Spaniopus Walker, 1833: 466. Type species: Spaniopus dissimilis Walker, 1833, by monotypy (♂ lectotype, BMNH, examined).
Polycelis Thomson, 1878: 131, 143. Type species: Pteromalus conspersus Walker, 1835, designated by Ashmead, 1904: 386 (♀ lectotype, BMNH, not examined). Junior primary homonym of Polycelis Ehrenberg, 1831 (Seriata, Planariidae) (Dalla Torre 1897: 87). Synonymy by Graham (1969: 702).
Neopolycelis Hincks, 1944: 38. Replacement name for Polycelis Thomson, 1878. Synonymy by Graham (1969: 703).
Diagnosis. Body colour dark metallic green to blush-green or blush-purple and often with diffuse coppery lustre; fore wing often with brownish cloud or patches. Sides of propodeum hairy, pilosity not reaching base of nucha (e.g. Figs 4, 12, 18); first metasomal tergite with small patch of hairs (e.g. Figs 2, 8, 48, 54). Head and mesosoma distinctly reticulate; clypeus radially striate; nucha of propodeum strongly reticulate; metasoma smooth and shiny (e.g. Figs 14, 19, 25, 38). Head of female (e.g. Figs 8, 20) in dorsal view 2.0– 2.2 × as broad as long; scrobes absent; occiput without carina; lower margin of clypeus subemarginate (e.g. Figs 9, 21, 55). Antennae in both sexes 11263 (e.g. Figs 3, 10, 24, 61), inserted a little above level of lower edges of eyes (e.g. Figs 9, 15, 21, 55); both anelli transverse or second anellus subquadrate to quadrate; funicular segments in female longer than broad, subquadrate or transverse, with one row of dense sensilla; clava symmetric, usually not wider than funicular segments; funicular segments in male more elongate than in female or of different size and colouration (e.g. Figs 29, 43). Mandibular formula 3: 4 or rarely 4: 4. Mesosoma usually moderately arched dorsally (e.g. Figs 1, 7, 53); pronotum without smooth and shiny carina; notauli incomplete; scutellum with noticeable but shallow frenal line. Propodeum with conspicuous subglobose nucha, plicae sinuate before constriction at nuchal base (e.g. Figs 4, 12, 35, 48). Fore wing with basal cell bare or pilose, veins not thickened. Metasoma ovate or sublanceolate.
Distribution. Palaearctic and Nearctic.
Comments. For detailed discussion of the synonymy of Spaniopus, see Graham (1956: 250–251). Differences between Spaniopus and the similar genera Trichomalus Thomson, 1878 and Peridesmia Foerster, 1856 are given in the key of Bouček, Rasplus (1991).
Most species of Spaniopus have long fore wings that distinctly exceed the apex of the metasoma. However, some species, such as S. fulvicornis, are characterized by shortened fore wings. The length of the wings was used in some keys as the main feature for separating species (Bouček 1972; Kamijo 1981) because wing-length variability within a single species was not realized. However, Huggert (1976) described wing-length variability for S. hedqvisti (Figs 25, 26), which suggests that wing-length may be variable for more species. We have not used this feature in our new identification key to species because of this possibility.
Sexual dimorphism in Spaniopus is exhibited in the different shape and colouration of the antennae (Figs 29, 43, 66), mid tibiae (Figs 30, 42, 44, 65) and metasoma in males and females of some species.