Dasymutilla mirapenis Manley & Pitts, 2007

MANLEY, DONALD G. & PITTS, JAMES P., 2007, Tropical and Subtropical Velvet Ants of the Genus Dasymutilla Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) with Descriptions of 45 New Species, Zootaxa 1487 (1), pp. 1-128 : 70-71

Dasymutilla mirapenis Manley & Pitts , new species

Holotype male, Costa Rica, Guanacaste, EJN 14 km. S. Cañas, IV-7/8-90, F. D. Parker [ EMUS].

Diagnosis of Male (Plate C6K). This species is easily recognized by coloration characters. The forewing is banded, with the basal third being transparent, followed by a thin dusky band, a thin transparent band, and the apical third dusky. Also, the integument is entirely black except for the scutellum, which is conspicuously orange and clothed with erect golden setae. It is also distinguished by the dense appressed silver setae on tergum II anteriorly, varying from two separated spots to a single transverse band. It has a small pit on sternum II that is slightly anterior of center. The pygidium is rugose, and lacks an apical fringe of setae. The cuspis and digitus of the genitalia are short, with the cuspis just surpassing the apex of the penial valve ( Plate 2F ).

Description. Male: Length, 6–11 mm. Head. Black quadrate; mandible acute at apex, with inconspicuous inner tooth just basad of apex; clypeus flat, coarsely sculptured, anterior margin jagged; scape conspicuously bicarinate; flagellomere I very slightly shorter than remaining segments; antennal scrobe distinctly carinate; head with coarse contiguous punctures, sculpture concealed by dense setae; front and vertex with dense appressed setae ranging from shining silver to shining golden.

Mesosoma. Black, except scutellum conspicuously orange; anterior margin nearly straight, not emarginate medially; lateral processes of scutellum long sharp curved inward; tegula black, glabrous; pronotum and scutellum with shining appressed setae concolorous with front and vertex; mesonotum with appressed black setae; remainder of mesosoma with silver setae.

Legs black, with silver setae.

Forewing banded, basal third transparent, followed by thin dusky band, then thin transparent band, with apical third dusky.

Metasoma. Black; pygidium rugose, lacking apical fringe of setae; sternum I with longitudinal carina nearly entire length of segment, produced anteriorly into blunt tooth; sternum II with small pit filled with setae, slightly longer than broad, slightly anterior of center; last sternite with shallow separated punctures, except apical margin glabrous and produced apically into median tooth; patch of conspicuous dense appressed silver setae on anterior third of tergum II, ranging from two separated circles to longitudinal band; apical fringe of tergum II to apical margin of tergum V with dense appressed setae concolorous with front and vertex; apical fringe of sternum II to apical margin of V with sparse silver setae; remainder of metasoma with black setae.

Genitalia ( Plate 2F ). Paramere with apical tip dorsally curved forming distinct tooth, ventral margin not densely pubescent, remainder with short sparse setae; cuspis with basal 0.3 cylindrical and slightly lobate along inner margin, remainder laterally flattened, ventral and internal surface with sparse long setae, dorsal and external surface of flattened portion with dense short setae, dorsal margin especially at apex with long dense setae, length about 0.25X free length of paramere; digitus linear, tapering towards apex, slightly knoblike apically, length about 0.2X free length of paramere; penial valve bidentate, teeth separate and roughly equal in size.

Female. Unknown.

Paratypes. 30♂, COSTA RICA, Guanacaste, S. Cañas, I-26/31-89, F. D. Parker (1♂, EMUS) ; II-9/14-89 (1♂, DGMC) ; II-16/20-89 (1♂, EMUS; 2♂, DGMC) ; III-1/5-89 (1♂, EMUS) ; III-11/15-89 (1♂, EMUS) ; EJN, 14 km S. Cañas, I-11/31-90, F. D. Parker (2♂, EMUS: 1♂, DGMC): I-19/20-90 (1♂, EMUS) ; I-22/23-90 (1♂,

EMUS); II-1/11-90 (1♂, EMUS) ; II-12/13-90 (1♂, EMUS) ; II-14/15-90 (1♂, EMUS) ; XII-7/8-90 (1♂, DGMC) ; 3 km. SE Rio Naranjo , IV-11/21-92, F. D. Parker (1♂, EMUS) ; V-1-92 (1♂, EMUS) ; I-4/8-93 (1♂, EMUS) ; IV-18/28-93 (1♂, EMUS) ; Santa Rosa Park , VI-12-77, D. H. Janzen (1♂, DGMC) ; San Jose, San Jose , XII-25-87, F. D. Parker (1♂, DGMC) ; Escazu , I-24/30-88, F. D. Parker (1♂, EMUS) ; II-1/7-88 (1♂, EMUS) ; II-7/14-88 (1♂, EMUS) ; II-16/23-88 (1♂, EMUS) : IV-25/29-88 (1♂, DGMC) ; V-2/13-88 (1♂, EMUS) ; NICARAGUA, Masaya, Las Flores, VII-8-94 (2♂, DGMC) .

Distribution. Costa Rica (Guanacaste, San Jose); Nicaragua.

Etymology. From the Latin meaning “strange penis,” referring to the shape of the parameres and diminutive size of the cuspis and digitus of the genitalia.

Remarks. This species is known only from the male. Although it keys with some difficulty, it is easily recognized by being the only known species having the integument of the scutellum orange and the remainder of the integument black.

Figures

PLATE 2. Male genitalia of Dasymutilla. A. D. impressa. B. D. ionothorax. C. D. loreto. D. D. mazatlanorum. E. D. mirabilis. F. D. mirapenis. G. D. modgudi. H. D. naranjo.