Lytopylus Foerster 1862
Creators: name: Stevens, Nicholas B.
name: Austin, Andrew D.
name: Jennings, John T.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Braconidae
Lytopylus

description: Lytopylus Foerster, 1862
(Fig. 3 C, 5A)
Lytopylus Foerster, 1862. Type species: Lytopylus azygos, Viereck, 1905, by subsequent designation; Shenefelt, 1970b: 313 [catalogue]; Chou & Sharkey, 1989: 151 [synonym of Bassus]; Sharkey et al., 2009: 45 [reinstated].
Aerophilopsis Viereck, 1913: 129; Type species: Bassus erythrogaster Viereck, 1913, by monotypy; Shenefelt, 1970b: 312 [synonym of Agathis]; Marsh, 1979: 191 [synonym of Agathis]; Chou & Sharkey, 1989: 151 [synonym of Bassus]; Sharkey et al., 2009: 45 [synonym of Lytopylus].
Aerophilina Enderlein, 1920: 205; Type species: Aerophilina bicristata Enderlein, 1920, by monotypy; Shenefelt, 1970b: 312 [synonym of Agathis]; Chou & Sharkey, 1989: 151 [synonym of Bassus]; Sharkey et al., 2009: 45 [synonym of Lytopylus].
Ioxia Enderlein, 1920: 119; Type species: Ioxia faceta Enderlein, 1920, by monotypy; Shenefelt, 1970b: 312 [synonym of Agathis]; Chou & Sharkey, 1989: 151 [synonym of Bassus]; Sharkey et al., 2009: 45 [synonym of Lytopylus].
Hormagathis Brues 1926: 287. Type species: Hormagathis mellea Brues, 1926, by monotypy; Shenefelt, 1970b: 309 [synonym of Aerophilus]; Simbolotti & Achterberg, 1992: 6 [synonym of Bassus]; Sharkey et al., 2009: 45 [synonym of Lytopylus].
Obesomicrodus Papp, 1971: 338. Type species: Obesomicrodus nigra Papp, 1971, by monotypy; Simbolotti & Achterberg, 1992: 6 [synonym of Bassus]; Sharkey et al., 2009: 45 [synonym of Lytopylus].
Facilagathis van Achterberg & Chen, 2004: 78. Type species: Facilagathis spinulata Achterberg & Chen, 2004, by original designation; Sharkey et al., 2006: 557 [synonym of Bassus]; Sharkey et al., 2009: 45 [synonym of Lytopylus].
Diagnosis. Length: 4.5– 5 mm; colour: variable, can be mostly dark brown to black or with mesosoma entirely orange; lateral carinae on frons always absent (e.g., Fig. 3 A); notauli distinct, deeply impressed and scrobiculate (e.g., Fig. 3 B); claws always non-cleft with triangular basal lobes present; mid tibial preapical spines always present (e.g., Fig. 2 D); fore wing cell 1–RS petiolate and triangular cell 1–RS present (e.g., Fig. 4 D); fore wing vein 2–RS2 always absent (e.g., Fig. 4 D); possess strong posterior transverse carina between hind coxal cavities and metasomal foramen (Fig. 5 A); metasomal tergites T1–T3 with prominent striate sculpturing throughout (Fig. 3 C); ovipositor length greater than 0.5 metasoma length (e.g., Fig. 8 B), can exceed body length.
Comments. One of the four separate lineages of Bassus s.l. in the Sharkey et al. (2006) agathidine phylogeny, containing B. macadamia Briceño and Sharkey, was considered to be congeneric with the type species of the genus, B. calculator. Sharkey (2006) referred to this lineage as Bassus s.str., because he assumed that B. macadamia and B. calculator both possessed a strong transverse carina between the hind coxal cavities and the metasomal foramen (Fig. 5 A), and striate sculpturing on metasomal tergites one to three Sharkey et al. (2006). However, later examination of the type revealed that B. calculator does not possess these characters and therefore there is no basis for postulating a congeneric relationship between these two species (Sharkey et al. 2009; pers. obs). Because of this, Sharkey et al. (2009) reinstated the oldest available name for species congeneric with B. macadamia, which is Lytopylus Foerster.
Species richness and distribution. Lytopylus does not occur naturally in Australia, and is represented only by the introduced species L. rufipes, which is known from the southeast of the continent. This species now occurs widely outside of Europe and has been reared from more than 20 host species, many of which are tortricids (Shenefelt 1970b; Simbollotti and Achterberg 1992; Sharkey 1996; Yu et al. 2005). However, the nature of its introduction and hosts in Australia are unknown.
description: Published as part of Stevens, Nicholas B., Austin, Andrew D. & Jennings, John T., 2010, Synopsis of Australian agathidine wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Agathidinae), pp. 1-26 in Zootaxa 2480 on page 18, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.195400