Hexacola Foerster , 1869

Noort, Simon van, Buffington, Matthew L. & Forshage, Mattias, 2015, Afrotropical Cynipoidea (Hymenoptera), ZooKeys 493, pp. 1-176 : 100-102

Taxon classification Animalia Hymenoptera Figitidae

Hexacola Foerster, 1869

Hexacola (synonym Daruna Benoit, 1956a, syn. n.)

Remarks.

Common throughout the Afrotropical region. Not always easily distinguished from Ganaspis and Didyctium . Daruna was erected by Benoit (1956a) for a specimen from Ruanda (the generic name being an anagram thereof), which, according to the original description, had dual glandular release pits of the scutellar plate, both the common posterior pit, and the central pit characteristic of most Diglyphosematini . Inspection of the holotype (in RMCA) by MB and MF revealed only the normal posterior glandular pit though, and nothing separates Daruna from a normal Hexacola . Linguistic gender of Hexacola is, according to etymology in the original description, neuter, but many species names have been given in the feminine previously.

Diagnosis.

Hexacola are usually very characteristic habitus-wise, being rather elongate eucolines with a characteristically globular head; a characteristic wing which is rather narrow with a narrow, closed, mostly triangular marginal cell; a very characteristic scutellum which is convex in its entirety; a very wide, convex, scutellar plate covering most of the surface; mostly striate sculpture on the narrow surrounding dorsal surfaces of the scutellum; and narrow, oblique scutellar foveae. Certain forms, however appear intermediate between the typical Hexacola and Dicyctium or Ganaspis . Occasionally the general bodyshape as well as scutellar striae of Hexacola may cause confusion with Kleidotoma , though the wings and metapleura are very different, or with Rhoptromeris , which can always be recognised by the pronotal plate with closed lateral bridges (and modified F2 in males).

Distribution.

Worldwide. Afrotropical records: Rwanda ( Benoit 1956a), Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe ( Quinlan 1986), St Helena ( Notton 2008), Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Yemen (here).

Biology.

Reported from many fly hosts and habitats worldwide, commonly Chloropidae and Ephydridae in agricultural or wet habitats (Allen and Pienkowski 1973, Beardsley 1989, Bhattacharyya 1957, Diamond et al. 2001, Díaz and Gallardo 2010, Gaddi et al. 2010, Kerrich and Quinlan 1960, Moore 1983, Nordlander and Grijpma 1991, Quinlan 1978, Simmonds 1952, Streams and Greenberg 1969, and others). African taxa so far only reared from Chloropidae (label data).

Species richness.

Hexacola absensa Quinlan, 1986 (Democratic Republic of Congo)

Hexacola amantia Quinlan, 1986 (Nigeria, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo)

Hexacola atropos Quinlan, 1986 (Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo)

Hexacola bifarium Quinlan, 1986 (Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe)

Hexacola camerounensis (Risbec, 1956), comb. n. ( Eucoila ) (Cameroon) Type specimen expected to be in the MNHN, but not yet located. Original description does not state any very informative characters, but based on the illustration, Hexacola seems like a probable option until type material surfaces.

Hexacola compactum Quinlan, 1986 (Democratic Republic of Congo)

Hexacola fringa Quinlan, 1986 (Zimbabwe)

Hexacola hexatoma (Hartig, 1841) ( Cothonaspis ) (Uganda; widely distributed species)

Hexacola muhavara (Benoit, 1956a), comb. n. ( Daruna ) (cf comments above) (Rwanda)

Hexacola octoclavum Quinlan, 1986 (Democratic Republic of Congo)

Hexacola pallidum Quinlan, 1986 (Democratic Republic of Congo)

Hexacola quinqueclavatum Quinlan, 1986 (Cameroon, Madagascar, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe)

Hexacola quisnama Quinlan, 1986 (South Africa, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo)

Hexacola septemium Quinlan, 1986 (Democratic Republic of Congo)

Hexacola zama Quinlan, 1986 (Democratic Republic of Congo)