Doryctinae Foerster

Marsh, Paul M., Wild, Alexander L. & Whitfield, James B., 2013, The Doryctinae (Braconidae) of Costa Rica: genera and species of the tribe Heterospilini, ZooKeys 347, pp. 1-474 : 12

Subfamily Doryctinae Foerster

Doryctinae Foerster, 1862: 227, 238 (as Doryctoidae ).

Diagnosis

(taken from Marsh 2002). Cyclostome braconids with circular or oval mouth opening formed by concave apical margin of clypeus, mandibles (when closed) and concave labrum; occipital carina usually present, rarely absent; fore tibia with row or (rarely) cluster of stout, short spines along anterior edge distinct from regular setae; epicnemial carina present; double node at apex of dorsal valve of the ovipositor; flange at the apico-lateral corner of the propleuron just above the fore coxa and extending slightly over ventro-lateral corner of pronotum.

Species now included in the Doryctinae were first described by Linnaeus and Fabricius in the genus Ichneumon . Many of these species and subsequently described new species were transferred to the genus Bracon Fabricius (1804). In 1808, Spinola separated from this genus what he called the Bracon petiolatus group which was later described as the genus Spathius by Nees (1818). This is apparently the first genus to be later included in the Doryctinae .

Foerster, in his monumental study of braconid classification, divided the Braconidae into several groups which later became subfamilies, tribes and subtribes ( Foerster 1862). He included doryctine genera in groups he called Doryctoidae , Euspathioidae and Hecaboloidae . Forester was the first to use the name Doryctinae (-oidae) and is considered the author of the subfamily name.