Review of the genus Sparasion Latreille, 1802 (Hymenoptera: Platygastroidea: Sparasionidae) of the Oriental region with descriptions of new species from India

Kamalanathan Veenakumari; Andrew Polaszek; Roberto Poggi; Kolla Sreedevi; Prashanth Mohanraj; Farmanur Rahman Khan; Gundappa Baradevanal

doi:10.1186/s40850-023-00169-6

Review of the genus Sparasion Latreille, 1802 (Hymenoptera: Platygastroidea: Sparasionidae) of the Oriental region with descriptions of new species from India

BMC Zool. 2023 Aug 25;8(1):14. doi: 10.1186/s40850-023-00169-6.

Authors

Kamalanathan Veenakumari¹, Andrew Polaszek², Roberto Poggi³, Kolla Sreedevi⁴, Prashanth Mohanraj⁴, Farmanur Rahman Khan⁵, Gundappa Baradevanal⁴

Affiliations

¹ ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources, P.B. No. 2491, Hebbal, Bengaluru, 560 024, India. veenapmraj@gmail.com.
² Department of Life Sciences, Insects Division, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, Great Britain.
³ Museo Civico di Storia Naturale 'Giacomo Doria', Genoa, 16121, Italy.
⁴ ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources, P.B. No. 2491, Hebbal, Bengaluru, 560 024, India.
⁵ Department of Biology, Deanship of Educational Services, Qassim University, Buraidah, Al Qassim, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Background: The genus Sparasion, endoparasitoids of Tettigoniidae, occur in the Nearctic, Palearctic, Afrotropical and Oriental regions. It is absent in the Neotropics and Australasia. Of the thirteen species found in the Oriental region only a single species is from India.

Results: Two new species groups - Sparasion bilahari species group and Sparasion manavati species group - are proposed for species from the Oriental region. Thirty-six species are described and illustrated of which twenty-four are new: Sparasion albopilosellus Cameron, 1906 (Pakistan); S. bhairavi Veenakumari, sp. n. (India); S. bhupali Veenakumari, sp. n. (India); S. bihagi Veenakumari, sp. n. (India); S. bilahari Veenakumari, sp. n. (India); S. cellularis Strand, 1913 (Taiwan); S. coconcus Kozlov and Lê, 2000 (Vietnam); S. coeruleus Kieffer, 1905 (Sumatra); S. cullaris Kozlov and Lê, 2000 (Vietnam); S. darbari Veenakumari, sp. n. (India); S. deepaki Veenakumari, sp. n. (India); S. domes Kozlov and Lê, 2000 (Vietnam); S. elbakyanae Veenakumari, sp. n. (India); S. formosus Kieffer, 1910 (Taiwan); S. hindoli Veenakumari, sp. n. (India); S. kalyani Veenakumari, sp. n. (India); S. kanakangi Veenakumari, sp. n. (India); S. karivadana Veenakumari, sp. n. (India); S. lividus Johnson, Masner & Musetti, 2008 (Philippines); S. manavati Veenakumari, sp. n. (India); S. meghmalhari Veenakumari, sp. n. (India); S. micromerus Kozlov and Lê, 2000 (Vietnam); S. pahadi Veenakumari, sp. n. (India); S. philippinensis Kieffer, 1913 (Philippines); S. ratnangi Veenakumari, sp. n. (India); S. rupavati Veenakumari, sp. n. (India); S. salagami Veenakumari, sp. n. (India); S. shulini Veenakumari, sp. n. (India); S. sinensis Walker, 1852 (China); S. sivaranjini Veenakumari, sp. n. (India); S. syamalangi Veenakumari, sp. n. (India); S. todi Veenakumari, sp. n. (India); S. travancoricus Mani and Sharma, 1981 (India); S. vanaspati Veenakumari, sp. n. (India); S. visvambari Veenakumari, sp. n. (India) and S. zeelafi Veenakumari, sp. n. (India). Keys to Oriental species of Sparasion are furnished. Intrasexual colour morphs among females of Sparasion is reported. Lectotype is designated for Sparasion cellularis Strand.

Conclusions: Twenty-four new species are added to the Indian fauna of Sparasion. Previously described species of Oriental Sparasion are redescribed and illustrated. Keys are furnished for all Oriental species.

Keywords: Egg parasitoids; Hymenoptera; New species; Oriental region; Platygastroidea; Sparasion; Taxonomy; Tettigoniidae.