Fig. 32, 105
Meteorus lionotus Thomson, 1895:2160. Lectotype ♂, Sweden: Norrland (MZLU, Lund)—examined.
Meteorus ruficoloratus Fischer, 1957b:4. Holotype ♂, Germany: München, 15.vii.1884. (Kreichbaumer) (ZSBS, Münich).
Diagnosis: The extremely contracted head along with the size of the ocelli make this species easy to distinguish. The only similar species that it can be mistaken for is M. versicolor but the contracted head and the ocellar size (OOL=0.5) of M. lionotus is well distinguished from the more rounded head and smaller ocelli (OOL=1) of M. versicolor.
Studied material: ~ 10 specimens.
Description: Size about 4–5mm. Antennae with 31–33 articles, long. Head very strongly contracted behind the eyes. Ocelli very large, OOL=0.5, protuberant. Eyes not strongly protuberant. Clypeus strongly protuberant. Mandibles strongly twisted, small. Precoxal sulcus shallow, rugose. Propodeum generally depressed, with distinct lateral carinae and occasionally with a weak medial transverse carina. Petiolar tergum long with no dorsal pits; ventral borders conjoined at midpoint of segment. Ovipositor about 1.5 times length of petiolar tergum. Legs long, slender; tarsal claws with strong basal lobe. Colour testaceous, black around ocelli and occipital region, legs are always light in colour. Male same as female except that ocelli and eyes slightly smaller.
Distribution: Western Palearctic. Country records: Austria; China; Czechoslovakia; Finland; Germany; Greece; Norway; Poland; Slovakia; Sweden; Switzerland; United Kingdom.
Biology: M. lionotus is most commonly recorded as a parasitoid of Geometridae larvae (Huddleston 1980, Yu et al. 2005).