Zosteragathis Sharkey

Sharkey, Michael J. & Chapman, Eric, 2017, Ten new genera of Agathidini (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Agathidinae) from Southeast Asia, ZooKeys 660, pp. 107-150 : 125-126

Zosteragathis Sharkey gen. n.

Type species.

Zosteragathis samensis Sharkey, sp. n.

Etymology.

Zoster is Greek for belt; here it is a reference to the white band present on the second metasomal median tergite of most species. Feminine.

Diagnosis.

Fore wing hyaline, not infuscate in distal half. Antennal sockets not margined with carinae. Temple rounded in dorsal view. Notauli depressed and partly or entirely pitted. Dorsal margin of hind coxal cavities situated above ventral-most margin of metasomal foramen. Pegs on anterior surface of fore tibia absent. Hind trochantellus lacking longitudinal carinae. Second submarginal cell of fore wing petiolate, small to minute. First median tergite entirely, finely, irregularly striate; lateral carina weak. Second median tergite more than 2x longer than wide. Second median tergite usually entirely, finely, irregularly, striate with striae ending evenly near apex of tergite, rarely striae partly absent. Some species have reduced striae on second median tergite and are recognized by the lack of apomorphic structures that distinguish other closely related genera, e.g., claws not simple, interantennal space without a sharply declivous keel, first median tergite without prominent lateral carina or medial carina, fore tarsus without spines or pegs.

Distribution and diversity.

Australian, Ethiopian, Oceania, Oriental, and eastern Palearctic regions.

Biology.

Hosts are unknown for all Thai species; however, there are records for three extra-Thai species. These appear to suggest that the host range is wide. The records are: Zosteragathis coryphe was reared from Phycodes radiata ( Sesioidea: Brachodidae ) ( Nixon 1950). Zosteragathis robusta (Achterberg and Long) from Vietnam was reared from " Omiodes indicata ( Lepidoptera : Pyralidae : Pyraustinae) on soybean ( Glycine max (Linnaeus)), according to the label data", ( Achterberg and Long 2010). Zosteragathis festiva (Muesebeck) was reared from Grapholitha molesta , the oriental fruit moth, ( Tortricoidea: Tortricidae ). Many other Lepidoptera from a wide range of families are listed by Yu et al. (2012) as hosts of Zosteragathis festiva , e.g., Blastobasidae , Carposinidae , Gelechiidae , Noctuidae , and Pyralidae .