Leptochilus de Saussure, 1853

Fateryga, Alexander V., Popovich, Anton V., Podunay, Yulia A. & Fateryga, Valentina V., 2020, First data on the bionomics of Leptochilus (Euleptochilus) limbiferus (Morawitz 1867) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae), with taxonomic notes and new records, Zootaxa 4851 (2), pp. 289-304 : 292

Genus Leptochilus de Saussure, 1853

Leptochilus de Saussure, 1853: 233 . Type species: Pterochilus mauritanicus Lepeletier de Saint-Fargeau, 1841 , by subsequent designation of Ashmead 1902: 209 (as “ Pterochilus mauritianus, Lepel. ”); Blüthgen 1961: 98–100; Parker 1966: 151–229; Giordani Soika 1970: 63–77; van der Vecht & Fischer 1972: 42–53; Kurzenko 1982: 100; Gusenleitner 1977: 163–178; 1985: 81–101; 1993: 745–769; 1995a: 169–181; 1995b: 768–771; 2013a: 43–54 ; Buck et al. 2008: 216–221; Carpenter et al. 2010: 158–159; Kumar & Carpenter 2015: 7786–7790; Antropov & Fateryga 2017: 185.

Remarks. Due to the vast literature on the genus Leptochilus , only the most important references relevant to the present study are cited above.

It is not easy to complete a definitive diagnosis of the genus due to its high variability. Usually, its representatives could be recognized by the following characters: head shorter or not much longer than its wide; proboscis not reaches mid coxae; thorax not much longer than its wide; pronotal foveae absent; pronotal carina present; tegula protruding posteriorly; second submarginal cell of forewing with obtuse basal angle; metanotum sharply edged posteriorly; propodeal valvula bilamellate, submarginal carina projecting as rounded lobe above valvula; tergum 1 hardly petiolate, without transverse carina, depressed subapically ( Parker 1966; Kurzenko 1982; Carpenter & Garcete-Barrett 2002; Buck et al. 2008; Gusenleitner 2013a; Tan et al. 2018). Old World species also have a peculiar apical lamella on tergum 2; this lamella has a basal row of small to large punctures. Representatives of the genus are usually very small wasps (except subgenera Leptochilus s. str. and Euleptochilus , which comprise rather mediumsized ones).

Subgenera included. Euleptochilus Blüthgen in Berland, 1943 (16 species); Leptochilus s. str. (1 species); Lionotulus Blüthgen, 1938 (90 species); Neoleptochilus Blüthgen, 1961 (27 species); Sarochilus Gusenleitner, 1970 (11 species); Zendalia Robertson, 1928 (55 species).