Pimpla croceipes Cresson, 1874

Khalaim, Andrey I. & Ruíz-Cancino, Enrique, 2021, Darwin wasps of the subfamily Pimplinae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) of Mexico: genera Apechthis Förster, Itoplectis Förster and Pimpla Fabricius, Zootaxa 5071 (4), pp. 451-491 : 468-470

5. Pimpla croceipes Cresson, 1874

( Fig. 29 )

Pimpla croceipes Cresson 1874: 398 [♀ ♂ (ANSP), Mexico, Veracruz, Orizaba ].

References. Cameron 1886: 266 [ Mexico (Veracruz), Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama]. Morley 1914: 63 [remarks; Mexico (Guerrero), Guatemala, Panama, Costa Rica]. Cresson 1916:26 [lectotype “603”(ANSP) designated; Mexico, Veracruz]. Townes & Townes 1966: 25 [ Coccygomimus ; catalogue; Mexico]. Porter 1970a: 87 [ Coccygomimus ; description; Colombia, Ecuador]. Maes 1989: 33 [catalogue; Nicaragua]. Gauld 1991: 523 [description; Mexico (Guerrero), Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama]. Gauld et al. 1998: 140 [in key; Costa Rica]. Hernández-Aguilar et al. 1999: 36 [ Mexico (Tamaulipas)]. Díaz 2000: 248 [ Venezuela]. Ruíz-Cancino et al. 2002: 645 [checklist; Mexico]. Gauld et al. 2002: 60 [ El Salvador]. Hernández-Aguilar et al. 2005: 470 [ Mexico (Tamaulipas)]. Ruíz-Cancino et al. 2010: 66 [checklist; Mexico (Tamaulipas)]. Veijalainen et al. 2011 [DNA barcoding; separated from P. molesta ; Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Venezuela]. Sánchez-García et al. 2015: 828 [checklist; Mexico (Oaxaca)]. Khalaim et al. 2018: 23 [ Mexico (Veracruz)].

Remarks. The species was described from syntype female(s) and male(s) (Cresson 1974: 398); later the specimen under number “603” was designated as a lectotype, but its sex was not mentioned ( Cresson 1916: 26); and only in 1966, Townes ( Townes & Townes 1966: 25) recorded that the lectotype is female.

Unfortunately, we could not confidently separate P. croceipes and P. molesta on the basis of morphological characters given by Veijalainen et al. (2011). Almost all examined Mexican specimens have subtegular ridge black or only dark reddish brown, fore coxa black or black and yellow, second tergite sparsely to closely punctate (in females), and transverse groove on the second tergite situated slightly behind its middle. Only one female from Lagos de Montebello, Chiapas, has subtegular ridge conspicuously yellow marked and fore coxa 50×50 yellow and black. All examined specimens from Mexico are considered here as P. croceipes (s. lato) but further investigation of this material is required. See also Remarks section under P. molesta .

