Pteromalus hieracii (Thomson, 1878)

Measurements. Body length: 1.3–2.3 (1.8) mm, maximum width: 0.5–0.8 (0.6) mm (n=2) ex gall Aulacidea follioti Barbotin.

Description. Whitish or yellowish; smaller with body 2.5× as long as broad (Fig. 4 E).

Head (anterior view) (Fig. 6 E). Regularly rounded, slightly broader than long; vertex clearly incised medially.

Mouth parts (Fig. 7 E). Ventral margin of clypeus straight; labium large and more or less rectangular, 3× wider than long.

Biology. The species P. hieracii is a parasitoid of several cynipid galls in Asteraceae plants such as Hieracium spp . (Fig. 9 B). In the Palaearctic region apart from A. follioti it has been reared from galls of Aulacidea hieracii (Linnaeus), Aulacidea tragopogonis (Thomson), Isocolus jaceae (Schenck), Isocolus scabiosae (Giraud), Phanacis caulicola (Hedicke), Phanacis centaureae (Förster), Phanacis hypochoeridis (Kieffer), Timaspis lampsanae (Perris), Timaspis lusitanica Tavares; and also from galls of Aylax papaveris (Perris) on Papaver spp . ( Papaveraceae) (Askew et al. 2006). It is always a primary ectoparasitoid of the cynipid larvae.

Material examined. ex gall A. follioti on Sonchus asper (Asteraceae), France, Pyrénées Atlantiques: Vallée D’Aspe (07/08/2003) J. L. Nieves leg. (n=2).