 Fig 1. P. maculatus - dorsal view |
 Fig 2. P. maculatus - lateral view |
 Fig 3. P. maculatus - forewing |
 Fig 4. P. maculatus - mesosoma |
Nomenclature
Paraphytis Compere, 1925: 129. Type species: Paraphytis vittatus Compere, by original designation.
Syediella Shafee, 1970: 144. Type species: Syediella maculata Shafee. Original designation. Synonymy under Aphytis by Hayat, 1982: 169.
Paraphytis had been earlier synonymised with other aphelinid genera like Aphytis Howard and Marietta Motschulsky. It has been recently restored as a valid genus by Kim & Heraty (2012) based on a detailed phylogenetic analysis.
Diagnosis
- Body having distinctly mottled forewings and heavily pigmented / banded mesosoma, metasoma and legs
- Antenna 5-segmented with 1121 formula, anelli absent, first two funicular segments reduced, clava elongate without specialized sensilla
- Axillae slightly but distinctly advanced, with a single seta, scutellum with two pairs of setae
- Ventral prepectus medially separated from mesepisternum
- Posterior end of propodeum crenulate
Distribution
Known from Neotropical, Australian, Indo-Pacific and Oriental regions. [India: Tamil Nadu].
Species in India
1. Paraphytis maculatus (Shafee)
2. Paraphytis peculiaris (Girault)
3. Paraphytis transversus (Huang)
Similar genera
Paraphytis is externally very similar to Marietta "in having distinctly mottled forewings and usually heavily pigmented mesosoma, metasoma and legs. However, Paraphyis has a strong constriction between the antennal clava and F3 and the forewing mottling pattern is formed by dark setae. Marietta has a less constricted connection of clava and F3 and mottled forewing formed by darkened areas of wing cuticle" (Kim & Heraty, 2012).
Hosts and habitat
Indet. soft scales (Hemiptera: Coccidae) (Hayat, 1998).
Selected references
- Compere, H. 1925. A new genus and species of Aphelinidae (Hymenoptera) from China. Transactions of the American Entomological Society, 51(2): 129.
- Shafee, S.A. 1970. A new genus of Aphelinidae recorded from Ootacumund (India) (Hym.). Mushi, 43: 144-145.
- Hayat, M. 1998. Aphelinidae of India (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea): A taxonomic revision. Memoirs of Entomology, International. Volume 13. Associated Publishers, Gainesville, Florida. 416 pp.
- Kim, J.-W. & Heraty, J. 2012. A phylogenetic analysis of the genera of Aphelininae (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae), with generic key and descriptions of new taxa. Systematic Entomology, 37: 497-549.