Material examined. MEXICO. Tamaulipas: 1 ♀ ( UAT) Cd . Victoria, Cañón de la Libertad , 800 m, 13.xii.1987, coll. R. Meza V. 1 ♀ ( UAT) same locality and collector, 1000 m, 5.iii.1988 . 1 ♀ ( UAT) 15 km SSW of Cd. Victoria, El Madroño , 16–18.xii.2008, coll. A.I. Khalaim. 1 ♂ ( UAT) same locality, 20.v.1984, coll. H. Ruíz C. 1 ♀ ( UAT) same locality and collector, 29.i.1985 . 4 ♀ ( UAT) same locality, 23.xii.1987, coll. H. & E. Ruíz C., S. Arrambide. 3 ♀, 2 ♂ ( UAT) same locality, 1400 m, 20.i.2000, coll. E. Ruíz C. & J.A. Martínez Ramirez. 1 ♀ ( UAT) Tula , 1000 m, 7.xi.2007, coll. E. Ruíz C. 2 ♀ ( UAT) Tula, Ejido Acahuales , 1400 m, oak-forest, Malaise trap, 27.viii–10.ix and 29.x–12.xi.2016, coll. E. Ruíz C. & J.M. Coronado B. 1 ♂ ( UAT) Gómez Farías , v.1992, coll. J.M. Coronado B. 1 ♀ ( UAT) Gómez Farías, Altas Cimas , Malaise trap, 4–11.xi.2000, coll. D.R. Kasparyan. 3 ♂ ( UAT) Gómez Farías, Canindo , Malaise trap, 20–21.vii.1994, coll. J.B. Wooley. 2 ♂ ( UAT) same locality and collector, 28–30.vii.1993 . 1 ♀ ( UAT) Gómez Farías, Río El Cielo , 3.iii.1989, coll. R. Thompson. San Luis Potosí: 1 ♂ ( UAT) Xilitla, Las Pozas (park), 21–23.xii.2008, coll. A.I. Khalaim. Querétaro: 2 ♀ ( UAQ) Jalpan de Serra , 4.x.2013 . 1 ♀ ( UAQ) Pinal de Amoles , 2.x.2013 . Veracruz: 3 ♀, 6 ♂ ( UAT) SW of Xalapa, park near Institute de Ecología , 19°30.768’N, 96°56.349’, 1260 m, 17–18.ii.2009, coll. A.I. Khalaim. 5 ♀, 4 ♂ (3 ♀ and 2 ♂ in UAT, 2 ♀ and 2 ♂ in ZISP) same data, but 12–14.iv.2014 . 1 ♂ ( EMEC) Fortín de las Flores , 25.xii.1963, coll. C.A. Toschi & M.J. Tauber. Morelos: 1 ♀ ( UAT) N of Cuernavaca, Chamilpa , 20.ix.1991, coll. G. Peña. 1 ♀ ( UAT) Tepoztlán , 18°59’51”N, 99°05’55”W, 1490 m, 5.iii.2010, coll. E. Ruíz C. 2 ♀ ( CIUM) Tlaquiltenango , 5 km W of Santiopa, 18.44701°N, 98.98758°W, 1005 m, 5.x.2013, coll. J.A. Hernández et al. Oaxaca: 1 ♀, 2 ♂ ( UNAM) Santiago Comaltepec , La Esperanza, N 17.02661º, W 96.36950º, 1600 m, Malaise trap, 1.vii–12.viii.2008, coll. A. Lopez García. 2 ♀ ( UNAM) Santiago Comaltepec , N 17.58429º, W 96.49398º, 2332 m, 6.vi.2009, coll. H. Clebsch & A. Zaldívar R. 3 ♂ ( TAMU) 15.1 mi. N of San Gabriel Mixtepec, 3850 ft. (= 1175 m), Highway 131, 11.vii.1987, coll. R. Wharton. Chiapas: 10 ♀ ( UANL, UAT) Reserva El Triunfo, 15 km S of La Trinitaria, Palo Gordo , 20–22.vii.1997, coll. A. González H. 1 ♀ ( UAT) 50 km SSE of Comitán, National Park Lagos de Montebello , 16°06.223’N, 91°44.072’W, 1450 m, mixed forest with pines, 5–6.iii.2013, coll. A.I. Khalaim. 1 ♂ ( UAT) 50 km ESE of Comitán, National Park Lagos de Montebello , 16.106551, -91.705158, 1500 m, 8.viii.2021, coll. A.I. Khalaim. 1 ♀ ( UAT) 40 km E of Comitán, National Park Lagos de Montebello , 16.132282, -91.729243, 9.viii.2021, coll. A.I. Khalaim. 1 ♂ ( TAMU) Lagunas de Montebello [National Park], Laguna Cinco Lagos , 11.viii.1990, coll. J.C. Schaffner. 1 ♂ ( TAMU) Reserva El Triunfo, Sendero Palo Gordo , 6400 ft. (= 1950 m), screen sweep, 21.vii.1977, coll. J.B. Woolley. 1 ♀, 4 ♂ ( TAMU) Reserva El Triunfo , 6620 ft. (= 2020 m), 14–23.vii.1997, coll. J.B. Woolley. 1 ♀ ( TAMU) 4 km W of San Cristóbal [de las Casas], San Felipe, 2200 m, oak-grass woodlands, 24–28.viii.1990, coll. R.W. Jones. 1 ♀ ( TAMU) 4 km W of San Cristóbal [de las Casas], Reserva Huitepec , 7800 ft. (= 2380 m), cloud forest, Malaise trap, 5.x–25.xi.1990, coll. R.W. Jones. 2 ♀, 2 ♂ ( TAMU) Municipio San Cristóbal, Reserva Huitepec , Malaise trap, 8–28.viii.1990, coll. R.W. Jones. PANAMA. 1 ♂ ( TAMU) Chiriquí Prov., Lagunas del Volcán , 5 km SW of Volcán, 8°45’52”N, 82°40’33”W, 4220 ft. (= 1285 m), 30.vii.1999, coll. J.B. Woolley.

Distribution. Mexico (Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, Veracruz, Morelos, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Chiapas), Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela.

Biology. Gauld (1991) noticed that the colour pattern of P. croceipes is the same as that of some very common sympatric species of Auplopus Spinola ( Hymenoptera : Pompilidae ) and, in flight, P. croceipes may easily be confused with these species. Moreover, P. croceipes , as far as P. molesta , seems to share a mimicry pattern with a Lissonota species ( Ichneumonidae : Banchinae) being involved in mimicry complexes characterized by black colouration with lower body parts being bright yellow ( Veijalainen et al. 2011: 66).

Figures

FIGURES 28–31. Pimpla chamela sp. nov., female: 28—habitus (without head and wings), lateral. Pimpla croceipes, female: 29—habitus (without antennae and wing apices), lateral. Pimpla croceiventris, male: 30—habitus (without antennae and wing apices), lateral; 31—mesosoma, dorsal.