Sphex satanas memnon, Dörfel & Ohl, 2022

Dörfel, Thorleif H. & Ohl, Michael, 2022, The wasp genus Sphex in Sub-Saharan Africa (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 796 (1), pp. 1-170 : 145-146

Sphex satanas memnon subsp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:50FDA09F-CC76-4160-B355-CAE7E564D321

Fig. 114

Differential diagnosis

The female of this subspecies shares the uniformly black scutellum and metanotum of S. satanas satanas ( Fig. 113 ) and is overall very similar, with the only difference being that S. s. memnon subsp. nov. has the appressed and erect propodeal setae entirely black ( Fig. 114 ).

Etymology

‘ Memnon ’ is an Ancient Greek noun, used here in apposition, and the name of a mythological Ethiopian king.

Material examined

Holotype ETHIOPIA • ♀; “Abbai Gorge”; 23 Oct. 1945; K.M. Guichard leg.; BMNH.

Description

Female SIZE. 20.6 mm.

COLOR. Black except for the following, which are ferruginous: basal half of mandible, clypeus, scape, pedicel, flagellomeres I–V, collar, pronotal lobe, tegula, prepectus, and legs except coxa and inner margin of claw. Wings fuscous, with violet iridescence.

VESTITURE. Appressed setae on clypeus and paraocular area silvery-golden, on collar silvery, on scutum and propodeal enclosure black. Erect setae on clypeus and paraocular area ferruginous, on collar, scutum and propodeal enclosure black. Erect propodeal setae oriented anteriorly. Clypeus without glabrous spot. Scutellum sparsely and finely pubescent.

STRUCTURE. Free clypeal margin gently notched medially, stepped above. Clypeus with slight indentation in lower center, without carina. Scutellum flat. Metanotum not raised, not bituberculate. 2 nd recurrent vein joins markedly proximal from interstitium between submarginal cells II and III. Propodeal enclosure with four transversal ridges. Foretarsomere I 1.6 × length of antepenultimate spine. Petiole length 1.2× its medial width.

Male

Unknown.

Variation

Unknown.

Distribution

Ethiopia.

Figures

Figs 113–118. 113–114, 116. Habitus of ♀. 115, 117. Habitus of ♂. 113, 115. Sphex satanas satanas Kohl, 1898. 114. S. satanas memnon subsp. nov. 116–117. S. socotrensis sp. nov. 118. Geographic distribution of S. pseudosatanas sp. nov. (red), S. rufoclypeatus sp. nov. (blue), S. s. satanas (yellow) and S. socotrensis sp. nov. (purple).