Corresponding author: Kamalanathan Veenakumari (
Academic editor: Zoltán László
The species of the genus
The genus
Taxonomic studies of
The recorded hosts of
This paper deals exclusively with the Indian fauna of
Terminology for morphology follows
Specimens were mounted on card-point tips. The descriptions, measurements and imaging were carried out with a Leica M205A stereomicroscope, with 1× objective and Leica DFC-500 digital camera with LED ring light illuminator. The images were stacked using Leica Application Suite (
The type specimens of all the new species of
(modified from
Generally robust species; colour varying from black to brown with metasoma xanthic in some species; eyes either glabrous or with very short setae; frons convex, smooth to highly sculptured; lateral ocelli generally contiguous with orbits, rarely away from orbit; hyperoccipital carina generally absent, indicated in some species; malar sulcus extending perpendicularly to the basal confluence of the anterior and posterior margins of the eye; prominent episternal sulcus indicated by a row of foveae extending from dorsal apex of acetabular carina to mesopleural pit; in some smaller species the episternal sulcus may be weakly developed, indicated by a line; female antenna with five transverse to quadrate clavomeres; notauli absent; mesoscutellum generally smooth, rarely sculptured;
This species is close to
Female body length=1.49–1.64 mm (n=9).
The species is named after the Chalukya dynasty that ruled between the 6th and the 12th centuries CE, and in their heyday ruled most of peninsular India. The name is treated as a noun in apposition.
This species can be easily identified with the narrow and elongate metasoma and
Female body length=1.05–1.25 mm (n=2).
The species is named after the ancient Chera kingdom located on the Malabar coast in southwest India. The name is treated as a noun in apposition.
This species is unique in having longitudinal carinae in posterior half of mesoscutum.
Female body length=0.85 mm–1.08 mm (n=5).
This species is named after the Cholas, a major dynasty, that ruled for well over a millennium in South India. The name is treated as a noun in apposition.
Female body length=0.91–1.12 mm (n=5).
This species is named after the Western Gangas, who came to power in the region of erstwhile Mysore after the reign of the emperor Ashoka Maurya.The name is treated as a noun in apposition.
Female body length=1.12–1.21 mm (n=3).
This species is named Hoysala after the dynasty that grew to become the dominant power in southern India between the 12th and 13th centuries CE. The name is treated as a noun in apposition.
Female body length=1.15 mm–1.38 (n=15).
This species is named Kadamba after the minor South Indian dynasty that ruled the area northwest of the city of present day Mysore city between the 4th and 6th centuries CE.The name is treated as a noun in apposition.
Reared from unidentified heteropteran eggs laid within the midribs of leaves of
This species is close to
Female body length=1.02–1.12 mm (n=2).
This species is named after the Kakatiya dynasty that flourished in parts of what is today Andhra Pradesh in the 12th century CE. The name is treated as a noun in apposition.
Female body length=0.83–1.03 mm (n=3).
This species is named after the Kanva dynasty that ruled in the region of Magadha (now a part of Bihar) in North India for a brief period between 72 and 28 BCE. The name is treated as a noun in apposition.
Female body length=0.96–1.21 mm (n=3); male: body length=1.02 mm (n=1)
This species is named ‘nirvighna’, one of the numerous names of the Hindu God Ganesha. The name is treated as a noun in apposition.
This species is different from the others in having the following combination of characters
Female body length=0.69–0.98 mm (n=14).
This species is named ‘Pallava’, after an early South Indian dynasty that ruled between the 4th and 9th centuries CE. The name is treated as a noun in apposition.
Female body length=0.92–1.30 mm (n=2).
This species is named after the Pandyas, a dynasty of Tamil rulers, who, for centuries, ruled the extreme South of India.The name is treated as a noun in apposition.
Female body length=1.02–1.18 mm (n=5).
This species is named after the Rashtrakuta dynasty that ruled an area stretching from central India to parts of South India, during whose reign the famed Kailasa temple at Ellora was built. The name is treated as a noun in apposition.
Female body length=0.75–0.92 mm (n=3).
This species is named after the Satavahanas, who ruled a vast empire from their capital in South India for four and a half centuries starting from
Female body length=0.70–0.89 mm (n=2).
This species is named after the Tuluva dynasty, the third of the four dynasties, that in the first half of the sixteenth century, ruled the legendary South Indian Vijayanagar empire.The name is treated as a noun in apposition.
Female body length=0.75 mm (n=1).
This species is named after the Vakataka dynasty, which rose to power in Berar in the central Deccan in peninsular India in the mid-third century CE. The name is treated as a noun in apposition.
