Paradelius de Saeger, 1942

Shimbori, Eduardo M., Bortoni, Marco A., Shaw, Scott R., Souza-Gessner, Carolina Da S., Cerântola, Paula De C. M. & Penteado-Dias, Angélica M., 2019, Revision of the New World genera Adelius Haliday and Paradelius de Saeger (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Cheloninae: Adeliini), Zootaxa 4571 (2), pp. 151-200 : 190

Paradelius de Saeger, 1942

Paradelius, de Saeger 1942: 313 .

Type species: Paradelius ghesquierei de Saeger (original designation).

Diagnosis. Small size (less than 3.0 mm); antenna with 20 segments; occipital carina present; epicnemial carina absent; labrum concealed by clypeus; vein r absent or present, short; vein r-m absent, second submarginal cell open; vein RS not reaching wing margin; propodeum short and carinate to entirely rugose; mid coxa with distinct excavation dorsally (as in Adelius ) hind tibia widened apically; T1–3 fused and heavily sclerotized, covering most of the length of metasoma, although T4–6 always apparent in dorsal view; T1–3 coarsely sculptured, divisions between T1 and 2 and T2 and T3 present as crenulate sulcus; spiracles on T6 and T7 absent; ovipositor very short.

Biology. Solitary endoparasitoids of leaf-mining moths, especially or exclusively of the family Nepticulidae ( Whitfield and Wagner 1991) . A host record for P. ghesquierei on Enarmonia sp. ( Tortricidae ) (de Saeger, 1942) has not been confirmed and might be erroneous (since tortricids are not leaf-miners).

Included species. Paradelius chinensis He & Chen ( China) ; Paradelius nigra Whitfield , Paradelius rubra Whitfield (Nearctic; Fig. 139 ); Paradelius ghesquierei de Saeger ( Congo) ; Paradelius ussuriensis Belokobylskij ( Russia) , Paradelius neotropicalis Shimbori & Shaw sp. n. ( Costa Rica; Fig. 140 )

Comments. Paradelius is similar to Adelius , differing most obviously in having T1–T3 coarsely sculptured, and a line between T1–T2 clearly visible. In Adelius , T1–T3 is mostly weakly sclerotized and completely smooth and polished, except for the base of T1. The transverse carina on propodeum is less evident in Paradelius , and its species tend to be distinctly larger than those of Adelius . Paradelius is the second most common and widespread genus of Adeliini . The first Neotropical species is described below from Central America. There are no records of this genus from mainland South America.

Figures

FIGURE 139. Distribution map of Nearctic species of Adeliini (Hymenoptera, Cheloninae).

FIGURE 140. Distribution map of Neotropical species of Adeliini (Hymenoptera, Cheloninae).