Very common throughout Africa.

Usually medium-sized and rather stout eucoilines, with a more or less reduced hairy ring. Often superficially similar to Ganaspis. Easily separated from the former in males, since Leptopilina males have antennal F1 hardly modified and F2 moderately modified, while Ganaspis have F1 distinctly modified and F2 not at all; but for females (or males with antennae not visible) it is important to examine the metapleural corner: in Leptopilina it is oblique and hairless, in Ganaspis rectangular and hairy. Many Leptopilina which have a narrow marginal cell may be confused with Rhoptromeris, which have the male F2 more strongly modified and only rarely have a reduced hairy ring, and which are easy to separate by having lateral bridges on the pronotum (open in Leptopilina, closed in Rhoptromeris).

Species groups have been suggested by Nordlander (1980) and Allemand et al. (2002), but these have little consequence for the identification of the genus as such.

Worldwide. Afrotropical records: Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Nigeria, Seychelles, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe (Quinlan 1986), St Helena (Notton 2008), Benin, Comoros, Gambia, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mauritius, Republic of Congo, Reunion, Sao Tomé (Allemand et al. 2002), Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Yemen (here).

Well-known for attacking Drosophilidae in various habitats (van Alphen et al. 1991, Buffington 2007; Buffington et al. 2012, Lee et al. 2009, Novkovic et al. 2011), including in Africa (Allemand et al. 2002, Nordlander 1980).

Leptopilina africana (Kieffer, 1911b), comb. n. (Eucoila) (replacement name for Eucoila afra Kieffer, 1910d nec Kieffer, 1904) Type ZMBH seen by MF (Rwanda)

Leptopilina apella Quinlan, 1988 (Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar)

Leptopilina atraticeps (Kieffer, 1911b) (Ectolyta) (Nigeria, Seychelles)

Leptopilina boulardi (Barbotin, Carton & Kelner-Pillault, 1979) (Cothonaspis) (Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Republic of Congo, Seychelles, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe; worldwide distributed species)

syn Charips mahensis Kieffer, 1911c, a secondary homonym in Leptopilina

Leptopilina cavernicola (Kieffer, 1913b), comb. n. (Eucoila) Type not found, apparently missing in MNHN, placement tentative based on original description (Tanzania)

Leptopilina drosophilae (Kieffer, 1913c), comb. n. (Eucoila) Type not located (possibly in coll Silvestri), placement based on original description (Guinea)

Leptopilina dulcis (Quinlan, 1988), comb. n. (Cothonaspis) (Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar)

Leptopilina fannius Quinlan, 1988 (Democratic Republic of Congo)

Leptopilina faunus Quinlan, 1988 (Democratic Republic of Congo)

Leptopilina fenerivae (Kieffer, 1910c), comb. n. (Psilosema) Type in ZMUH seen in 1980s by Göran Nordlander and generic placement assessed by him (pers. comm.), but not found upon more recent enquiry (Ralph Peters pers. comm.) (Madagascar)

Leptopilina fimbriata (Kieffer, 1901a) (Eucoela) (Palearctic species, also recorded from Afrotropical region)

Leptopilina freyae Allemand & Nordlander, 2002 (Benin, Gambia, Kenya)

Leptopilina guineaensis Allemand & Nordlander, 2002 (Benin, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Reunion, South Africa, Sao Tomé)

Leptopilina heterotoma (Thomson, 1862) (Eucoila) (Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, St Helena; worldwide distributed species)

syn Pseudeucoila bochei Weld, 1944

Leptopilina itys Quinlan, 1988 (Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe)

Leptopilina mahensis (Kieffer, 1911c) (Erisphagia) (Seychelles)

Leptopilina misensus Quinlan, 1988 (Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda)

Leptopilina orientalis Allemand & Nordlander, 2002 (Comoros, Madagascar, Reunion)

Leptopilina pisonis Quinlan, 1988 (Democratic Republic of Congo)

Leptopilina syphax Quinlan, 1988 (Democratic Republic of Congo)

Leptopilina thetus Quinlan, 1988 (Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa)

Leptopilina vesta Quinlan, 1988 (Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo)

Leptopilina victoriae Nordlander, 1980 (Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, South Africa, Uganda)