Meteorus oculatus Ruthe, 1862

Stigenberg, Julia & Ronquist, Fredrik, 2011, Revision of the Western Palearctic Meteorini (Hymenoptera, Braconidae), with a molecular characterization of hidden Fennoscandian species diversity 3084, Zootaxa 3084 (1), pp. 1-95 : 63-64

Meteorus oculatus Ruthe

Fig. 114

Meteorus oculatus Ruthe, 1862:23 . Lectotype ♀, Germany: Ruthe coll. (BMNH, London)—examined. Meteorus pachypus Schmiedeknecht, 1897:207 . Lectotype ♀, Germany: coll. Schmiedeknecht (ZMHB, Berlin), synonymized by Huddleston, 1980:42.

Diagnosis: The eyes of Meteorus oculatus are very large, protruding and strongy converging, a unique combination of characters among western Palearctic species. The Asian species ( Japan, Korea and China) M. graciliventris and M. endoclytae also have large, protruding and converging eyes but they are much larger species with body length upto 7 mm.

Studied material: ~ 40 specimens.

Description: Size about 4–5mm. Antennal articles 30–33, rather slender, in apical half of the flagellum, the articles are only slightly longer than broad. Head broad, strongly contracted behind eyes. Ocelli small, OOL about 2.5. Eyes very large, protuberant, strongly convergent. Malar space very short, much less than half the basal breadth of a mandible. Face about as broad as high. Clypeus slightly protuberant. Tentorial pits large. Mandibles slightly twisted. Precoxal sulcus deep. Propodeum rather narrow, strongly rugose with indistinct carinae. Petiolar tergum long, slender; dorsal pits distinct but small. Ovipositor long and straight, about 3 times length of petiolar tergum. Hind tibia strongly swollen, about as thick as femur but constricted at base. Tarsal claws short, simple and thick, strongly expanded at base. Colour black, legs testaceous; antennae, clypeus, mandibles, pronotum ventrally and 3 rd abdominal tergite also lighter in colour; wings infumate. Male same as female except that eyes are less strongly convergent and hind tibia not strongly swollen.

Distribution: Western Palearctic. Country records: Austria; Bulgaria; Czechoslovakia; Finland; Germany; Hungary; Kyrgyzstan; Lithuania; Norway; Poland; Sweden; Switzerland; Turkey; United Kingdom.

Biology: We found 29 specimens within the SMTP. They were caught from end of June to the end of September in mixed forests or in open terrain. M. oculatus is only recorded from Taleporia tubulosa ( Lepidoptera Psychidae ) ( Yu et al. 2005).

Figures

FIGURES 80–133. Anterior view of the head of Meteorus species (except for M. politutele, which is depicted in lateral view).