Platygastridae

Scelio sp., copyright Edward Trammel.

Belongs within: Proctotrupomorpha.
Contains: Baeini, Platygasterinae, Telenominae.

The Platygastridae are a clade of small wasps that begin life as parasitoids of insect and spider eggs though some may not emerge from the host until it has reached a more advanced stage of development. They are characterised by a unique telescoping ovipositor mechanism, and the presence of basiconic sensilla (presumably secretory) on the ventral surface of the first flagellomeres of the antennal clavus (Grimaldi & Engel 2005). The venation of the wings is reduced, particularly in the Platygasterinae and Sceliotrachelinae (Platygastridae sensu stricto) whose fore wings have only a knobbed submarginal vein or lack veins entirely. Subfamilies outside the Platygastridae sensu stricto were previously recognised as a distinct family Scelionidae before molecular phylogenetic analyses demonstrated the latter to represent a paraphyletic grouping. Species of Platygasterinae and Sceliotrachelinae also differ from 'Scelionidae' in having hymenopteriform or cyclopoid larvae rather than teleaform larvae (Naumann 1991).

Other members of the Platygastridae include the Teleasinae, characterised by a sharp lateral margin on the metasoma and lateral ocelli closer to the central ocellus than to the compound eyes, which parasitise eggs of Carabidae. The Thoronini are parasites of semi-aquatic Heteroptera such as Nepidae and Gerridae (Naumann 1991).

Characters (from Naumann 1991, for Platygasteroidea): Parasites of eggs or larvae. Antennal sockets and clypeus very narrowly separated or contiguous. Scape relatively long (length more than 2.5 times width). Pronotum virtually continuous behind fore coxae; prepectus fused to posterior of pronotum and represented by posterior pronotal inflection. Mesoscutum without median sulcus. Axillae variable. Fore wing without pterostigma; costal cell present or absent and radial cell open posteriorly or absent. M+CuA absent from hind wing. Suture present between T2 and S2; metasomal spiracles absent. Ovipositor at rest concealed within metasoma, can be protruded by increase in hydrostatic pressure within metasoma. T9 divided into anterior and posterior parts with anterior part concealed and attached to base of tube-like ovipositor and posterior part either exposed and bearing cerci or membranous and concealed. First instar larvae teleaform, hymenopteriform or cyclopoid.

Platygastridae [Platygastroidea, Scelionidae, Scelioninae, Scelionoidea]
    |--+--Archaeoteleia mellea MH11, HB13
    |  `--+--Nixonia watshami MH11
    |     `--Platygasterinae MH11
    `--+--Telenominae MH11
       `--+--Gryonini N91
          |    |--Gryon atriscapus MH11, NS91
          |    `--Encyrtoscelio N91
          `--Calliscelionini N91
               |--Macroteleia MH11
               |--Probaryconus N91
               |--Calliscelio N91
               |--Lispoteleia N91
               |--Neoparidris N91
               |--Crama N91
               `--Jarabambius N91

