Parastephanellus Enderlein, 1906

Binoy, C., Achterberg, C. Van, Kumar, P. Girish, Santhosh, S. & Sheela, S., 2020, A review of Stephanidae (Hymenoptera: Stephanoidea) from India, with the description of five new species, Zootaxa 4838 (1), pp. 1-51 : 35

Genus Parastephanellus Enderlein, 1906

Stephanus (part) Westwood, 1874: 126.

Parastephanus Enderlein, 1905: 474 . [Preoccupied by Häckel for Protista].

Parastephanellus Enderlein, 1906: 301 .

Hemistephanus Moore, 1962: 93 . [Misidentification]

Parastephanellus (Parastephanellus) Narendran & Sheela, 1995: 45 . Type species by original designation: Stephanus pygmaeus Enderlein, 1901 .

Diagnosis. Members of Parastephanellus Enderlein are characterised by a pale yellowish streak along the eye as in Foenatopus ; short and robust neck, without a pronotal fold medially or carinae; 2-CU1 of fore wing complete; 2-SR and 2-SR+M of fore wing present (vein 2S-SR+M absent in P. reductus sp. nov.), sometimes only pigmented; 1-SR of fore wing straight; hind tibia with distinct oblique striae or carinae ventrally, rarely without; ovipositor sheath without ivory subapical band.

Distribution. Australian, Palaearctic and Oriental.

Notes. 58 species in the genus Parastephanellus are known worldwide, of which only three species are reported from India (Elliot 1919b; Narendran & Sheela 1995; Narendran & Sureshan 2001). Two new species viz., P. narendrani Binoy, van Achterberg & Santhosh sp. nov. and P. reductus Binoy, Girish Kumar & Santhosh sp. nov. are described here with illustrations and are incorporated into a key to Indian species.