Redescription of the types of species of Anastatus Motschulsky, 1859 (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Eupelmidae) described by J.K. Sheng and coauthors

Abstract

Six species of Anastatus Motschulsky, 1859 (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae) were described from China in Chinese by J.K. Sheng and coauthors in 1997 and 1998: A. dexingensis, A. flavipes, A. fulloi, A. huangi, A. meilingensis and A. shichengensis. This represents almost half the species of Anastatus recorded from China, but no keys were given to differentiate the species and the original descriptions included only simple line drawings to illustrate the species. Because recognition of these species is critical prior to clarifying the Anastatus fauna of China and of the eastern Palaearctic and Oriental regions, we have redescribed the six species in detail in English based on original type material, illustrating the species through macrophotography of type material and providing a key to differentiate females of the species.