Nomenclature

Polynema Haliday, 1833: 347. Type species: Polynema flavipes Walker, by subsequent designation (Huber and Boucek, 2001: 281).
Eutriche Nees, 1834: 196. Type species: Eurtriche gracilis Nees, by monotypy. Synonymy (de facto) by Forster (1847: 217). Treated under Polynema (Polynema) by Triapitsyn and Fidalgo (2006: 60).
Doriclytus Forster, 1847: 226. Type species: Doriclytus vitripennis Forster, by monotypy. Treated as subgenus of Polynema by Triapitsyn and Fidalgo (2006: 57).
Maidliella Soyka, 1946: 178. Type species: Maidiella neofuscipes Soyka, by original designation. Synonymy by Annecke and Doutt (1961: 36). Treated under Polynema (Polynema) by Triapitsyn and Fidalgo (2006: 60).
Novickyella Soyka, 1946: 179. Type species: Novickeyella gracilior Soyka, by original designation. Synonymy by Soyka (1956: 3). Treated under Polynema (Polynema) by Triapitsyn and Fidalgo (2006: 60).
Barypolynema Ogloblin, 1946: 282. Type species: Barypolynema reticulatum Ogloblin, by original designation. Synonymy under Polynema (Doriclytus) by Triapitsyn and Fidalgo (2006: 57).
Notopolynema Ogloblin, 1960: 77. Type species: Barypolynema reticulatum Ogloblin, by original designation. Synonymy under Polynema (Doriclytus) by Triapitsyn and Fidalgo (2006: 57).
Tarphypolynema Ogloblin, 1960: 79. Type species: Anagrus saga Ogloblin, by original designation. Synonymy under Polynema.
Dorypolynema Hayat and Anis, 1999c: 318. Type species: Polynema mendeli Girault, by original designation. Subgenus of Polynema.
Resisoma Yoshimoto, 1990: 68. Type species: Resisoma howdeni Yoshimoto, by original designation. Synonymy under Polynema (Doriclytus) by Triapitsyn and Fidalgo (2006: 57).
Formicomymar Yoshimoto, 1990: 80. Type species: Formicomymar venezeelaensis Yoshimoto, by original designation. Synonymy under Polynema (Doriclytus) by Triapitsyn and Fidalgo (2006: 57).

Diagnosis

Polynema belongs to the Polynema group of genera and can be identified by the following characters.

Female generally dark brown to black
Face without pit next to each torulus
Antennal funicle 6-segmented, clava solid
Propleura not abutting anteriorly
Fore wing venation (Fig. 9) short, hardly reaching one-quarter length of wing, with marginal vein punctiform
Petiole attached to gastral tergum

Geographic Distribution

Cosmopolitan.

View Distribution of Polynema in India in a larger map

Hosts and habitat

Recorded hosts / associates belong to Cicadellidae, Lestidae, Membracidae, Miridae and Nabidae (Lin et al., 2007), Tettigoniidae (Subba Rao and Hayat, 1983), Diaspididae, Miridae, Nabidae, Agromyzidae, Ephydridae, Coccidae, Issidae, Membracidae (Noyes, 2013).

Species in India

Subgenus Polynema (Polynema)

1. anamalaiense Mani and Saraswat, 1973 (original description); Subba Rao and Hayat (1983, 1986) (catalogue); Mani, 1989 (description); Hayat and Anis (1999c) (Indian species key) (Distribution: Kerala, Tamil Nadu)

2. anantanagana Narayanan, 1961 (original description); Subba Rao and Hayat (1983, 1986) (catalogue); Mani, 1989 (description); Hayat and Anis (1999c) (Indian species key)
(Distribution: Jammu and Kashmir)

3. assamense Hayat and Singh, 2001 (original description) (Distribution: Assam)

4. brevicarinae Annecke and Doutt, 1961 (original description); Hayat and Anis (1999c) (key to Indian species, distribution & synonymy list); Rameshkumar et al. (2013) (distribution) (Distribution: Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Pudhucherry, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh)

