Subgenus Ceropales Latreille, 1796 sensu stricto

Ceropales Latreille, 1796: 123 .

Type species: Evania maculata Fabricius, 1775, by subsequent monotypy of Latreille 1810: 437.

Agenioxenus Ashmead, 1902: 137 . Type species: Ceropales rufiventris Walsh & Riley, 1869 = robinsonii Cresson, 1867, by original designation. Junior subjective synonym of Ceropales Latreille, 1796 according to Viereck 1902: 275.

Ceratopales Schulz, 1906: 174 . Subsequent misspelling of Ceropales Latreille, 1796 .

Hypsiceraeus Morice & Durant, 1915: 403, 405. Type species: Evania maculata Fabricius, 1775, by original designation. Junior subjective synonym of Ceropales Latreille, 1796 according to Wahis 1986: 34.

Bifidoceropales Wolf, 1965: 72 (as subgenus of Ceropales). Type species: Ceropales (Bifidoceropales) pygmaeus Kohl, 1880, by original designation. Synonymy with Ceropales s. str. by Waichert et al. (2022).

Key to species of the subgenus Ceropales (Ceropales) from India

1. Tarsal claws simple, not bifid apically; body ferruginous or black with yellow-ivory patches......................... 2

– Both claws of fore (♀) and middle (♀, J) tarsi bifid, with a long appressed, obliquely truncate subapical tooth; body black; inner claw of fore leg (J) deeply split owing to the unusually large, not truncate inner tooth basally..................................................................................................... declivis (Haupt, 1934)

2. Wings subfuscous or fusco-hyaline....................................................................... 3

– Wings hyaline....................................................................................... 5

3. Fore wing infuscated in apical third; metasoma black, T1–T3 with white lateral bands............. ligea Bingham, 1903

– Fore wing subfuscous or fusco-hyaline entirely; metasomal segments ferruginous or yellow with ferruginous patches..... 4

4. Metasoma yellow, basal margin of the metasomal segments 1–3 basally ferruginous, fuscous or fusco-ferruginous; mesosoma yellow, mesothorax and base of metathorax black or fuscous; legs yellow, variegated with ferruginous spots.................................................................................................. ornata Smith, 1855

– Metasoma ferruginous with basal segment black; mesosoma: pronotum, tegula ferruginous; legs ferruginous, coxa and trochanter black................................................................... fuscipennis Smith, 1855

5. Pronotum strikingly convex in lateral view and rather steeply sloping to mesonotum................................ 6

– Pronotum not convex in lateral view, in level with mesonotum................................................. 7

6. Frons raised in lateral view onto antennal region; lateral side of propodeum with remarkable and finely cross-wrinkled metapleural suture; free margin of the last metasomal segment significantly curved; propodeum conspicuously flat over its entire length; posterior part of propodeum dark reddish laterally.............................. judicatrix Nurse, 1902

– Frons normal, moderately raised in lateral view, shortly flat below fore ocellus and raised between antennal sockets; metapleural sulcus not developed, rarely hardly discernible; free margin of the last metasomal segment nearly straight, slightly curved above in lateral view; posterior margin of propodeum raised laterally; lateral corners of propodeum white........................................................................................................ indica Móczár, 1989

7. Head with dense yellowish-brown setae, mainly concentrated on upper frons and vertex; clypeus completely pale yellow without any marking; ivory patch on face non confluent; antenna pale yellow ventrally, brownish black dorsally; medial emargination of compound eyes not deep......................................... keralaensis Anju, Binoy & Thejass, sp. nov.

– Head without prominent yellowish-brown setae; clypeus pale yellow with a black spot medially; ivory patch on face confluent till upper eye margin; antenna entirely brownish black; compound eyes medially deeply emarginated............................................................................. anaghae Anju, Girish Kumar & Thejass, sp. nov.