Homolobus

Homolobus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Braconidae
Tribe: Homolobini
Genus: Homolobus
Förster, 1862

Homolobus is a genus of insects belonging to the family Braconidae.

Description and identification

Homolobus are moderate to large braconids with a body length ranging from 4.4 to 14.6 mm. They have long tibial spurs like the Macrocentrinae but differ in having an occipital carina and shorter, nearly square submarginal cell. The ovipositor is usually very short and hardly extending beyond the apex of the gaster except in species like Homolobus armatus, wherein the ovipositor is 0.77 times the length of the forewing. Many species are testaceous and have large ocelli.

They are separated from the allied Exasticolus in having vein (Rs+M)a straight rather than curved.

Distribution

The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution.

Behavior

Homolobus are endoparasitoids of caterpillars, particularly of the families Noctuidae and Geometridae.

Taxonomy and phylogeny

Homolobus is classified within the tribe Homolobini along with Exasticolus. The tribe Homolobini is sister to Westwoodiellini, containing only Westwoodiella. The two tribes Homolobini and Westwoodiellini comprise the subfamily Homolobinae.

Species

There are roughly 55 species of Homolobus divided into 5 subgenera:

Subgenus Homolobus (Apatia) Enderlein, 1918

Subgenus Homolobus (Chartolobus) van Achterberg, 1979

Subgenus Homolobus (Homolobus) Förster, 1862

Subgenus Homolobus (Oulophus) van Achterberg, 1979

Subgenus Homolobus (Phylacter) Reinhard, 1863

Subgenus incertae sedis

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 van Achterberg, Cornelis (1979). "A revision of the subfamily Zelinae auct. (Hymenoptera, Braconidae)". voor Entomologie. 112 (7): 241–479. Retrieved 2025-07-03.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 van Achterberg, Cornelis (1992). "Revisionary notes on the subfamily Homolobinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)". Zoologische Mededelingen. 66 (25): 359–368. Retrieved 2025-07-03.
  3. ↑ Farahani, Samira; Talebi, Ali Asghar; Rakhshani, Ehsan; van Achterberg, Cornelis (2012). "First record of Homolobus infumator (Lyle, 1914) (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Homolobinae) from Iran". Check List. 8 (6): 1350–1352. doi:10.15560/8.6.1350.
  4. ↑ "Homolobus pallidus". BOLD Systems. Retrieved 2025-07-03.
  5. ↑ Chou, L.Y.; Hsu, T.C. (1995). "The Braconidae (Hymenoptera) of Taiwan VI. Charmontinae, Homolobinae and Xiphozelinae". Journal of Agricultural Research of China. 44 (3): 357–378.
  6. ↑ Ghramh, Hamed (2012). "Record of the genus Homolobus Foerster (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), with description of a new species from Saudi Arabia". Trends in Biosciences. 5 (3): 6–7.
  7. ↑ Ahmad, Zubair; Shuja-Uddin (2001). "A New species of the genus Homolobus Foerster (Homolobinae: Braconidae: Hymenoptera) from India". Shashpa. 8 (2): 99–101.
  8. ↑ van Achterberg, Cornelis; Aguiar, Franquinho (2009). "Additions to the fauna of Braconidae from Madeira and Selvagens Islands, with the description of five new species (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Homolobinae, Alysiinae, Opiinae)" (PDF). Zoologische mededelingen, Leiden. 83: 777–797. Retrieved 2025-07-03.
  9. 1 2 Mateo, Kaoru (1982). "The genus Homolobus Foerster of Japan. II. Subgenera Chartolobus, Apatia, Phylacter and Oulophus". Kontyu. 50 (2): 314–323.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Shaw, Mark R. (2010). "Palaearctic Homolobinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in the National Museums of Scotland, with host and distribution records and a key to British species". Entomologist's Gazette. 61 (1): 43–51. Retrieved 2025-07-03.
  11. ↑ Sharkey, Michael J.; Baker, Austin; McCluskey, Kathryn; Smith, Alex; Naik, Suresh; Ratnasingham, Sujeevan; Manjunath, Ramya; Perez, Kate; Sones, Jayme; D'Souza, Michelle; Jacques, Brianne St.; Hebert, Paul; Hallwachs, Winnie; Janzen, Daniel (2021-12-07). "Addendum to a minimalist revision of Costa Rican Braconidae: 28 new species and 23 host records". ZooKeys (1075): 77–136. Bibcode:2021ZooK.1075...77S. doi:10.3897/zookeys.1075.72197. ISSN 1313-2970. PMC 8671719. PMID 35046752.
  12. 1 2 Mateo, Kaoru (1982). "The genus Homolobus Foerster of Japan. I. Subgenus Homolobus". Kontyu. 50 (2): 314–323.
  13. ↑ Chen, Xuexin (1991). "A new species of the genus Homolobus Foerster from China, with a checklist of the Chinese species" (PDF). Ent. Ber., Amst. 51 (4): 47–49. Retrieved 2025-07-03.
  14. ↑ van Achterberg, Cornelis; Shaw, Scott R. (2009). "A new species of the genus Homolobus Foerster from Ecuador (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Homolobinae)" (PDF). Zoologische mededelingen, Leiden. 83: 805–810. Retrieved 2025-07-03.
  15. ↑ Antropov, Alexander V.; Belokobylskij, Sergey A.; Compton, Stephen G.; Dlussky, Gennady M.; Khalaim, Andrey I.; Kolyada, Victor A.; Kozlov, Mikhail A.; Perfilieva, Ksenia S.; Rasnitsyn, Alexandr P. (2014). "The wasps, bees and ants (Insecta: Vespidae = Hymenoptera) from the Insect Limestone (Late Eocene) of the Isle of Wight, UK". Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 104: 335–446. doi:10.1017/S1755691014000103.