Agrostocynips Diaz
Creators: name: Buffington, Matthew L.
name: Scheffer, Sonja J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2008
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Figitidae
Agrostocynips

description: Agrostocynips Diaz   
 Agrostocynips Diaz, 1976: 32. Type-species Agrostocynips clavatus Diaz, by original designation.   
 Diagnosis. Genal carina reduced. Orbital furrows reduced to absent. Mesoscutal keel absent. Scutellar plate with distinct tubercles present. Most easily confused with Zaeucoila and Aegeseucoela, both of which have complete genal carinae, a mesoscutal keel present (at least anteriorly) and distinct orbital furrows.   
  Redescription. Head.  Nearly glabrous with scattered setae along lower face, clypeus and gena; ocellar hair patch absent (Fig. 1 C). Ventral 1/4 of lower face with admedian clypeal furrows converging toward the clypeus. Orbital furrows faint to completely reduced, originating from the lateral aspect of torulus and running to dorsal margin of malar sulcus (Fig. 1 C). Malar sulcus compound or simple. Malar space smooth; anteroventral margin with a raised protuberance. Genal carina present only along ventral margin of malar space (Fig. 1 D) (often visible only when head is removed from mesosoma).   
 Antennae. Female: 13 segments, moniliform (Figs 1 A and 2 A); segments 3-13 of sub-equal size; rhinaria present on segments 4-13. Male: 15 segments, moniliform; rhinaria present on segments 3-15; segments 4-15 sub-equal in size; segment 3 modified, slightly longer than segment 4, curved outwardly, excavated laterally.   
 Pronotum. Pronotal plate wide, with setae along the dorsal margin (Fig. 1 F); dorsal margin rounded; pronotal fovea open. Pronotal triangle absent. Pronotal impression absent. Lateral pronotal carina absent. Lateral portion of the pronotum smooth and glabrous (Fig 1 E).   
  Mesoscutum.  Smooth and glabrous; no sculpture present (Fig. 1 F). Parascutal impression incomplete, narrow. Notauli, mesoscutal keel, parapsidal ridges and parapsidal hair line absent (Fig. 1 F).   
  Mesopectus.  Upper part and lower part of mesopleuron smooth and glabrous (Fig. 1 E). Dorsal margin of mesopleural triangle well defined, rounded ventrally. Mesopleural carina simple. Lower part of mesopleuron bounded by distinct precoxal carina; surcoxal depression present, smooth.   
  Scutellum.  Scutellar plate large to medium; midpit placed between center point of plate and posterior margin of plate; rim of plate translucent; prominent tubercles commonly found along the entire rim (often resembling "sawblade teeth" in lateral view) (Figs 1 B, E–F, 2B). Dorsal surface of scutellum reticulate, margined laterally and posteriorly; rounded laterally and posteriorly; laterodorsal and posterior projections of the scutellum absent. Lateral bars as long as wide; ventral lobe present. Scutellar fovea oval, smooth and deep.   
 Metapectal-Propodeal Complex. Anterior 3/4 of metapectus glabrous, posterior 1/4 setose (Fig. 1 E). Spiracular groove with a well defined dorsal margin, reduced ventral margin. Posterior margin of metapectus ridged. Metapleural ridge reduced to absent; submetapleural ridge absent. Anterior impressions of metepimeron and metepisternum present. Anteroventral cavity oval, setose. Propodeum covered in both long and short setae. Lateral propodeal carinae semi-parallel, bowed at junction with the auxiliary propodeal carinae; auxiliary propodeal carinae reduced. Nucha glabrous, crenulate.   
 Wings. Hyaline, with base of wing rarely darkened; setose (Fig. 2 D –E). R1 complete; marginal cell as long as deep. Apical fringe present, medium in length.   
 Legs. Fore- and mid-coxa sub-equal in size, hind-coxa twice the size of either fore- or mid-coxa (Fig. 2 B). Fore coxa variously setose; mid and hind coxa with distinct lateral and posterior dorsoventral setal bands. Femora and tibiae with sparse setal lines; tarsomeres with dense appressed setae. Length of hind tarsomere 1 equal to the combined length of remaining hind tarsal segments.   
  Metasoma.  Female: sub-equal in size to mesosoma (Figs. 1 A and 2 A). Base of syntergum with hairy ring present, composed of dense, short setae and longer, thin setae; remainder of metasoma glabrous. Micropunctures present on posterior 1/3 to 1/4 of syntergum, and on remaining terga. Terga posterior to syntergum abruptly directed ventrally, resulting in a near 90 degree angle between syntergum and terga. Male: As in female.   
 Distribution. Neotropical Region: Argentina, Chile, though Central America and into Central Mexico; Nearctic Region: Continental United States and into Southern Canada (British Columbia).   
 Biology. Agrostocynips clavatus has been recorded in the neotropics from several agromyzid species in the genera Melanagromyza (De Santis et al. 1976) and Liriomyza (Diaz & Valladares, 1979; Salvo, pers. comm.). Nearctic species of Agrostocynips have been reared from agromyzids in Agromyza (on Panicum (Poaceae)), Liriomyza (several host plants) and from Phytomyza (on Ilex cassine and I. myrtifolia).   
Included species  
 clavatus Diaz, 1976: 32. Holotype in MLP (not seen).   
 diastrophi (Ashmead), Buffington (2004). Ganaspis diastrophi Ashmead, 1896: 184 -185. Holotype in USNM.   
 enneatoma (Diaz), Diaz & Gallardo (1997). Zaeucoila enneatoma Diaz, 1975: 1999. Holotype in MLP (not seen).   
 robusta (Ashmead), Buffington (2004). Chrestosema robusta Ashmead, 1894: 68. Holotype in USNM.
description: Published as part of Buffington, Matthew L. & Scheffer, Sonja J., 2008, North American species of Agrostocynips Diaz (Hymenoptera: Figitidae: Eucoilinae), parasitoids of Agromyzidae (Diptera): bionomics and taxonomy, pp. 39-48 in Zootaxa 1817 on pages 41-43, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.274371