodically between 1824 and 1839. Curtis (1830) attributed the species to Haliday. However, there was no description and the combination is therefore also a nomen nudum. The species was not formally described until Walker (1835), who also attributed it to Haliday.

Vlug (1995) designated “ Platygaster tritici Walker, 1835 ” as the type species, with a male lectotype from the Haliday collection in Dublin. Unfortunately, the country of origin of this specimen cannot be determined, as Haliday collected in both England and Ireland, and both countries are mentioned in the original description.

Figures

Fig. 4. Amblyaspis tritici (Walker, 1835), lectotype, ♂ (NMINH_2018_11_30). A. Dorsolateral habitus. B. Dorsal habitus.