1 | Head and mesosoma black, metasoma black-brown (Figs |
2 |
– | Head, mesosoma black and metasoma xanthic (figs 1A–4A, 6A in VK & MP 2019) or entire body coppery brown (fig. 7A in VK & MP 2019) | 21 |
2 | 3 | |
– | 6 | |
3 | Anterior and posterior rows of foveae on |
4 |
– | Anterior and posterior rows of foveae on |
5 |
4 | Reticulations on frons elongate and longitudinal; transverse striae above interantennal process absent (fig. 4 in VK & MP 2014); A1 short, <3.3× as long as wide (fig. 3 in VK & MP 2014); |
|
– | Reticulations on frons almost polygonal; transverse striae above interantennal process present (Fig. |
|
5 | Metascutellum with two transverse rows of foveae (Fig. |
|
– | Metascutellum anteriorly foveate, remainder smooth with an uneven transverse furrow medially (Fig. |
|
6 | Dorsal half of frons smooth, ventrally sculptured (Fig. |
|
– | Entire frons sculptured, at most with a small smooth patch medially (Figs |
7 |
7 | Prespecular sulcus not foveate; mesepimeral sulcus indicated as a carina with 1–2 foveae dorsally; metapleuron posteroventrally with tuft of setae; paracoxal sulcus not foveate (Figs |
8 |
– | Prespecular sulcus foveate; mesepimeral sulcus foveate; metapleuron posteroventrally without setae; dorsal paracoxal furrow foveate (Figs |
9 |
8 | Foveae on |
|
– | Foveae on |
|
9 | Lateral propodeal carina medially not visible when viewed dorsally; hidden beneath metascutellum (Figs |
10 |
– | Lateral propodeal carina distinctly visible when viewed dorsally; metascutellum well above, not hiding lateral propodeal carina (Figs |
16 |
10 | 11 | |
– | 12 | |
11 | Foveae on anterior margin of |
|
– | Foveae on anterior margin of |
|
12 | All coxae brown-black (Figs |
13 |
– | Fore coxa brown-black, meso and metacoxae yellow to yellow-brown (Fig. |
14 |
13 | Head when viewed dorsally protruding forward; preoccipital area distinct (Fig. |
|
– | Head when viewed dorsally round, not protruding; preoccipital area absent (Fig. |
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14 | Temples wide, as posterior margin of eye far away from occipital carina (figs 11, 13 in KV & MP 2014); reticulations of occiput not transverse (fig. 11 in KV & MP 2014); gena basally finely carinate (fig. 15 in KV & MP 2014); mesepimeral sulcus foveate only dorsally (fig. 16 in KV & MP 2014); malar sulcus joining the anterior margin of eye (fig. 14 in KV & MP 2014); striae on |
|
– | Temples narrow (Figs |
15 |
15 | Frons dorsally finely reticulate, ventrally transversely striate above toruli; central keel absent (figs 31, 33 in KV & MP 2014); mesoscutum finely reticulate (fig. 32 in KV &MP 2014); metasoma ovoid (fig. 30 in KV & MP 2014); mesepimeral area narrower than width of mesepimeral sulcus (fig. 35 in KV & MP 2014) | |
– | Frons coriaceous reticulate with medial smooth patches, dorsal to which transverse striae present; a central keel with transverse carinae on either side present (Fig. |
|
16 | Frons with several transverse carinae above toruli (Fig. |
|
– | Frons at most with sparse transverse striae above toruli (Figs |
17 |
17 | Central keel present (Figs |
18 |
– | Central keel absent (Figs |
19 |
18 | Head at least 1.5× as wide as high (Fig. |
|
– | Head at most 1.1× as wide as high (Fig. |
|
19 | Dorsal frons weakly reticulate, ventrally coriaceous reticulate (Fig. |
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– | Entire frons coriaceous reticulate at most with a medial smooth area and semicircular striae above toruli (Fig. |
20 |
20 | Frons with a longitudinal smooth patch above interantennal process extending up to mid level with transverse striae on either side; semicircular striae present above toruli (fig. 22 in VK & MP 2014); marginal cilia on posterior margin of forewing elongate, 0.6× width of wing (fig. 23 in VK & MP 2014); mesoscutum entirely coriaceous reticulate (fig. 21 in VK & MP 2014) | |
– | Frons without medial smooth patch, short uneven carinae present medially above interantennal process; semicircular striae absent above toruli (Fig. |
|
21 | Entire body coppery brown (fig. 7A in VK & MP 2019); metasoma at least 1.3× longer than head and mesosoma (fig. 7A in VK & MP 2019); posterior mesoscutellar sulcus not foveate (fig. 7B in VK & MP 2019); |
|
– | Head and mesosoma black, metasoma xanthic; metasoma shorter than head and mesosoma; posterior mesoscutellar sulcus foveate; |
22 |
22 | Mesoscutellum reticulate (fig. 3A in VK &MP 2019) | |
– | Mesoscutellum smooth (figs 1A, 2A, 5A, 6A in VK & MP 2019) | 23 |
23 | Prespecular sulcus, mesepimeral sulcus, dorsal metapleural sulcus foveate | 24 |
– | Prespecular sulcus, mesepimeral sulcus, dorsal metapleural sulcus not foveate | 25 |
24 | Dorsal frons smooth, ventrally striate-reticulate (fig. 2E in VK &MP 2019); vertex smooth with setigerous punctae; occiput transversely striate (fig. 2B in VK &MP 2019); occiput, dorsal lateral pronotal area, mesoscutum densely setose (fig. 2D in VK &MP 2019); |
|
– | Entire frons reticulate with a small smooth medial patch (fig. 1D in VK & MP 2019); vertex and occiput coriaceous reticulate (fig. 1A in VK & MP 2019); occiput, dorsal lateral pronotal area, mesoscutum sparsely setose (fig. 1E in VK & MP 2019); |
|
25 | Preoccipital area distinct with longitudinal striae (fig. 5A in VK & MP 2019); head 1.2× as long as wide (Fig. |
|
– | Preoccipital area absent (fig. 6A in VK & MP 2019); head 1.5× as long as wide (fig. 6B in VK & MP 2019); dorsal metapleuron sculptured (fig. 6C in VK & MP 2019); posterior margin of mesoscutellum almost smoothly curved (fig. 6E in VK & MP 2019) | . |
The authors are grateful to the Director,