Pediobius, having 2 setae on submarginal
vein, scutellum with a pair of setae, fronto-facial suture distinctly
separated from anterior ocellus and male scape with sensory pores
placed at the ventral edge, belongs to the subfamily
Entedoninae.
Pediobius may be distinguished from
Achrysocharoides,
Neochrysocharis,
Chrysocharis,
Asecodes,
Trisecodes and
Closterocerus
by having pronotum with transverse carina and propodeum with 2
median carina complete and diverging posteriorly.
Among
Entedoninae with pronotum
carinate and petiole distinct,
Apleurotropis
and
Pleurotroppopsis
differ from
Pediobius by having mesoscutum with median
longitudinal groove in the posterior half and a single propodeal
median carina;
Zaommomentedon Girault by having both
mesoscutum and scutellum with complete and distinct median groove;
Platocharis Kerrich by having diverging submedian carinae
or plicae and transverse carina between submedian carina and plica;
Kratoysma Boucek by having scutellum strongly sculptured
with a broad median groove anteriorly;
Horismenus Walker
by having scutellum with median groove and propodeum with median
carina bordered by depressed and often sculptured area.
Pediobius will be most difficult to separate from
Proacrias.
Both genera have the propodeum with paired median carinae which
diverge posteriorly. Both genera have a plica on the propodeum,
although this is generally more distinct in
Pediobius.
Pediobius always has a distinct collar on the pronotum,
this collar can be present or absent in
Proacrias.
Proacrias has 2 funicular
segments, while
Pediobius usually has funicle 3-segmented.
In
Pediobius the postmarginal vein is quite short; in
Proacrias the PMV is variable,
but can be longer than the stigmal vein. One character that seems
to be able to separate these genera is that in
Pediobius
the median carinae on the propodeum, after diverging, continue
without turning to the posterior margin of the propodeum, there
is a complete carina on the posterior margin of the propodeum
between the median carina and the plica, and the posterior margin
of the propodeum is extended into a small neck (nucha) medially.
In
Proacrias the median
carinae turn back posteriorly rather abruptly and define a trapezoidal
area, there is not a carina along the posterior margin of the
propodeum, and the posterior margin of the propodeum is not extended
into a neck medially.
Numerous studies have been published on
Pediobius: keys
are available for Europe (
Boucek,
1965), Russia (
Kostjukov,
2000a), North America (
Peck,
1985), Japan (
Kamijo, 1986)
and India (
Surekha & Narendran,
1993;
Khan, 1996). Moreover,
Kerrich (1973) revised
the Tropical and Subtropical species.