Boros István (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 7. (Budapest 1956)

Szelényi, G.: Notes on the Merisina (Hym., Chalcidoidea)

Notes on the Merisina (Hym., Chalcidoidea) By G. SzELÉífYi Budapest I. The subtribe Merisina The genera Micromelus (with the generotype M. rufomaculatus Walk.) and M e r i s u s (with the generotype M. splendidus Walk.) were described by Walker in 1833 and 1834, respectively. In 1878, Förster erected the genus Phaenacra (with the generotype Ph. nubigera Forst.), in the same year, Thomson the genus Homoporus (generotype : Pteromalus fulviventris Walk. 1835). Earlier, in 1856, Förster changed the generic name of Micromelus to Baeotomus, judging it to be preoccupied by the botanic genus Micromelum Blume. Although the change was unnecessary, it was accepted by Thomson who treated Baeotomus, Homoporus and Merisus as subgenera of Merisus. The four genera were joined by Ashmead (1904) and Schmiedeknecht (1909) in the subtribe Merisina, treating Baeotomus again under the original generic name Micromelus. In 1911, Ma si described Merisoides crassiceps arranging it as a Merisine taxon. In 1913, K u r d j u m o v made his synopsis of the palaearctic genera of Pteromalidae and listed in the group of Merisina only three genera, namely Micromelus, Merisus and Phaenacra, treating Homoporus as synonym to Phaenacra Forst. He listed, moreover, Uriella Ashm. also as a synonym of the latter, but doubtless erroneously, because as G i r a u 11 (1916) had pointed out, Uriella has nothing to do with Homoporus or Phaenacra, belonging to the Metastenini (recently G a h a n and Wallace, 1950, synonymized it with Hemitrichus Thorns.). Kurdjumov was hardly in agreement with M a s i's view in considering the genus Merisoides as a Merisine, and settled it in the group with a hairy basal cell near Catolaccus Thorns. Indeed, Merisoides shows some characteristics, which seem to a great extent differ from those of the Merisina (e. g. antennái club normally developed, not subulate at apex). In 1913, G i r a u 11 described the genus Amicromelus. Judging on the basis of his diagnoses, this genus seems to be hardly distinguishable from Micromelus and if there are no other characteristics than the number of the joints of the antennái club and the length of the second tergite (the pedicel is also longer than funicle 1 in Callitula bicolor), they cannot be accepted as generic differences. R i m s k i j - K o r s a k o v's Homoporus Wassilievi was described in 1914. In the same year, B r è t h e s described Serimus, a genus near to Merisus. Both papers are, unfortunately, unknown to me. In 1917, M a s i published a paper in which the genus Merallus was described which belongs, according to the author, to the group of the Merisina. Again, M a s i erected, in 1926, the genus Merisoporus, for Homoporus luniger Nees and H. crassinervis Thorns, including sect. B. of T h o m s o n's Homoporus, the generotype being H. luniger Nees. In 1923, Gahan and Fagan changed the generic name Micromelus Walk, in Callitula Spin. In accordance with this again, Gahan, in 1933, dealing in an excellent paper with the parasites of the hessian fly, used, after a careful review of the literature, the generic name Callitula Spin, instead of Micromelus Walk., and pointed out that Micromelus rufomaculatus Walk, and Callitula bicolor Spin, must refer to the same species. He treated the Merisine species related with the hessian fly under three generic names, viz. Merisus Merisoporus and Callitula. To Merisus belong destructor Say, febriculosus Girlt, mordellistenae Crawf. and cognai us Gah. The group, however, does not seem homogeneous, because the latter two species have unequal mandibles, while, in febriculosus and destructor, both mandibles