A revision of the western Palaearctic species of the\ t , 8 * genus Meteorus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) T. Huddleston -k < Department of Entomology, British Museum (Natural History), Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD Contents Synopsis ............. 1 Introduction ............ 1 Depositories ............ 2 Taxonomic history . . . . . . . . . . .2 Taxonomic characters ........... 4 Biology ............. 6 List of host records ........... 7 Meteorus Haliday ........... 9 Synonymic list of species . . . . . . . . . .10 Key to species (females) . . . . . . . . . .11 Descriptions of species .......... 20 Nominadubia ............ 54 Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . .55 References ............. 55 Index .57 Synopsis The species of the genus Meteorus from the western Palaearctic zoogeographical region are revised, keyed and illustrated. Thirty-six of the 121 nominal species discussed are considered to be valid and 3 are new. Seventy-one names are placed in synonymy, 44 for the first time. Seventy-seven primary types have been examined and of these 35 lectotypes are herein designated. Fourteen species are considered nomina dubia. About 3500 specimens have been examined. Introduction The taxonomy of the parasitic Hymenoptera is the least known of any large group of insects and, until recent years, the Braconidae have received even less attention than most other groups of Parasitica. There is therefore a pressing need for revisionary work in most parts of the family. Moreover this is no mere academic exercise; many species of Braconidae use as hosts insects which are important economically as pests of crops. The need for programmed 'biological' control is already becoming more urgent as the effectiveness of chemical methods of pest control declines. The use of parasitoid insects in the control of pest species has so far met with only sporadic success. For biological control to be effective an intimate knowledge of the biology of the insects involved is essential and this in turn is founded upon an accurate knowledge of their taxonomy. This paper is concerned with the taxonomy of the western Palaearctic species of Meteorus, all of which appear to be primary parasites of the larvae of either Lepidoptera or Coleoptera. It was originally intended to include in this revision the species of the whole of the Palaearctic region. No material was available for study from the U.S.S.R. or from China, however, nor was type-material available of the species described from the U.S.S.R. (M. baicalensis Telenga, M. flagellatus Alexeev, M. politutele Shenefelt [replacement name for politus Telenga, not Provancher], M.pospelowi Telenga). These areas have therefore been omitted from consideration. Bull.Br.Mus.nat.Hist.(Ent.)41(l): 1-58 Issued 28 August, 1980
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