Pampsilota africanus ( Mocsary , 1909), 1899

Liston, Andrew D., Goergen, Georg & Koch, Frank, 2017, Revisions of the Afrotropical genera of Argidae and species of Pampsilota Konow, 1899 (Hymenoptera, Tenthredinoidea), Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 64 (1), pp. 1-25 : 6-8

Pampsilota africanus ( Mocsary, 1909)

Cipdele [sic!] africana Mocsáry, 1909: 6. Described: female [unknown number of syntypes]. Type locality: Kilima-Ndjaro [Kilimanjaro, Tanzania].

Pampsilota africanus : Enslin 1913: 322-323.

Pampsilota africanus var. interruptus Forsius, 1928: 234-235. Described: female [holotype]. Type locality: Tanganyika [Tanzania], Tabora-Kigoma. Synonymy with Calarge africana by Pasteels 1955: 340.

Cipdele africana var. interrupta : Pasteels 1953: 119-120.

Female.

Figures 9-12 , 41-42

Head and thorax black with metallic lustre. Pronotum yellow with anterior margin and medial area black. Legs black with blue metallic lustre; pro- and mesotibia entirely yellow, metatibia yellow with narrow blackish apex, basitarsomeres yellow with apex of meso- and metabasitarsomere blackish. Wings including intercostal area flavescent-hyaline; substigmal spot small and fuscous; stigma black; costa and subcosta yellowish; rest of venation blackish. Abdomen yellow-orange; terga 1-6(7) broadly black with blue metallic lustre; terga 8/9 entirely black, sterna 5-7 more or less black; valvifers 2 of ovipositor sheath black.

Head very slightly enlarged behind eyes. Antenna 1.4 × as long as maximum head width; flagellum enlarged towards apex, quadrangular in cross section, interior surface with sharply compressed longitudinal carina, other longitudinal carinae conspicuously weaker compressed. Eyes slightly converging towards clypeus. Anterior margin of the clypeus broadly, shallowly, circularly emarginate. Supraclypeal area gently rounded, protruding up to ventral limit of interantennal carinae. Interantennal carinae obtusely ridged, converging below, extending to about the level of ventral margin of torulus. Frons, vertex, supraclypeal area and clypeus densely punctate, dull. Postocellar area and gena moderately densely micropunctate, shiny; pubescence whitish. Metatibia not distally laterally compressed (nearly circular in cross section). Mesoscutum punctation similar to gena, shiny; pubescence similar to that on head. Abdomen smooth and shiny. Valvulae 3: Figs 9 , 10 . Lancet with about 17-18 serrulae: Figs 11 , 12 .

Length: 8.0-8.7 mm.

Male.

Figures 13 , 43-44

Similarly coloured to female, except narrow posterior margin of tergum 9 yellow, and tibiae entirely yellow.

Antenna 1.7 × as long as maximum head width; flagellum not enlarged towards apex, about oval in cross section, interior surface with sharply compressed longitudinal carina, outer carina conspicuously more weakly compressed, other carinae negligible. Supraclypeal area gently rising up to ventral limit of interantennal carinae. Other characters as for female. Penis valve: Fig. 13 .

Length: 7.3-8.3 mm.

Type material examined.

Cipdele africana : Lectotype, hereby designated: ♀. Labels: "Kilimandjaro [Kilimanjaro], Bornemissza [Tanzania]"; "Africa, or., Arusha-Ju, 1906, Katona"; "Lectotype Cipdele africana Mocsáry, 1909 designated A. Liston 2015" (red); "GBIF GISHym 21276" ( HNHM). Paralectotype: 1 ♀. Tanzania: same data as lectotype ( HNHM).

Pampsilota africanus var. interruptus : Holotype: ♀. Labels: "E[ast] Tanganyika: Tabora-Kigoma, Lt. Stamper"; " Pampsilota africanus Mocs. var. interruptus n. ♀, type, R. Forsius det."; "R. Dét. M, 1477"; "Type ♀" (red); " Pampsilota africana Mocs. (= Pampsilota africana M. var. interrupta Fors.)"; " DEI-GISHym. 21245"; "Holotypus, Pampsilota africanus var. interruptus Forsius ♀, teste: F. Koch, 2016" (red); " Pampsilota africanus ( Mocsáry) ♀, det.: F. Koch, 2016" ( MRAC).

Other material examined.

13 ♂♂, 17 ♀♀. Kenya: Stony Athi, Biol [ogical] Survey 5-40 (1♀) ( NMKE); Eastern Katutu , Kihtioko , 27.XI.1999, M. Snižek (5♂♂, 2♀♀); Taita, Mwatate, 30.XI.1997, M. Snižek (3♂♂, 8♀♀); 50km Namanga, Ilbisil env., 18.XI.1997, M. Snižek (1♀). Tanzania: (NE), W of Kiberashi , Kit wei plain, 16.III.2002, M. Snižek (5♂♂, 5♀♀) (MFN, OLML, SDEI, USNM) .

Distribution.

Tanzania, Kenya (Fig. 36 ).

Diagnosis.

Pampsilota africanus resembles Pampsilota zebra in having pincer-shaped valvulae 3 (compact or diverging in all other species), metatibia distally nearly circular in cross section, and in the main colour characters (thorax black except for pronotum and sometimes tegulae, legs partly pale, and abdomen at least ventrally partly pale). Pampsilota africanus has a yellow costa and anterior of subcosta, whereas in Pampsilota zebra costa and subcosta are black. The tegulae of Pampsilota africanus are sometimes bicoloured, but in Pampsilota zebra always black. The hind tibia of Pampsilota africanus is nearly unicolorous pale, and in Pampsilota zebra broadly ringed apically with blackish. The serrulae of these species are very differently shaped (Figs 12 , 34 ), but their penis valves are quite similar (Figs 13 , 35 ).

Remarks.

Pampsilota africanus varies especially in the coloration of the abdomen. Sometimes the black on terga 2/3 is reduced to a small median spot, or as in Pampsilota africanus var. interruptus terga 2-4 are entirely yellow. No other morphological differences exist between the nominate form and var. interruptus , and their synonymy by Pasteels (1955) was justified.

Figures

Figure 36. Distribution map for Pampsilota afer, Pampsilota africanus, Pampsilota brandbergensis, and Pampsilota dahomeyanus.

Figures 9 - 13. Pampsilota africanus: 9. Valvulae 3 (lateral aspect); 10. Valvulae 3 (dorsal aspect); 11. Lancet; 12. Serrulae 10 - 11; 13. Penis valve (left, lateral aspect).

Figures 38 - 44. Pampsilota afer ♀: 38. Dark form, dorsal; 39 - 40. Pale form, dorsal / lateral. 41 - 44. Pampsilota africanus. 41 - 42. ♀ (LT), dorsal / lateral; 43 - 44. ♂, dorsal / lateral. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Figures 31 - 35. Pampsilota zebra: 31. Valvulae 3 (lateral aspect); 32. Valvulae 3 (dorsal aspect); 33. Lancet; 34. Serrulae 9 - 11; 35. Penis valve (left, lateral aspect).