Lophoteles Loew, 1858

Rozkošný, Rudolf, 2013, Two new species of Lophoteles including the first record of this genus in the Oriental Region (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 53 (1), pp. 339-346 : 340

Lophoteles Loew, 1858

Lophoteles Loew, 1858: 110 . Type species: Lophoteles plumula Loew, 1858 , by original designation.

Lophoteles is represented by relatively small, dark species reaching the length up to 4.5 mm. Within the subfamily Pachygastrinae they may be characterised by the following complex of characters: (1) antennal arista densely and relatively long plumose, (2) swollen basal part of flagellum forming with pedicel a short oval or round complex, (3) scutellum margined with small cornicles, in two species projecting into short or long apical spine, (4) vein R 2+3 starting well before crossvein r-m, (5) vein R 4 present, (6) abdomen much longer than wide, slightly dilated toward the end of tergite 4. The male terminalia have not been illustrated by previous authors and cannot be examined here because only the females or damaged males of the new species were available.

Lophoteles is especially similar to the Australasian Saldubella Kertész, 1916 with 17 species but both genera may be well distinguished by the shape of the basal thickened part of the flagellum (elongate oval and well separated from the scape in Saldubella ) and the relative length of the plumose arista (usually longer in Saldubella ) (cf. JAMES 1977).