Genus : Opius Wesmael, 1835

Diagnosis

Mandibles normal, pointing inwards and meeting medially.
Stigma vein less than 8 times longer than wide.
Vein r arising distal to basal 1/3 of stigma.

Superfamily : Ichneumonoidea
Family : Braconidae
Subfamily : Opiinae

Classification

Overview

Opius is a large and taxonomically difficult genus. Species are widely distributed on all continents, with over 550 described species. Opius species attack Diptera, mainly leaf-mining Agromyzidae and fruit-infesting Tephritidae; they oviposit in egg or larval stages and emerge from host puparia (Wharton, 1997d).

Identification

Opius is included in generic keys to Opiinae presented by Wharton (1997a; 1997d). Asutralian species that attack leafmining Agromyzidae were discussed in Belokobilskij et al (2004).