Agelaia flavipennis (Ducke, 1905)

Andena, Sergio R., Noll, Fernando B., Daza, Mario N. & Carpenter, James M., 2024, The phylogeny of the species of the genus Agelaia Lepeletier, 1836, one of the basalmost groups of Epiponini, with notes on male genitalia (Hymenoptera: Vespidae; Polistinae), American Museum Novitates 2024 (4009), pp. 1-48 : 18-19

THE FLAVIPENNIS GROUP

The features shared by this clade are the absence of bristles on pronotum (char. 31:1) and propodeum (char. 47:1), the nest arboreal (shared with A. timida ) (char. 68:0) and with an envelope (char. 69:1) (shared with A. timida and A. baezae ).

Richards (1978: 253) proposed that Agelaia flavipennis was very close to A. multipicta , but distinguished by the shape and color of the propodeal valvula and, in nearly all specimens, by the shape of the first metasomal tergum. The medial carina of the propodeal valvula is absent in both species (char. 49:0), a feature shared by most species of the angulata group. Probably Richards (1978), when he referred to medial carina of propodeal valve, meant the tip of propodeal valvula, which is subtriangular (char. 48:2) in A. flavipennis and truncate in A. multipicta (char. 48:1). Again, Richards (1978) was not clear about the metasomal tergum. Here, the differences concerning this feature are tergum I slightly concave from medial to posterior region (char. 63:0), and bristles present and long (char. 65:0) in A. flavipennis vs. tergum I almost flat (char. 63:1) and bristle absent (char. 65:1) in A. multipicta . Also, tergum I widens gradually after spiracles in both species (char. 60:0), a feature that separates A. flavipennis from A. areata + A. nigrescens , which are subparallel (char. 60:1).

Cooper (2000: 192) reported that species of A. flavipennis from Villa Tunari, Bolivia, may or may not have the tegula produced in front, while A. areata from western Ecuador have the tegula pointed in front. In this work we abandon this feature, because it is highly variable within Agelaia , as also shown by Cooper (2000): “ Richards (1978) gives much weight as to whether the tegula is produced into a point or process in front. This is certainly a useful character, but it is variable in the species where it occurs.”

Cooper (2001) described A. nigrescens near A. myrmecophila but separated from the latter by its bare eyes, gena more tapered above, and body with darker coloration. In our phylogeny we coded only two states for the hair on the eyes: hairs long (char. 1:0), which supports the cajennensis group plus A. sylvatica , and absent or short, scattered (char. 1:1), shared for the remaining species. Thus, despite A. nicrescens having bare eyes and A. myrmecophila has short and scattered, they were coded as only one state.