Fig. 14, 136
Meteorus caligatus Haliday, 1835: 25 Lectotype ♀, Ireland: (NMI, Dublin).
Meteorus neesii Ruthe, 1862: 22 Holotype ♀, Germany: (BMNH, London).
Dyscoletes alaskensis Ashmead, 1902:247 Alaska: (USMN, Washington). Synonymized by Van Achterberg 1979:364.
Meteorus sibiricus Fahringer, 1930:8, Type ♀, Russia: Kamtchatka (NHRS, Stockholm). Synonymized by Van Achterberg 1979:364 —examined
Diagnosis: Similar to Z. annulicrus in the small size and narrow shape of the precoxal sulcus, but differs from that species in having a distinctly shorter ovipositor (2.5 times petiolar tergum in Z. annulicus and only 1.5 times petiolar tergum in Z. caligatus).
Studied Material: ~ 50 specimens.
Description: Antennal articles 35–37. OOL=1.5. Eyes large, protuberant and not convergent. Malar space 0.4 times basal width of mandibles. Face 1.5 times wider than high. Clypeus almost as wide as face, punctate and protuberant. Mandibles stout and twisted. Precoxal sulcus narrow. Length of petiolar tergum 1.7–1.8 times its apical width. Propodeum with a weak transverse carina. Ovipositor length 1.1–1.4 times petiolar tergum. Petiolar tergum with deep laterope joining dorsally with dorsope. Ventral borders of the petiolar tergum widely separated. Hind coxa weakly punctulate, tarsal claws lobed. Vein cu-a of fore wing postfurcal; the studied specimens were dark reddish brown.
Distribution: Occurs throughout the Palearcitc and Nearctic. Country records: China; Finland; Germany; Ireland; Italy Japan; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Russia; Sweden; Switzerland; U.S.A.; United Kingdom.
Biology: Zele caligatus is more frequent than Z. annulicrus but is still rather rare. It is a solitary parasitoid on Geometridae and Nymphalidae and emerges from the larval stage (Yu et al. 2005). Known hosts of the examined specimens all belong to the genus Eupithecia (Geometridae) (van Achterberg 1979, Stigenberg & Shaw in prep.). One record of a gregarious rearing is mentioned in Hammond et al. (1957), where the material was determined by G. E. J. Nixon. The cocoon of Z. caligatus is whitish and the species is attracted to light and caught in Malaise traps. In the SMTP one specimen was caught in a Malaise trap in July in an old aspen forest.