Eustenogaster fumipennis Saito

Saito, Fuki & Kojima, Jun-Ichi, 2007, A taxonomic revision of the hover wasp genus Eustenogaster van der Vecht (Insecta: Hymenoptera; Vespidae, Stenogastrinae), Zootaxa 1556, pp. 1-30 : 21-22

Eustenogaster fumipennis Saito , sp. nov.

This species is known only from the female and is similar to E. calyptodoma , but it can be distinguished from E. calyptodoma by the combination of the following characters: body size larger than E. calyptodoma ; extreme apex of clypeus pointed ( Fig. 26 vs. truncate in E. calyptodoma , Fig. 21); mid-tooth of mandible rounded apically ( Fig. 27 vs. Fig. 22 in E. calyptodoma ); frons covered with dense, long hairs; sixth metasomal tergum with sharp spine and wide flat area in front of the spine ( Fig. 28 ); bright markings reduced (see below).

Female. Body length (head + mesosoma + first two terga) 18.5–20 mm (holotype: about 19.5 mm); forewing length 14.5–15.5 mm (holotype: about 15.0 mm).

Anterior ocellus about 1.2 times larger in width than posterior ocellus ( Fig. 29 ); distance between anterior and posterior ocelli shorter than diameter of posterior ocellus; distance between posterior ocelli about equal to their diameter.

First metasomal tergum narrow and long (7.5–8.5 mm long), about 6.3 times longer than its maximum height and about 4.8 times longer than the maximum width; second tergum in dorsal view longer than wide ( Fig. 30 ).

Color: Body shiny black; bright markings reduced and restricted to the following parts: spot below antennal socket ( Fig. 57 ), paired small lateral spot on clypeus (sometimes absent), small spot at posterodorsal corner of pronotum, paired lateral spots on metanotum (sometimes absent), paired posterior spots on propodeum ( Fig. 31 ), all yellow; second metasomal tergum with very small, yellow or pale-brown lateral spots. Legs dark brown; fore tibia with variable-sized lateral yellow spot. Wings semihyaline, smoky brown, darker along anterior margin of forewing; veins dark brown.

Male. Unknown.

Type material: Holotype female (deposited in AMNH) labeled, “Antique: Alojipan, Culasi, 20–xii 1982, Starr & Godoy, Nest series No. 591” and “GM”.

Paratypes: The Philippines: Panay Island: 4Ψ ( IUNH), Alojipan, Culasi, Antique, 16.xii.1982, CKS, [1Ψ, Nest series No. 553; 1Ψ, Nest series No. 555; 2Ψ, Nest series No. 556].

Distribution: Philippines: Panay.

Etymology. The specific name fumipennis is based on van der Vecht’s manuscript name. This is a compound name formed with a masculine Latin noun, fumi (= smoke) and a feminine Latin noun, pennis (= feather), to refer to the dark-colored wings of this species.

Figures

FIGURE 57. Facial marking pattern of Eustenogaster species.

FIGURES 26 – 31. Eustenogaster fumipennis Saito sp. nov., holotype female; 26, head in frontal view. 27, mandible. 28, flat area of sixth metasomal tergum. 29, ocelli. 30, second metasomal tergum in dorsal view. 31, propodeum in dorsal view. Scale bars show 1 mm.