Minotetrastichus

Fore wing with submarginal vein (SMV) with 2 or more dorsal setae. Postmarginal vein (PMV) very short, less than 0.5 the length of the stigmal vein (STV).
Female antenna usually with 2-3 anelli, with the first subdiscoid and the others laminar, and with 3 funicular segments distinctly longer than wide. Male antenna with scape swollen (and flagellum lacking whorls of long dark setae) or slender (and flagellum with compact whorls of long dark setae); funicle 4-segmented. Club 3-segmented in both sexes.
Clypeal margin truncate or slightly bilobed. Malar sulcus present and straight.
Pronotum short. Notauli complete. Midlobe of mesoscutum usually without a median line and with more than 5 adnotaular setae on each side. Scutellum with two pairs of setae and two pairs of longitudinal lines. Propodeum with or without median carina; plica absent. Propodeal spiracles (spr) very small, almost circular, with whole rim exposed and usually separated from hind edge of metanotum by their own diameter or more, sometimes by slightly less. Callus with 2 or 3 setae. Petiole not distinct.
Gaster with the two longer setae of each cercus usually subequal in length, straight or slightly curved.
Body metallic with pale markings.

Species of this genus were recorded in Caribbean, Holarctic and Neotropics regions (Noyes, 2001).

Minotetrastichus belongs to the subfamily of Tetrastichinae by having female funicle 3 and male 4-segmented, notauli complete, ventral plaque on male scape and postmarginal vein reduced.
Kostjukov (1977) described Minotetrastichus as a subgenus of Tetrastichus, but subsequently Graham (1987) elevated it to generic level. Minotetrastichus also corresponds to the “ecus group” of Aprostocetus in Graham (1961) and of Tetrastichus in Domenichini (1966; 1967).
This genus appears very close to Aprostocetus, Baryscapus and Tetrastichus. The revisions of the Tetrastichinae subfamily (Graham, 1987;1991) redefined Tetrastichus as containing only species with 1 single seta on submarginal vein and Y-shaped paraspicular carina. Minotetrastichus however has more than a single seta on submarginal vein, as Aprostocetus and Baryscapus. It may be distinguished from these latter two by having the clypeal margin weakly lobed or truncate, and the propodeal spiracle small, circular, and separated from the metanotum by at least its own diameter. Besides, it differs from Aprostocetus by having the propodeal spiracle with its entire rim exposed and the two longest cercal setae subequal in length and straight or only slightly curved; from Baryscapus it can be distinguished by having some yellow coloration on the body and 2 or 3 setae on callus (Graham, 1987; La Salle, 1994).
Keys to Minotetrastichus are available only for the European species (Graham, 1987).

Diagnosis

Distribution

Biology