AnimaliaHymenopteraFigitidaevan NoortSimonBuffingtonMatthew L.ForshageMattiasReview of Afrotropical Figitinae (Figitidae, Cynipoidea, Hymenoptera) with the first records of Neralsia and Lonchidia for the regionZookeys101120142014453376910.3897/zookeys.453.8511 Neralsia Cameron, 1883Neralsia Cameron, 1883: 4. Type species: Neralsia rufipes Cameron, 1883, by monotypy and original designation.Xyalosema Dalla Torre & Kieffer, 1910: 73 & 94. Replacement name for Solenaspis Ashmead, 1887.Solenaspis Ashmead, 1887: 151 & 155. Unavailable junior homonym of Solenaspis Osten Sacken, 1881 (Diptera). Type species: Solenaspis hyalinipennis Ashmead, 1887 by monotypy and original designation.Diagnosis.

Along with Xyalophora, this is the only known figitine in the Afrotropical Region with a scutellar spine. Neralsia can be distinguished from Xyalophora by whether or not the notauli are horizontally striate: smooth in Neralsia, striate in Xyalophora (Jiménez et al. 2008c). Also, most Neralsia have longer, more robust scutellar spines than Xyalophora, but in specimens we have examined, this character varies with overall size of the specimen. This taxon also resembles Prosaspicera (Aspicerinae), which also possess a distinct scutellar spine, but can be separated from Prosaspicera by the lack of a facial impression on the head (present in Prosaspicera), and lack of a ligulate metasoma T2.

Lonchidia clavicornis Thomson female. A lateral habitus B dorsal habitus C head and mesosoma, lateral view D head anterio-lateral view E mesosoma, dorsal view F wings (inset: data labels).

Comments.

Rare in Afrotropical region. The genus is extremely species-rich in the Neotropical region and has recently been revised in a series of papers by Jiménez et al. (2004, 2005a, 2005b, 2006, 2007, 2008a, 2008b), Jiménez and Pujade-Villar (2009); Petersen-Silva and Pujade-Villar (2010); Petersen-Silva et al. (2010) and Pujade-Villar et al. 2006. Neralsia is also common throughout the Nearctic Region, but species limits have not been thoroughly established (Buffington, pers. obs.)

Distribution.

Mainly Neotropical, but with single species in the Nearctic and Afrotropical regions. Purported records from the Oriental region and the east Palearctic are unconfirmed. Afrotropical records: Central African Republic, South Africa (here).

Biology.

Parasitoids of calyptrate Brachycera larvae in decomposing substrates (Díaz et al. 2000; Thomas and Morgan 1972).

JiménezMParetas-MartínezJPujade-VillarJ (2008c) Revision of Xyalophora Kieffer and description of Xyalophoroides gen. n. (Hymenoptera: Figitidae: Figitinae).European Journal of Entomology105: 751769. doi: 10.14411/eje.2008.101JiménezMDíazNBGallardoFRos-FarréPPujade-VillarJ (2004) Las especies sudamericanas del género Neralsia Cameron (Hymenoptera: Cynipoidea: Figitidae: Figitinae): estudio del material tipo.Butlletí de la Institució Catalana d’Història Natural72: 6181.JiménezMDíazNBGallardoFRos-FarréPPujade-VillarJ (2005a) Resultados preliminares del estudio de las especies sudamericanas del género Neralsia Cameron (Hymenoptera: Cynipoidea: Figitidae: Figitinae).Sessió Conjunta d’Entomologia de la Institució Catalana d’Història Natural y la Societat Catalana de Lepidopterologia13(2003): 7384.JiménezMDíazNBGallardoFRos-FarréPPujade-VillarJ (2005b) Descripción de ocho especies sudamericanas del género Neralsia Cameron 1883, con carena escutelar alta (Hymenoptera: Cynipoidea: Figitidae).Nouvelle Revue d’Entomologie (N.S.) 22(2): 165179.JiménezMDíazNBGallardoFRos-FarréPPujade-VillarJ (2006) Descripción de nueve especies sudamericanas del género Neralsia Cameron con carena escutelar baja (Hymenoptera: Cynipoidea: Figitidae).Neotropical Entomology31(1): 5969. doi: 10.1590/S1519-566X2006000100009JiménezMParetas-MartínezJPujade-VillarJ (2007) Revision of the South American species of Neralsia (Hymenoptera: Figitidae) with the description of eight new species.Revista de Biologia Tropical (International Journal of Tropical Biology) 56(2): 795828. doi: 10.15517/rbt.v56i2.5625JimenézMParetas-MartínezJPujade-VillarJ (2008a) Revisión de las especies de Neralsia de Centroamérica y las Antillas, con la descripción de once especies nuevas (Hymenoptera: Figitidae: Figitinae).Dugesiana15(1): 4568.JiménezMParetas-MartínezJPujade-VillarJ (2008b) Revision of the species of Neralsia (Hymenoptera: Figitidae: Figitinae) from North America.Annals of the Entomological Society of America101(6): 9931002. doi: 10.1603/0013-8746-101.6.993JiménezMPujade-VillarJ (2009) Descripción de nueva especie de Neralsia (Hymenoptera: Figitinae) de Bolivia.Boletín Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa45: 313315.Petersen-SilvaRPujade-VillarJ (2010) Descripción de dos nuevas especies del género Neralsia Cameron de Venezuela (Hymenoptera: Cynipoidea: Figitidae).Dugesiana17(1): 4952.Petersen-SilvaRJiménezMGarcíaJLPujade-VillarJ (2010) Nuevos aportes al conocimiento de las especies del género Neralsia Cameron (Hymenoptera: Figitidae: Figitinae) en Venezuela.Boletín de la Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa46: 373376.Pujade-VillarJParetas-MartínezJJiménezM (2006) Description of a new species of Neralsia Cameron with a wide distribution in the American continent: N. incompleta n. sp. (Hymenoptera: Figitidae: Figitinae).Annales de la Société Entomologique de France (n.s.) 42(1): 4549.DíazNBGallardoFMarchioriCLinharesA (2000) About Cynipoidea of Brazil, parasitoids of dung-flies. II (Insecta, Hymenoptera).Anais da Sociedade Entomolológica do Brasil29(3): 469474. doi: 10.1590/S0301-80592000000300009