Platygastridae incertae sedis:
  Sceliomorpha HB13
  Chromateleia HB13
  Piestopleura canariensis Buhl 2005 F05
  Brachinostemma R70
  Tetrabaeus R70
  ‘Coelocyba’ musila Fernando 1957 B88
  Hoplogryon A71
  Oxytelia R70
  Teleasinae N91
    |--Xenomerus [Xenomerini] N91
    `--Teleasini N91
         |--Teleas clavicornis MS01 [=Scelio (Teleas) clavicornis G20]
         `--Trimorus N91
  Hadronotus N91
    |--H. bicolor Ashmead 1894 GM79
    |--H. goethei Girault 1932 G32
    `--H. variocellus Girault 1926 G26a
  Mirobaeus A95
  Prosapegus R70
  Hoploteleia R70
  Psilanteridini N91
  Doddiella [Doddiellini] N91
  Neoscelio [Neoscelionini] N91
  Cremastobaeus [Cremastobaeini] N91
  Ladora [Aradophagini] N91
  Platyscelio [Platyscelionini] N91
  Mantibaria [Mantibariini] N91
    |--M. anomala N91
    `--M. manticida [=Rielia manticida] RD77
  Scelio [Scelionini] N91
    |--S. duris Walker 1839 W39
    |--S. gobar Walker 1839 W39
    |--S. rugulosus G20
    |--S. shakespearei Girault 1926 G26b
    `--S. walkeri A71
  Embidobiini N91
    |--Embidobia R00
    `--Palaeogryon muesebecki Masner 1969 R00, P92
  Thoronini N91
    |--Tiphodytes N91
    `--Microthoron N91
  Baryconini N91
    |--Baryconus fulleri P92
    |--Bracalba N91
    `--Oxyscelio N91
  Baeini N91
  Eumicrosoma RD77
  Lepidoscelio RD77
  Proteroscelio antennalis Brues 1937 P92
  Cenomanoscelio pulcher Schlüter 1978 P92
  Aneurobaeus P92
  Archaeoscelio P92
  Brachyscelio P92
  Ceratobaeoides P92
  Ceratoteleia P92
  Chromoteleia P92
  Dissolcus P92
    |--D. atriscapus Girault 1926 G26c
    `--D. beenleighi Girault 1932 G32
  Electroteleia P92
  Hadronotoides P92
  Microtelenomus P92
  Proplatyscelio P92
  Pseudobaeus P92
    |--P. dugandani Girault 1928 G28
    |--P. glorius Girault 1926 G26c
    `--P. timorensis Girault 1932 G32
  Sembilanocera P92
  Sparasion Latreille 1802 P92, L02
    |--*S. cephalotes L02
    `--S. frontale G20
  Trachelopteron P92
  Uroteleia P92

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[A71] Askew, R. R. 1971. Parasitic Insects. Heinemann Educational Books: London.

[A95] Austin, A. D. 1995. New species of baeine parasitoids of spider eggs (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) from Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 52: 253–263.

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

[F05] Fernández, J. 2005. Noticia de nuevos táxones para la ciencia en el ámbito Íbero-Balear y Macaronésico. Nuevos táxones animales descritos en la península Ibérica y Macaronesia desde 1994 (IX). Graellsia 61 (2): 261–282.

[G26a] Girault, A. A. 1926a. Hymenoptera minutae nova Australiensis. Privately published (reprinted in: 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: 196).

[G26b] Girault, A. A. 1926b. Characteristics of new Australian insects. Privately published (reprinted in: 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: 197–198).

[G26c] Girault, A. A. 1926c. New pests from Australia. II. Privately published (reprinted in: 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: 200–202).

[G28] Girault, A. A. 1928. Some new hexapods stolen from authority. Privately published (reprinted in: 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: 221–224).

[G32] Girault, A. A. 1932. New lower Hymenoptera from Australia and India. Privately published (reprinted in: 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: 293–298).

[G20] Goldfuss, G. A. 1820. Handbuch der Naturgeschichte vol. 3. Handbuch der Zoologie pt 1. Johann Leonhard Schrag: Nürnberg.

[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.

[L02] Latreille, P. A. 1802. Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière des crustacés et des insectes vol. 3. Familles naturelles des genres. F. Dufart: Paris.

[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.

[NS91] Nagelkerke, C. J., & M. W. Sabelis. 1991. Precise sex-ratio control in the pseudo-arrhenotokous phytoseiid mite Typhlodromus occidentalis Nesbitt. In: Schuster, R., & P. W. Murphy (eds) The Acari: Reproduction, development and life-history strategies pp. 193–207. Chapman & Hall: London.

[N91] Naumann, I. D. 1991. Hymenoptera (wasps, bees, ants, sawflies). In: CSIRO. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers 2^nd ed. vol. 2 pp. 916–1000. Melbourne University Press: Carlton (Victoria).

[P92] Poinar, G. O., Jr. 1992. Life in Amber. Stanford University Press: Stanford.

[RD77] Richards, O. W., & R. G. Davies. 1977. Imms' General Textbook of Entomology 10^th ed. vol. 2. Classification and Biology. Chapman and Hall: London.

[R70] Riek, E. F. 1970. Hymenoptera (wasps, bees, ants). In: CSIRO. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers pp. 867–959. Melbourne University Press.

[R00] Ross, E. S. 2000. Embia: Contributions to the biosystematics of the insect order Embiidina. Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences 149: 1–53, 1–36.

[W39] Walker, F. 1839. Monographia Chalciditum vol. 2. Species collected by C. Darwin, Esq. Hyppolite Baillière: London.

Last updated: 18 March 2021.