You are here
Extant genera and species of Microgastrinae
Pseudapanteles Ashmead 1898
Nomenclature
-
Subfamily: Microgastrinae
SUMMARY
The genus Pseudapanteles is characterized by its elongate glossa which is strongly bilobed apically, propodeum with a strongly defined median longitudinal carina but no transverse carina (traces of a transverse carina are very rarely present in a few Neotropical species), mediotergite 1 with a sharp median sulcus, hypopygium with a large translucent fold with many pleats, and ovipositor sheaths at least 0.7 x as long as metatibia length. The only other genus that could be confused with Pseudapanteles is the more recently described Mariapanteles due to similar morphological features. However, Mariapanteles differs in having a complete or almost complete transverse carina on the propodeum which forks around the spiracles and reaches the lateral margins of the propodeum, and the hypopygium with no or few pleats (Whitfield et al. 2012). Another feature discussed by Whitfield et al. (2012) as being diagnostic to separate the two genera, the elongate glossa, has been later found to be variously present in species of both genera and thus is no longer useful to separate these genera.
,The genus Pseudapanteles is characterized by its elongate glossa which is strongly bilobed apically, propodeum with a strongly defined median longitudinal carina but no transverse carina (traces of a transverse carina are very rarely present in a few Neotropical species), mediotergite 1 with a sharp median sulcus, hypopygium with a large translucent fold with many pleats, and ovipositor sheaths at least 0.7 x as long as metatibia length. The only other genus that could be confused with Pseudapanteles is the more recently described Mariapanteles due to similar morphological features. However, Mariapanteles differs in having a complete or almost complete transverse carina on the propodeum which forks around the spiracles and reaches the lateral margins of the propodeum, and the hypopygium with no or few pleats (Whitfield et al. 2012). Another feature discussed by Whitfield et al. (2012) as being diagnostic to separate the two genera, the elongate glossa, has been later found to be variously present in species of both genera and thus is no longer useful to separate these genera.