Lycogaster Shuckard, 1841

Chen, Hua-yan, van Achterberg, Cornelis, He, Jun-hua & Xu, Zai-fu, 2014, A revision of the Chinese Trigonalyidae (Hymenoptera, Trigonalyoidea), ZooKeys 385, pp. 1-207 : 30

Lycogaster Shuckard, 1841 Figs 108-154

Lycogaster Shuckard, 1841: 121; Weinstein and Austin 1991: 414; Carmean and Kimsey 1998: 61. Type species (by original designation): Lycogaster pullatus Shuckard, 1841.

Diagnosis.

Body length 5.5-15.0 mm; antenna with 22-24 segments, of ♀ widened medially (Fig. 111, but hardly so in Lycogaster angustula sp. n.); antenna of ♂ without tyloids; supra-antennal elevations small, without depression dorsally (Figs 110, 121, 132, 146); vertex convex and shiny; mandibular condyli close to level of eyes (Figs 113, 122, 135, 149); apical segment of labial palp widened and obtuse, more or less triangular (Fig. 122); metanotum smooth, shiny and weakly convex (Figs 114, 123, 136, 150); triangular dorso-apical part of hind trochanter separated by an oblique groove; fore trochanter subparallel-sided and distinctly longer than hind trochanter; hind tarsus slightly or not modified; basal half of third metasomal sternite with a posteriorly steep, smooth and complete transverse ledge (Figs 118, 129, 140; may be partly hidden under second sternite and rather low in Lycogaster violaceipennis ); second sternite with pair of small triangular teeth on apical protuberance (Fig. 118; but only with pair of lobe-shaped flaps in male of Lycogaster violaceipennis ) and sometimes absent; epipleura of tergites laterally strongly pigmented; fifth sternite of ♀ distinctly emarginate medio-posteriorly (Fig. 118).

Biology.

In the New World reared as hyperparasitoid of Ichneumonidae in caterpillars of the families Saturniidae and Notodontidae ( Carmean and Kimsey 1998). The record from Eumeninae nests probably concerns prey caterpillars that have been infested with both Ichneumonidae and Trigonalyidae .

Notes.

It is clear from the original description ( Magretti 1897) and from the redescription of Schulz (1908) that Lycogaster rufiventris (Magretti, 1897) from Myanmar was correctly assigned to the genus Lycogaster by Schulz (1908), Bischoff (1938) and Weinstein and Austin (1991). It has the medial third of the fore wing dark brown as Lycogaster flavonigrata and Lycogaster nigralva , but differs by the entire reddish metasoma, the absence of distinct separate teeth besides finely dentate lamelliform protuberance of second sternite and the distinctly convex vertex. The interpretation by Carmean and Kimsey (1998; based on specimens from central and southern India and retaining this species in the genus Trigonalys ) seems to be incorrect considering the redescription of the holotype female by Schulz (1908) and the distribution of the genus Trigonalys .

Key to Chinese species of Lycogaster Shuckard, 1841