Pteromalinae (Pteromalidae: Chalcidoidea : Hymenoptera) of Indian Subcontinent

The present work is the compilation of my investigations on the systematics of subfamily Pteromalinae of Pteromalidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) of Indian subcontinent for the last one decade. By presenting this work my intention is to bring together a complete picture of the actual Pteromalid fauna belonging to the subfamily Pteromalinae of the region. It contains the revisions of 57 known genera and 128 species known from the region. In addition to this 4 new species are also described. The Indian subcontinent dealt in the study comprises countries south of the Himalaya ie. India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. All the known synonyms under each genera and species are included in the present study. Identification keys to the genera and species of Pteromalinae known from the region are provided. Some interesting aspects about the zoogeographical regions are provided. A host-parasite list and index to genera and species are also included at the end of the monograph. All possible type material of the known species have been examined for the present work except in few cases where the type materials are either not traceable or not accessible to me. In such cases I could only provide the short original descriptions of the taxa and some of them translated from other languages. Altogether about 15000 specimens were studied for the present work. It is hoped that the present work would stimulate further research on these interesting and economically important group of insects.