Pristaulacus aquilus SMITH, 2008

Smith, David R., 2008, Aulacidae of the southwestern United States, Mexico, and Central America (Hymenoptera), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 58 (2), pp. 267-355 : 310-312

Pristaulacus aquilus SMITH , new species

( Figs 83-86 )

Diagnosis:

Orange with ocellar area and meso- and metapleura black; legs all orange. Wings and veins uniformly black. Head shining above, frons dull, sculptured. Mesonotum with large closely set punctures, without carinae. Hind coxa shining, with cross striations. Pronotum without anteriorly projecting tooth.

Female: Unknown.

Male:

Length, 14.5 mm; forewing length 11.5 mm. Color: Antenna orange; pedicel, flagellomeres 1 and 2, and apical 3 blackish. Head orange; apex of mandible and interocellar area black. Mesosoma orange with narrow posterior line on pronotum, upper mesepisternum, mesepimeron, metapleuron, spot on lower propodeum, and areas lateral to mesoscutellum black. Legs orange; tarsi more yellowish. Metasoma orange. Wings uniformly black; veins and stigma black. Head: Antennal length 2.6X head width. Lower interocular distance subequal to eye height; malar space 0.3X eye height ( Fig. 83 ). Occipital carina very narrow, less than a fifth diameter of an ocellus. Mostly shining, covered with fine white pubescence; vertex and gena with fine punctures ( Fig. 84 ); frons, interantennal area, and clypeus more reticulate to punctate and slightly duller than vertex with fine microsculpture ( Fig. 83 ). Mesosoma: Pronotum without anteriorly projecting tooth. Mostly, uniformly coarsely reticulate ( Figs 85, 86 ); propleuron smooth, shining; pronotum with somewhat scrobiculate diagonal band; posterior margin of mesopleuron scrobiculate. Hind coxa with coarse, transverse carinae; about 2.2X longer than broad. Tarsal claws with 6 teeth and small basal lobe, basal lobe appearing as a sixth tooth. Hind basitarsus 1.2X longer than length of remaining tarsal segments combined. Forewing with long vein Rs+M separating cells 1M and 1Rs (as in Fig. 91 ). Hind wing with veins distinct, vein M separates cells Cu and R1+Rs (as in Fig. 104 ). Metasoma: Shining; fine white pubescence and fine punctures on segment 2 to apex.

Holotype: Male labeled “ Mexico, Jalisco, Chamela 26/30-IX-85, FD Parker, TL Griswold” ( USU).

Etymology: Vrom the Latin aquilus , meaning dark colored, referring to the entirely dark wings.

Remarks:

This large, shining, orange male cannot be associated with females I have seen, and it is the only species I know that has the forewing entirely black without hyaline areas.

Figures

Figs 83-86: Pristaulacus aquilus. 83 Head, front. 84 Head, dorsal. 85 Mesosoma, lateral. 86 Mesosoma dorsal.

Figs 87-92: Pristaulacus torridus. 87 Head, front. 88 Head, dorsal. 89 Mesosoma, lateral. 90 Mesosoma dorsal. 91 Wings. 92 Posterior portion of mesosoma and mid- and hind coxae.

Figs 102-105: Pristaulacus nigricoxae. 102 Head, front. 103 Head, dorsal. 104 Mesosoma, lateral. 105 Mesosoma, dorsal.