Daschia Diller 1970

Klopfstein, Seraina, 2014, Revision of the Western Palaearctic Diplazontinae (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae), Zootaxa 3801 (1), pp. 1-143 : 32

Daschia Diller 1970

Type species. Homotropus brevitarsis Thomson 1890

Diagnosis. Daschia can readily be identified by its unique clypeus which has a thickened and convex margin when viewed from both the side and from the front. Moreover, males have a black face. Otherwise, this genus can be confused with Homotropus , especially in those specimens with both weak notauli and weak transverse impressions on the tergites. But the shape of the clypeus clearly distinguishes it from all other genera.

Face coriaceous and matt, without vertical impressions, entirely black in both sexes. Clypeus with apical margin thick, clypeus thus convex and protruding when viewed in profile. Antenna with apical flagellomeres longer than wide, without tyloids.

Mesoscutum with notauli short, sometimes weak; smooth and shining and distinctly punctate, yellow shoulder marks absent; mesopleuron smooth and shining, with some irregular sculpture and weak punctures on lower half; epicnemial carina complete and strong. Propodeum with carinae weak or partly reduced, often only enclosing lateral areas but often with indications of basal and petiolar areas as well, rugose between the carinae; propodeal spiracle inconspicuous; scutellum only carinate basally. Fore wing areolet absent; hind wing with 2–3 basal hamuli. Hind tibia orange-brown. Female metasoma strongly dorsoventrally depressed, short, tergites 3 to 6 with hind margins straight to weakly concave; tergites with subapical transverse impressions indicated on tergites 1 and 2, usually indistinct on third tergite. First tergite without median dorsal carinae. Second and third tergites with spiracles dorsal, above lateral folds. Metasoma black, marked with orange at least behind transverse impressions of tergites 2 and 3. Ovipositor sheaths 0.3 times as long as hind tibia, not compressed, about circular in cross-section, fully enclosing ovipositor; basally smooth, apically with dense and conspicuous setae. Males with tergites 9 and 10 fused as a syntergum, sternite 9 about 1.5 times wider than long, emarginated apically, thus forming two lobes, their outer corner with an acute angle.

Phylogeny. Molecular data are to date missing for Daschia . Morphologically, it is close to Campocraspedon , as deduced from the thick clypeus and the black female face. Daschia also has slightly concave hind margins of the tergites, especially in females. The morphology of the male terminal sclerites, especially the acute outer angle of the ninth sternite, supports a close association of Daschia with the genera Campocraspedon , Syrphophilus and some Tymmophorus species of the Diplazon genus group.

Distribution. Daschia is a monotypic genus currently only known from the Western Palaearctic.

Biology. Nothing is known about the biology of the species.