Cotesia plutellae (Kurdjumov, 1912)

(Figs 7 a–c, 8b)

Apanteles plutellae Kurdjumov, 1912: 226

Diagnosis. Entire hind coxa densely rugose. Scutellum entirely coarsely rugose-punctate without smooth interpunctures spaces. Tergite 3 setose on its almost entire surface. Metasoma usually laterally bright yellowish.

Description. cf. Nixon, 1974: 495 for details.

Material examined. 1Ƥ St Pierre / Bassin Martin, alt. 290m, XII.2010, leg. Cirad; 1Ƥ St André, IX.1997, leg. Cirad; 1Ƥ (CBGP 14805 RVA 556) La Réunion / St André sur Brassica 25/09/1997.

Host records. More than 30 lepidopteran species in Arctiidae, Lasiocampidae, Lymantriidae, Noctuidae, Notodontidae, Nymphalidae, Pieridae, Plutellidae, Pterophoridae, Pyralidae, and Tortricidae . The host ranges includes the major pests Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner: brassicae (L.: rapae (L.), Plutella xylostella (L.), and Spodoptera exigua (Hübner) .

Distribution records. Palearctic, Oriental, Australasian. Isolated records in Ethiopian Region: Benin and South Africa. Reunion (new record).

Comments. Cotesia plutellae has been considered as a junior synonym of C. vestalis (Shaw 2003) . Nevertheless, a recent investigation of the DNA of C. plutellae (Rincon et al. 2006) suggests it is a distinct species. Cotesia plutellae is also easily confounded with C. ruficrus . Both species are distinguishable by the microsculpture of the scutellum (coarser in C. plutellae) and the pilosity of tergum 3 ( C. plutellae has hairs on entire surface, while in C. ruficrus the pilosity is confined to the apical margin).