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Classification

Ophioninae

of the Afrotropical Region

(Life: Kingdom: Metazoa (animals); Phylum: Arthropoda; Class: Hexapoda; Order: Hymenoptera;  Superfamily: Ichneumonoidea; Family: Ichneumonidae)

Ophioninae Shuckard 1840. Type genus: Ophion Fabricius, 1798

 

Afrophion Gauld, 1979

Afrophion_gigas_HOLOTYPE

Athyreadon Ashmead, 1900

Dicamptus_crassellus_HOLOTYPE

Dicamptus Szépligeti, 1905

 

Dictyonotus Kriechbaumer, 1894

Enicospilus Stephens, 1835

 

Eremotylus Förster, 1869

Euryphion_nigripennis_HOLOTYPE

Euryophion Cameron, 1906

 

Laticoleus Townes, 1973

 

Lepiscelus Townes, 1971

 

Orientospilus Morley, 1912

Rhopalphion_discinervus_HOLOTYPE

Rhopalophion Seyrig, 1935

 

Simophion Cushman, 1947

 

Skiapus Morley, 1917

 

Stauropoctonus Brauns, 1889

Distribution

Worldwide.

Biology Koinobiont parasitoids of Lepidoptera. One species is known to parasitize Scarabeidae (Coleoptera). Nocturnal.
Diversity About 1020 species in 33 genera.
Diagnosis Clypeus separated from face by a groove. Ocelli large, lateral ocelli separated from eyes by less than their own diameter. Antenna long and slender with often more than 55 flagellomeres. Fore wing with areolet open (3Rs-m absent) and vein 2Rs-m almost always apical to 2m-Cu, resulting in an elongate disco-submarginal cell. Metasomal tergite I long, without glymma, without trace of tergal-sternal suture, the spiracle at apex. Metasoma strongly com-pressed laterally. Ovipositor short, at maximum equal to apical metasomal height, with dorsal subapical notch. Color most often pale yellowish or brownish. Ophioninae are easily distinguishable though they could be confounded with Netelia which are also large pale nocturnal species often attracted by light traps (Rousse & Villemant, 2012).

References

Fitton, M.G. and Gauld, I.D. 1976. The family-group names of the Ichneumonidae (excluding Ichneumoninae) (Hymenoptera). Systematic Entomology 1: 247-258.

Förster, A. 1869. Synopsis der Familien und Gattungen der Ichneumonen. Verhandlungen des Naturhistorischen Vereins der Preussischen Rheinlande und Westfalens 25: 135-221.

Gauld, I.D. & Mitchell, P.A. 1978. The taxonomy, distribution and host preferences of African parasitic wasps of the subfamily Ophioninae (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae). Commonwealth Institute of Entomology, Slough, England, 287 pp.

Rousse, P. & Villemant, C. 2012. Ichneumons in Reunion Island: a catalogue of the local Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera) species, including 15 new taxa and a key to species. Zootaxa 3278: 1–57.

Quicke, D.L.J. ; Fitton, M.G.; Broad, G.R.; Crocker, B.; Laurenne, N.M.; Miah, M.I. 2005. The parasitic wasp genera Skiapus, Hellwigia, Nonnus, Chriodes, and Klutiana (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae): recognition of the Nesomesochorinae stat. rev. and Nonninae stat. nov. and transfer of Skiapus and Hellwigia to the Ophioninae. Journal of Natural History 39(27): 2559-2578.

Yu D.S., van Achterberg, K., Horstmann, K. 2011. World Ichneumonoidea 2011. Taxonomy, biology, morphology and distribution. Available from Vancouver, Canada: Taxapad. www.taxapad.com

Credits

Photographs © Simon van Noort or Aisha Mayekiso (Iziko Museums).

Acaenitinae; Anomaloninae; Banchinae; Brachycyrtinae; Brachyscleromatinae; Campopleginae; Cremastinae; Cryptinae; Ctenopelmatinae; Diplazontinae; Eucerotinae; Ichneumoninae; Lycorininae; Mesochorinae; Metopiinae; Ophioninae; Orthocentrinae; Pimplinae; Rhyssinae; Tersilochinae; Tryphoninae; Xoridinae


Web author Simon van Noort (Iziko South African Museum)

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