Asaphes Walker 1834
Creators: name: Li, Qin
name: Zhang, Tong-You
name: Gibson, Gary A. P.
name: Shan, Shi-Lei
name: Xiao, Hui
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Pteromalidae
Asaphes

description: Asaphes Walker, 1834
Asaphes Walker, 1834: 151. Type species: Asaphes vulgaris Walker; by monotypy.
Isocratus Förster, 1856: 53, 58. Unnecessary replacement name according to Gahan and Fagan 1923: 18; incorrectly considered as preoccupied by Asaphus Brongniart.
Parectroma Brèthes, 1913: 91. Type species: Parectroma hubrichi Brèthes by monotypy. Synonymized by De Santis 1960: 113.
Diagnosis.
Asaphes can be recognized by the following features: head with horseshoe-like occipital carina (Figs 1 C, 2 C) and with genal carina; antenna 14 - segmented including one or two anelli (basal flagellomeres without mps), seven or six funiculars (with mps) and three distinct clavomeres plus tiny apical fourth clavomere (terminal button); torulus distinctly below midline of head near lower margin of eyes, with upper margin slightly above (Figs 1 D, 4 B) to distinctly below lower ocular line; left mandible bidentate and right mandible tridentate; pronotum transverse-quadrangular, ~ 1 / 2 as long as mesoscutum and rounded to abruptly angled to neck but without marginal rim (Fig. 1 A, B); mesoscutum with compete notauli (Figs 1 B, 2 A, 3 F); marginal vein subequal in length or shorter than stigmal vein (Figs 1 F, 2 F, 3 G, 4 G); petiole tubular, divided into dorsal and ventral parts by lateral sulcus and with dorsal surface strongly sculptured, reticulate and / or with irregular longitudinal ribs (Figs 1 E, 2 E); gaster strongly sclerotized, non-collapsing (Figs 1 A, B, I, 2 E, 3 A, H, K).
Comments.
Graham (1990: 200) incorrectly listed Notopodion Dahlbom, 1857 as a junior synonym of Asaphes, which was followed by Gibson and Vikberg (1998) and Xiao and Huang (2000); rather, Notopodion is a synonym of Podagrion Spinola, 1811 (Torymidae) (Noyes 2019). Gibson and Vikberg (1998) provide a more comprehensive diagnosis of the genus as well as a subfamily diagnosis as then recognized, which was modified by Burks and Heraty (2020) and Burks et al. (2022). Burks et al (2022) considered the antenna of Asaphenesinae to be 14 - segmented, including a small, terminal, fourth clavomere. While we follow their interpretation, because of its size the terminal clavomere, or “ terminal button ”, is inconspicuous and the antenna superficially appears to be 13 - segmetned with three distinct clavomeres (e. g., Fig. 1 G, H). Most Asaphes species also have two basal flagellomeres without mps and six funiculars with mps, though the antenna of A. umbilcatus has only a single strongly transverse anellus and seven funiculars with mps (Xiao and Huang: fig. 6). Narendran and van Harten (2007) described the antennal formula of A. ecarinatus as 1: 1: 3: 7: 3 (i. e., 15 - segmented), but their line drawing illustration of the flagellum appears to show a single basal flagellomere without mps, six funiculars with mps, and three clavomeres (i. e., 12 - segmented). We did not examine type material to clarify these inconsistencies, but almost certainly the described antennal formula is incorrect, and the basal flagellomere likely is so strongly transverse that it is not clearly illustrated in the line drawing so that the antennal formula likely is 1: 1: 2: 6: 3, excluding the terminal button. The number of basal flagellomeres lacking mps requires close examination because even though Xiao and Huang (2000) key both A. suspensus and A. vulgaris as having “ at most F 1 without sensilla ”, the flagellum of both species have two anelli, i. e., lacking mps (Gibson and Vikberg 1998 figs 28, 30). As such, the number of basal flagellomeres without mps for the new species described by Xiao and Huang (2000) requires confirmation, including A. globularis, which has the basal four flagellomeres so strongly transverse as to possibly lack mps (Xiao and Huang 2000: fig. 16).
Asaphes can be differentiated from other genera classified in Pteromalidae prior to Burks et al. (2022) using such keys as Graham (1969), Bouček and Rasplus (1991), Bouček and Heydon (1997), Xiao and Huang (2000), or Huang and Xiao (2005).
description: Published as part of Li, Qin, Zhang, Tong-You, Gibson, Gary A. P., Shan, Shi-Lei & Xiao, Hui, 2024, Review of Asaphes Walker, 1834 (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea, Asaphesinae) from Xinjiang, China, pp. 35-57 in ZooKeys 1214 on pages 35-57, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1214.127982