Prionomastix

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Males only

1 Head and thorax dark reddish brown ………………………………….…….…. biformis
1’ Body almost entirely shining black…………………………………….…………..…. 2

2 Mesopleuron orangish ……………………………………………………………… sp. 1
2′ Mesopleuron concolorous with body …………….……………………………….. sp. 2

 

Sp. 1 San Diego (UCRC)
Sp. 2 Sierra (UCDC)

 

Described Nearctic species and distribution

biformis (Ashmead, 1900): USA (AZ, CA, NM)
pulawskii Trjapitzin & Ruiz-Cancino, 1998: MEX (PU)

 

Remarks

I prefer to base identifications based on females, but the number of Prionomastix specimens available in collections is quite sparse – in this case both new species are each represented by only a single male specimen. Furthermore, I have not seen a male of P. biformis, and base its characterization in my key on the redescription of that species in Gordh & Trjapitzin (1981). Trjapitzin & Ruiz-Cancino (1998) presented a key to the world species.

 

References

Ashmead, W. H. 1900. On the genera of the chalcid-flies belonging to the subfamily Encyrtinae. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 22: 323-412.
Gordh, G. & V.A. Trjapitzin 1981. Taxonomic studies of the Encyrtidae with the descriptions of new species and a new genus. University of California Publications in Entomology 93: 55 pp.
Trjapitzin, V.A. & Ruiz-Cancino, E. 1998. Descripion de una especie del genero Prionomastix Mayr (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Encyritidae) del Estado de Puebla, Mexico, con una clave para las especies conocidae del genero. Acta Zoologica Mexicana (N.S.) 75: 163-169.