Conostigmus is a genus of parasitoid wasps that belongs to the family Megaspilidae. It is a sister genus of Dendrocerus and the second-largest genus within the family Megaspilidae with over 170 extant species that are globally distributed with most species being concentrated in the Palaearctic realm. In contrast, there has only been 17 species described from China.
Taxonomy The genus was described in 1858 by Anders Gustaf Dahlbom, a Swedish entomologist. When it was established, it was considered to be a subgenus of Megaspilus before being elevated to the generic rank by Kieffer (1907). The type species is Conostigmus erythrothorax was described by William Harris Ashmead, an American entomologist, in 1893.
Species
This genus currently contains over 170 described species making Conostigmus the second-largest genus within the family Megaspilidae. These species are organized into several species groups.
Below is a list of species belonging to this genus:
Conostigmus acutus Wang & Chen, 2024 Conostigmus abdominalis (Boheman, 1832) Conostigmus ampullaceus Dessart, 1997 Conostigmus aestivalis Kieffer, 1907 Conostigmus bipunctatus Kieffer, 1907 Conostigmus clayulatus Yang & Wang, 2025 Conostigmus dessarti Trietsch & Mikó, 2020 Conostigmus dimidiatus (Thomson, 1858) Conostigmus duncani Trietsch, 2020 Conostigmus electrinus Wang & Chen, 2024 Conostigmus erythrothorax Ashmead, 1893 (type species) Conostigmus franzinii Trietsch & Mikó, 2020 Conostigmus johnsoni Trietsch & Mikó, 2020 Conostigmus laeviceps (Ashmead, 1893) Conostigmus lepus Trietsch, 2020 Conostigmus longiharpes Trietsch, 2020 Conostigmus michaeli Trietsch, 2020 Conostigmus minimus Trietsch & Mikó, 2020 Conostigmus muratorei Trietsch, 2020 Conostigmus musettiae Trietsch & Mikó, 2020 Conostigmus nankunensis Qian and Wang, 2024 Conostigmus obsidianus Liu & Wang, 2026 Conostigmus quadratogenalis Dessart & Cooper, 1975 Conostigmus quadripetalus Wang & Chen, 2024 Conostigmus rosemaryae Trietsch, 2020 Conostigmus rotundus Yang & Wang, 2025 Conostigmus vitreus Liu & Wang, 2026 Conostigmus washburni Trietsch, 2020 Conostigmus xui Cui and Wang, 2023
Biology
Though it is the second largest genus within Megaspilidae, little is known about its life history. A few species are known to be ectoparasitoids however it is likely that the genus also contains endoparasitoid wasps as well since the sister genus Dendrocerus contains both life strategies. It is also likely that Conostigmus contains hyperparasitoids as well.
Fossil Specimens A species of Conostigmus has been identified from Eocene Baltic amber.
References
Dessart, P. & Cancemi, P. 1987. Tableau dichotomique des genres de Ceraphronoidea (Hymenoptera) avec commentaires et nouvelles especies. Frustula Entomologica 7-8: 307-372. Johnson, N. F. & L. Musetti. 2004. Catalog of the systematic literature of the superfamily Ceraphronoidea (Hymenoptera). Contributions of the American Entomological Institute 33 (2): 1-149.