Lymaenon megacephala ( Risbec, 1951 ) Huber & Read & Triapitsyn, 2021

Huber, John T., Read, Jennifer D. & Triapitsyn, Serguei V., 2021, Illustrated key to the genera and catalogue of Mymaridae (Hymenoptera) in the Afrotropical region, Zootaxa 5036 (1), pp. 1-166 : 34-35

Lymaenon megacephala ( Risbec, 1951) , comb. n.

Polynema megacephala Risbec, 1951: 401 ; holotype ♀ ( MNHN?), lost? TL: Senegal, M’Bambey .

Distribution. Senegal.

Comment. Risbec (1951) described the species from a single female but the illustrations of the body and antenna are clearly based on a male. The species is, without doubt, not a Polynema but, based on the fore wing venation, most likely a species of Lymaenon . The host recorded, Belenois creona (Cramer) [as Anaphaeis creona Cramer ) ( Lepidoptera : Pieridae )] is almost certainly wrong ( Mymaridae are not parasitoids of Lepidoptera eggs). The butterfly larvae feed on Capparis and Maerua spp. , which gives a clue as to where to search for the eggs of potential hosts (most likely Cicadellidae ) to rear more specimens of L. megacephala to confirm its generic placement.