Chalcedectidae new status

Chalcedectinae Ashmead, 1904. Type genus: Chalcedectus Walker, 1852.

Diagnosis.

Antenna with 11 flagellomeres, including 3 clavomeres, clava with apical spine in females (Fig. 8). Eyes ventrally divergent. Labrum exposed, sclerotized. Mandibles with 3 teeth. Subforaminal bridge with a postgenal bridge occurring dorsal to the hypostoma, with convergent hypostomal carina, without a postgenal groove or postgenal lamina. Prepectus with dorsal margin at least as long as tegula. Notauli complete; tegula not covering most of humeral plate. Mesoscutellum with variable frenal area: either without a frenum, or having an expanded marginal rim of the mesoscutellum, or with either a frenum indicated mainly by a frenal arm and an indistinct frenal groove, or an ambiguous frenum that can be difficult to interpret; and with axillular sulcus or carina (Fig. 9). Mesopleural area without an expanded acropleuron; mesepimeron not extending over anterior margin of metapleuron (Fig. 9). All legs with 5 tarsomeres; protibial spur stout and curved; basitarsal comb longitudinal; metafemur with ventral teeth (Fig. 10), with metatibial spurs arising from a ventroapical projection (not shown) or absent (Fig. 10). Metasoma with syntergum, therefore without epipygium.

Discussion.

Chalcedectidae are most likely to be confused with other Chalcidoidea that have a metafemur with ventral teeth, which occurs in various families and isolated genera across the superfamily. Chalcididae differ in having a small prepectus, the dorsal margin of which is shorter than the tegula, and in that the tegula covers most or all of the humeral plate. In Lyciscidae, the metatibial spurs arise from a truncate apical margin of the metatibia. Leucospidae have, in females, unusual ovipositor sheaths that recurve over the gaster and fit in a notch and, in males, a carapace-like gaster with at most 3 separate terga. Pelecinellidae have an elongate petiole with many lateral setae at a right angle to the longitudinal axis of the petiole, whereas in Chalcedectidae the petiole is small and hardly visible from dorsal view. Boucekiidae have a single clavomere, and either an epipygium or a transverse sulcus across the syntergum immediately anterior to the cerci. A few Melanosomellidae have a toothed metafemur, but they either lack an axillular sulcus or carina or have a reduced and incomplete one, and do not have ventrally divergent eyes. Cleonymidae have incomplete notauli. Some Torymidae have ventral metafemoral teeth, but these have a separate epipygium in females and do not have ventrally divergent eyes. In Liepara Bouček ( Coelocybidae), the frenum is unambiguously visible dorsally, with a pair of strong setae adjacent to the frenal groove. A few Eulophidae can have ventral teeth on the metafemur, but they have 4 tarsomeres on all legs.