Louriciinae incertae sedis new placement

Burks, Roger, Mitroiu, Mircea-Dan, Fusu, Lucian, Heraty, John M., Jansta, Petr, Heydon, Steve, Papilloud, Natalie Dale-Skey, Peters, Ralph S., Tselikh, Ekaterina V., Woolley, James B., van Noort, Simon, Baur, Hannes, Cruaud, Astrid, Darling, Christopher, Haas, Michael, Hanson, Paul, Krogmann, Lars & Rasplus, Jean-Yves, 2022, From hell's heart I stab at thee! A determined approach towards a monophyletic Pteromalidae and reclassification of Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera), Journal of Hymenoptera Research 94, pp. 13-88 : 13

Louriciinae incertae sedis new placement

Louriciini Hedqvist, 1961: 92,108. Type genus: Louricia Ferrière, 1936. Treated as Louriciinae by Bouček (1988).

Diagnosis.

Antenna with 8 flagellomeres, including an undivided clava and 2 anelli; radicle elongate. Eyes ventrally divergent. Face with a network of grooves that is usually concealed by the strongly collapsing head (Fig. 72 ). Clypeus without transverse subapical groove. Labrum subrectangular and exposed, with marginal setae in a row. Mandibles with 3 teeth. Subforaminal bridge with a postgenal bridge separating the secondary tentorial pits from the hypostoma. Pronotum long, with a slightly expanded lateral surface and therefore somewhat expanded laterally. Notauli complete, linear and incised. Axilla strongly advanced (Fig. 73 ). Mesoscutellum with frenum indicated at least laterally or by an abrupt transition to smooth surface sculpture, without axillular sulcus (Fig. 73 ). Mesopleural area without an expanded acropleuron. All legs with 5 tarsomeres; protibial spur stout and curved; basitarsal comb longitudinal. Metasoma in females with elongate syntergum extending over the exserted ovipositor (Fig. 74 ).

Discussion.

Next-generation molecular analysis (Cruaud et al., submitted) consistently recovers the distinctive Callimomoides Girault as a member of a strongly supported clade that also includes Neanastatus and Lambdobregma , with Callimomoides as the sister group of Neanastatus , which therefore renders Neanastatidae paraphyletic. Morphologically, this relationship is highly debatable and no unique character supports it. However, this strong morphological disparity may be due to difference in life history as Callimomoides is an egg parasitoid of Cerambycidae while Neanastatus is parasitic in galls of Cecidomyiidae ( Diptera ) and Lambdobregma could be parasitoids of cricket eggs ( Gibson 1989). While Callimomoides has an enlarged mesotibial spur and a large membranous area posterior to the mesocoxa, these features are not conclusive proof of relationship with Neanastatidae because they are found in various other taxa as well. There are no diagnostic features shared with either Neanastatus or Lambdobregma .

The highly unusual gestalt of Callimomoides , together with the combination of linear notauli, long pronotum, and stout mesotibial spur, prevent it from being easily confused with other Chalcidoidea . Eulophidae can have similar notauli and a weakly sclerotized, collapsing head and body, but differ in having 4 tarsomeres on all legs.

Figures

Figures 67 - 72. 67 - 69 Heydenia longicollis (Cameron) (Heydeniidae) 67 mesosoma dorsal view 68 mesosoma lateral view 69 fore leg 70, 71 Kerya antennalis Boucek (Keryinae, incertae sedis) 70 head frontal view and antenna 71 mesosoma lateral view 72 Callimomoides sp. (Louriciinae, incertae sedis): head frontal view.

Figures 73 - 78. 73, 74 Callimomoides sp. (Louriciinae, incertae sedis) 73 mesosoma dorsal view 74 extremity of metasoma, elongated syntergum 75, 76 Micradelus acutus Graham (Micradelinae, incertae sedis) 75 head frontal view 76 head posterior view 77 Neapterolaelaps sp. (Neapterolelapsinae, incertae sedis): antenna 78 Pseudoceraphron albifrons (Boucek) (Neapterolelapsinae, incertae sedis): head posterior view.