Symphytopria Kieffer, 1910

Chemyreva, Vasilisa G., 2024, Revision of the genus Symphytopria Kieffer (Hymenoptera, Diapriidae, Diapriinae) with notes on its taxonomy, Zootaxa 5541 (3), pp. 375-382 : 376

Symphytopria Kieffer, 1910

Symphytopria Kieffer, 1910: 694 , 739; 1912: 3, 32; 1916: 6, 24.

Type species: Symphytopria fulva Kieffer , designated by Kieffer (1912).

Diagnosis. Body small to medium-sized (1.5‒2.5 mm), usually pale, mainly reddish or yellowish to partly dark brown, mostly smooth, with abundant setae. Setose cushions developed on postgenae, pronotum, base of T2 and S2; mesosoma ventrally, metapleuron, propodeum and petiole entirely pubescent. Head globular or subrectangular in dorsal view. Eye small, setose, circular and distinctly shorter than malar distance. Ocelli strongly reduced to absent. Antennal shelf distinctly projecting; toruli contiguous. Clypeus not separated dorsally from supraclypeal area by epistomal sulcus ( Fig. 3C ). Malar sulcus and tentorial pits absent. Labrum not exposed. Maxillar palpi 5-segmented and labial palpi 3-segmented. Antenna of male 14- and female 13-segmented. Female antennae with abrupt 3- segmented clava; A1 as long as A2‒A5 or A2‒A6 measured together; A4‒A9 small, as long as wide to transverse. Male antennae filiform with A4 modified. Mesosoma elongate and slightly compressed. Pronotum almost invisible in dorsal view, mesonotum and pronotal collar almost perpendicular to each other; lateral side of pronotum smooth. Scutellum fused with mesoscutum and metanotum, usually without any sculpture, sometimes with two very shallow anterior scutellar pits and weak traces of posterior scutellar pits. Propodeum slightly transverse; in dorsal view propodeum 0.8‒1.0 times as long as projected part of petiole and 0.33‒0.43 times as long as mesonotum and metanotum combined (length of all structured measured medially). Mesopleuron narrow, totally bare and smooth; epicnemial pit absent. Tegula tiny, fore wing strongly reduced and, at most, reaching only middle of propodeum.All legs with trochantelli. In lateral view petiole strongly humped dorsally in its anterior part and usually elevated above T2, while its posterior part situated lower than T2 and covered by deep grooves ( Figs 1E , 4D ). Median and lateral grooves present on T2 and S2 ( Fig. 4D, E ).

Remarks. Although the tribal taxonomy of the subfamily Diapriinae is well treated ( Masner & García 2002), the position of Symphytopria within the subfamily is doubtful. The antennal formula of the genus (male 14- and female 13-segmented antennae) agrees with the diagnosis of Diapriini given by Masner & García (2002), but the same antennal formula is only known for the species-poor genus Monelata Förster , which is morphologically distant from Symphytopria . Furthermore, the structure of the T2 and S2 bases in Symphytopria does not match the characters of the known Diapriini genera. I suggest that Symphytopria is closely related to the genus Idiotypa Förster and should be placed in the tribe Spilomicrini ( Chemyreva et al. 2021) . According to Masner & García (2002) the genera of the tribe Spilomicrini comprise diapirid wasps with “antennal formula most frequently 13–13, rarely 12–13, exceptionally 14–14” and submarginal vein in fore wing “distinctly to remarkably remote from fore margin, costal cell relatively wide”. Unfortunately, the wing venation of Symphytopria species cannot be described, as all the known species of the genus have very tiny wings with reduced venation. However, 13-segmented antennae in females and 14-segmented in males are known in this tribe and only the combination of such characters in males and females of the same species is unique. This feature, together with the character of the T2 and S2 base structure and some other additional features: anterior scutellar pit, if present (like a trace), bifoveate or replaced by arc of minute crenulae; presence of trace of posterior scutellar pits in some specimens; dense cushion at the base of S2, persuaded me to associate this genus with the genera of the tribe Spilomicrini . Species of this tribe most similar to Symphytopria are Idiotypa nitens (Szabó) and Spilomicrus antennatus (Jurine) , which have much in common with Symphytopria species (Chemyreva 2021; Chemyreva at al. 2021).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Holotypes of Symphytopria fulva (A, B, D) and Symphytopria fusciceps (C, E, F): A, E—female in lateral view; C, D—female in dorsal view; B, F—labels. Scale bar: A, D—1 mm; E—0.5 mm.

FIGURE 3. Male of Symphytopria fulva: A, B—whole body in dorsal (A) and lateral (B) views; C—face; D—basal part of antenna (A1–A7). Scale bar 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 4. Holotypes of Symphytopria facialis (A, C, F) and Symphytopria trisulcata (B, D, E, G): A, D—female body in dorsal view; C—female antennae; C, E—female body in lateral view; F, G—labels. Scale bar 0.5 mm.