Conura

Chalcis myrifex, copyright H. Dumas.

Belongs within: Chalcididae.

Conura is a genus of chalcidid wasps whose species mostly attack the pupae of Lepidoptera, though some develop on other insects such as Coleoptera. Molecular analysis (Heraty et al. 2013) suggests that this genus is paraphyletic to other members of the Chalcidini, a group of Chalcididae with a distinctly petiolate gaster and apically acute hind tibia. Members of the genus Chalcis are parasitoids of stratiomyiid fly larvae (Bouček 1988).

Characters (from Bouček 1988, for Chalcidini): Apex of hind tibia tapering into a strong spine extended far beyond insertion of tarsus; gaster attached at coxae; petiole distinctly longer than broad, not longitudinally striate; propodeal spiracle elongate in almost vertical direction; postmarginal vein several times longer than stigmal vein.

<==Conura [Chalcidariae, Chalcidini, Smicrini]
    |  i. s.: C. delumbis MH11
    |         C. debilis MH11
    |         C. miniata HB13
    |--C. xanthostigma HB13
    `--+--C. flavicans HB13
       `--+--C. immaculata HB13
          `--+--Melanosmicra variventris HB13
             `--Chalcis Fabricius 1787 HB13, B88 [=Smicra Spinola 1837 B88, Smiera Spinola 1811 B88]
                  |--*C. sispes [=Sphex sispes, *Smiera sispes] B88
                  |--C. amenocles D07
                  |--C. australiensis (Girault 1936) [=Smicra australiensis; incl. S. chinchillae Girault 1936] B88
                  |--C. columbiana Howard 1885 GM79
                  |--C. flavipes Fabricius 1793 MS01, B88
                  |--C. flebilis HB13
                  |--C. louisiana Girault 1917 G17
                  |--C. myrifex HB13
                  `--C. ovata G17
                       |--C. o. ovata G17
                       `--C. o. abiesae Girault 1917 G17

Nomen nudum: Chalcis anna Girault 1937 B88

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[B88] Bouček, Z. 1988. Australasian Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera): A biosystematic revision of genera of fourteen families, with a reclassification of species. CAB International: Wallingford (UK).

[D07] Desjardins, C. A. 2007. Phylogenetics and classification of the world genera of Diparinae (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae). Zootaxa 1647: 1–88.

[G17] Girault, A. A. 1917. Descriptiones stellarum novarum. Privately published (reprinted Gordh, G., A. S. Menke, E. C. Dahms & J. C. Hall. 1979. The privately printed papers of A. A. Girault. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 28: 80–101).

[GM79] Gordh, G., A. S. Menke, E. C. Dahms & J. C. Hall. 1979. The privately printed papers of A. A. Girault. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 28: 1–400.

[HB13] Heraty, J. M., R. A. Burks, A. Cruaud, G. A. P. Gibson, J. Liljeblad, J. Munro, J.-Y. Rasplus, G. Delvare, P. Janšta, A. Gumovsky, J. Huber, J. B. Woolley, L. Krogmann, S. Heydon, A. Polaszek, S. Schmidt, D. C. Darling, M. W. Gates, J. Mottern, E. Murray, A. D. Molin, S. Triapitsyn, H. Baur, J. D. Pinto, S. van Noort, J. George & M. Yoder. 2013. A phylogenetic analysis of the megadiverse Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera). Cladistics 29: 466–542.

[MS01] Mocsáry, A., & V. Szépligeti. 1901. Hymenopterák [Hymenopteren]. In: Horváth, G. (ed.) Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazása [Dritte Asiatische Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] vol. 2. Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazásának Állattani Eredményei [Zoologische Ergebnisse der Dritten Asiatischen Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] pp. 121–169. Victor Hornyánszky: Budapest, and Karl W. Hierseman: Leipzig.

[MH11] Munro, J. B., J. M. Heraty, R. A. Burks, D. Hawks, J. Mottern, A. Cruaud, J.-Y. Rasplus & P. Jansta. 2011. A molecular phylogeny of the Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera). PloS One 6 (11): e27023.