Chalcedectidae new status, 1964

Burks, Roger, Mitroiu, Mircea-Dan, Fusu, Lucian, Heraty, John M., Jansta, Petr, Heydon, Steve, Papilloud, Natalie Dale-Skey, Peters, Ralph S., Tselikh, Ekaterina V., Woolley, James B., van Noort, Simon, Baur, Hannes, Cruaud, Astrid, Darling, Christopher, Haas, Michael, Hanson, Paul, Krogmann, Lars & Rasplus, Jean-Yves, 2022, From hell's heart I stab at thee! A determined approach towards a monophyletic Pteromalidae and reclassification of Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera), Journal of Hymenoptera Research 94, pp. 13-88 : 13

Chalcedectidae new status

Chalcedectinae Ashmead, 1904. Type genus: Chalcedectus Walker, 1852.

Diagnosis.

Antenna with 11 flagellomeres, including 3 clavomeres, clava with apical spine in females (Fig. 8 ). Eyes ventrally divergent. Labrum exposed, sclerotized. Mandibles with 3 teeth. Subforaminal bridge with a postgenal bridge occurring dorsal to the hypostoma, with convergent hypostomal carina, without a postgenal groove or postgenal lamina. Prepectus with dorsal margin at least as long as tegula. Notauli complete; tegula not covering most of humeral plate. Mesoscutellum with variable frenal area: either without a frenum, or having an expanded marginal rim of the mesoscutellum, or with either a frenum indicated mainly by a frenal arm and an indistinct frenal groove, or an ambiguous frenum that can be difficult to interpret; and with axillular sulcus or carina (Fig. 9 ). Mesopleural area without an expanded acropleuron; mesepimeron not extending over anterior margin of metapleuron (Fig. 9 ). All legs with 5 tarsomeres; protibial spur stout and curved; basitarsal comb longitudinal; metafemur with ventral teeth (Fig. 10 ), with metatibial spurs arising from a ventroapical projection (not shown) or absent (Fig. 10 ). Metasoma with syntergum, therefore without epipygium.

Discussion.

Chalcedectidae are most likely to be confused with other Chalcidoidea that have a metafemur with ventral teeth, which occurs in various families and isolated genera across the superfamily. Chalcididae differ in having a small prepectus, the dorsal margin of which is shorter than the tegula, and in that the tegula covers most or all of the humeral plate. In Lyciscidae , the metatibial spurs arise from a truncate apical margin of the metatibia. Leucospidae have, in females, unusual ovipositor sheaths that recurve over the gaster and fit in a notch and, in males, a carapace-like gaster with at most 3 separate terga. Pelecinellidae have an elongate petiole with many lateral setae at a right angle to the longitudinal axis of the petiole, whereas in Chalcedectidae the petiole is small and hardly visible from dorsal view. Boucekiidae have a single clavomere, and either an epipygium or a transverse sulcus across the syntergum immediately anterior to the cerci. A few Melanosomellidae have a toothed metafemur, but they either lack an axillular sulcus or carina or have a reduced and incomplete one, and do not have ventrally divergent eyes. Cleonymidae have incomplete notauli. Some Torymidae have ventral metafemoral teeth, but these have a separate epipygium in females and do not have ventrally divergent eyes. In Liepara Bouček ( Coelocybidae ), the frenum is unambiguously visible dorsally, with a pair of strong setae adjacent to the frenal groove. A few Eulophidae can have ventral teeth on the metafemur, but they have 4 tarsomeres on all legs.

Figures

Figures 7 - 12. 7 Neocalosoter sp. (Cerocephalidae): mesosoma in lateral view 8 - 10 Chalcedectus sp. (Chalcedectidae) 8 antenna 9 mesosoma in lateral view 10 hind leg 11 Cleonymus sp. (Cleonymidae): head in frontal view 12 Agrilocida ferrieri Steffan (Cleonymidae): hind leg.