5. crassa Mani and Saraswat, 1973 (original description); Subba Rao and Hayat (1983, 1986) (catalogue); Mani, 1989 (description); Hayat and Anis (1999c) (Indian species key)
(Distribution: Himachal Pradesh)

6. dhenkunde Mani and Saraswat, 1973 (original description); Subba Rao and Hayat (1983, 1886) (catalogue); Mani, 1989 (description); Hayat and Anis (1999c) (Indian species key) (Distribution: Himachal Pradesh, Kerala)

7. dunense Hayat and Anis, 1999c (original description and Indian species key) (Distribution: Uttar Pradesh)

8. huberi Manickavasagam and Rameshkumar, 2012 (original description)(Distribution: Tamil Nadu)

9. kalatopense Mani and Saraswat, 1973 (original description); Subba Rao and Hayat (1983, 1986) (catalogue); Mani, 1989 (description); Hayat and Anis (1999c) (Indian species key) (Distribution: Himachal Pradesh)

10. kamathi Mani and Saraswat, 1973 (original description); Subba Rao and Hayat (1983, 1986) (catalogue); Mani, 1989 (description); Hayat and Anis (1999c) (Indian species key)(Distribution: Himachal Pradesh)

11. manaliense Hayat and Anis, 1999c (original description) (Distribution: Himachal Pradesh)

Subgenus Polynema (Dorypolynema)

1. mendeli Girault, 1913 (original description); Hayat and Anis (1999c) (proposed new subgenus Dorypolynema, key to Indian species, distribution and synonymy); Manickavasagam and Rameshkumar (2011) and Anwar and Zeya (2012) (distribution) (Distribution: Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Assam, Bihar, Kerala, Pudhucherry, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal)

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References

Annecke, D. P. and Doutt, R. L. 1961. The genera of the Mymaridae Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea. Entomological Memoirs, Department of Agricultural Technical Services, Republic of South Africa, 5: 1-71.

Anwar, PT and Zeya, SB. 2012. Record of some species of Mymaridae from different states of India (Hymenoptera : Chalcidoidea). Bionotes, 14 (2): 52-53.

Girault, AA. 1913. Australian Hymenoptera Chalcidoidea - II. Second supplement. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, 2: 107-129.

Hayat, M. and Anis, SB. 1999. The Indian species of Polynema with notes on Stephanodes reduvioli (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae). Oriental Insects, 33: 315-331.

Mani, M. S. 1989. The Fauna of India and the adjacent countries. (Chalcidoidea: Hymenoptera). Part I. Zoological Survey of India. Government of India. xxvi +1067pp.

Mani, MS and Saraswat, GG. 1973. On some Chalcidoidea from India. Memoirs of School of Entomology. St. John's College, Agra, No. 2: 78-125.

Manickavasagam, S. and Rameshkumar, A. 2011. First report of three genera of fairyflies (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) from India with description of a new species of Dicopus and some other records. Zootaxa, 3094: 63-68.

Manickavasagam, S. and Rameshkumar, A. 2012. Description of two new species of hymenopterous parasitoids from India. Oriental Insects, 46 (2): 182-189.

Narayanan, ES. 1961. New record and descriptions of new species of parasites from San Jose Scale. Proc. Natl. Inst. Sci. India. B26: 20-29.

Subba Rao, BR and Hayat, M. 1983. Key to the genera of Oriental Mymaridae, with a preliminary catalog (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea). Contributions of the American Entomological Institute, 20: 125-150.

Subba Rao, BR and Hayat, M. 1986. Family Mymaridae. In: Subba Rao, B.R. and Hayat, M. (eds.), The Chalcidoidea (Insecta: Hymenoptera) of India and the adjacent countries (Part II). Oriental Insects, 20: 179-191.

Ramesh Kumar et al., 2013