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Galego: Pteromalidae en Valverde, Vilarromarís, Oroso cf. Pteromalidae (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Valentin Chirosca
Erythromalus rufiventris (WALKER, 1835) – Romania, [Alba county,] Munții Cugirului, Rîu Mare, 5.VIII.1913, 2 females, leg. BÍRÓ, HNHM; Romania, [Harghita county,] Munții Giurgiului, Praid, 1.VII.1995, 1 female, leg. PODLUSSÁNY, HNHM; Romania, [Alba county,] Muntii Cugirului, Sugag, 20.VII.1993, 1 female, leg. ROZNER, HNHM. – Its biology is unknown.
New species for Romania.
New records of Pteromalidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) for the fauna of Romania and the Carpathian Basin, Z. LÁSZLÓ
kingdom Animalia - animals »  phylum Arthropoda - arthropods »  class Insecta - insects »  order Hymenoptera - bees, ants and wasps »  family Pteromalidae
Identifiers
urn:lsid:ubio.org:namebank:9644495
Catalogue of Life accepted name
Erythromalus rufiventris (Walker, 1835)
Synonyms
Pteromalus empoclus Walker, 1839
Pteromalus rufiventris Walker, 1835
Pteromalidae is one of the largest families of Chalcidoidea, with circa 570 valid genera and 2900 species. They are cosmopolitan in distribution. Important morphological characters include a usually 13-segmented antenna; parapsidal sutures distinct, but often incomplete; propodeum usually well developed. Pteromalids have been considered the most difficult Chalcidoidea to identify; morphologically they are exceedingly diverse, and thus no combination of taxonomic characters is reliable for identification.

Most Pteromalidae are primary parasitoids, but hyperparasitic species are common. Most species are ectoparasitic, but endoparasitic species are common also. Solitary and gregarious species and races are common. Generally, this family has a wide host range. Most species are gregarious ectoparasitoids of larvae and pupae of Lepidoptera and Coleoptera, but a number of species attack larvae and pupae of Diptera as well. Some are predaceous on eggs of Coccidae. There are no phytophagous species. Considerable importance has been placed on pteromalids for biological control of Lepidoptera, Coleoptera and synanthropic Diptera. A few species have also been used for the biological control of Coccidae. Checklist of UK Recorded Pteromalidae
The Pteromalinae show diverse behavior, and contain species reared from nay kinds of insects and other arthropods. Some examples are Rhopalicus parasitizing Scolytidae; Anisopteromalus and Dinarmus parasitizing Bruchidae; Pseudocatolaccus parasitizing Cecidomyiidae; Muscidifurax and Nasonia parasitizing Muscidae and Calliphoridae; Gomicobia parasitizing Scolytidae; Trichomalopis and Dibrachys parasitizing Thomisidae (Araneae) and Aphidiidae (Hymenoptera); Arachnopteromalus dasys Gordh attacking the egg sac of Uloboridae (Araneae). Diverse behavior is also shown within a closely related group of species and subspecies, the Muscidifurax. Although taxonomic differentiation of this genus into its 5 identified species is difficult, relying heavily on male genitalia, behaviorally there are great differences shown in courtship, gregarious or solitary oviposition, size, unisexual and bisexual reproduction, etc.
Life Cycle

Pteromalids usually have short life cycles, averaging circa 3 weeks from egg to adult at room temperature. There was a minimum of 10 days recorded for Habrocytus cerealellae and Nasonia vitripennis. The females of many species require 1-2 days longer for development than do the males. The incubation of the egg requires from less than 1 day to 3 days, the larval stage 4-10 days and the pupal stage 4-14 days. A notable exception is E. ovivora, in which the egg, larval, and pupal stages take 7 days, 20 days and circa 11 months, respectively (Clausen 1940/1962).

The availability of suitable host stages influences the number of generations per year. Most species produce generation after generation as long as hosts are available, but some species are limited to a fixed number. E. ovivora has only one generation per year which corresponds to the host cycle. Pirene graminea and Stenomalus micans have two generations, as do their respective hosts. However, Aplastomorpha calandrae (Cotton 1923) and H. cerealellae are able to produce several generations to each one of the host. In these species there is no need for synchronization of the cycles of parasitoid and host, for they attack insects infesting stored grains which have all stages present continuously. Trineptis klugii has circa 6 generations each year on one brood of the host.

Most species that hibernate do so in the mature larval stage within the host cocoon, puparium or cell. But, Eupteromalus nidulans is found in the hibernation webs of the satin and brown-tail moths. E. ovivora, Rhopalicus suspensus Ratz., and Merisus febriculosus Gir. pass the winter in the pupal stage, while Dibrachoides dynastes and Pseudocatolaccus asphondyiiae Masi persist through the winter as adults. Other may pass winter as either mature larvae or adults.

A number of Pteromalidae are able to undergo long periods of inactivity as either larvae or adults when conditions are unfavorable. The relation of food to reproduction in Spintherus and Peridesmia was already noted, and it was shown that phasic castration in females may continue for a long time. This is one way of maintaining a species during periods of adverse conditions; another is larval diapause, such as is found in H. medicaginis Gahan and Nasonia vitripennis. In the former individuals have been observed to pass almost two years in the larval stage, as compared to the normal two weeks. Nasonia vitripennis may even pass several years in dipterous puparia when conditions are unfavorable (Clausen 1940/1962).

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