Calligaster ilocana Selis, 2022

Selis, Marco & Femia, Arturo, 2022, The genus Calligaster de Saussure (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Zethinae) in the Philippine Islands, Zootaxa 5155 (1), pp. 124-132 : 125-127

Calligaster ilocana Selis , sp. nov.

( Figs. 1 , 3–4, 7 , 9 )

Diagnosis. Recognizable by the combination of the following characters: parapsidal furrows deep and densely punctured, anterior margin of scutellum crenate with six deep pits ( Fig. 7 ), scutellum weakly shiny with rounded deep punctures and fine micropunctures, T1 barely convex in lateral view, preapical depression weak, striation of T1 regular and sharp, male clypeus with trapezoidal and wider than deep apical emargination ( Fig. 3 ), male with yellow markings on mandible, scape and above antennal insertion, female clypeus more densely punctured on the disc ( Fig. 4 ), apical part of aedeagus distinctly curved in lateral view, ventral lobes of aedeagus in lateral view rounded with sinuate proximal margin and much wider than base of apical part of aedeagus, anteroventral lobe of digitus rounded and forming a right angle ( Fig. 9 ).

Material examined. HOLOTYPE: ♂ labelled: “ PH — Luzon, Ifugao, Pola / VIII.2014 / Leg. local collector [white printed label] // Calligaster ilocana / HOLOTYPUS ♂ / Det. Marco Selis [red printed label]” ( MSNVE) . PARATYPES: Luzon, Aurora, Dimasisit, XII.2014, 1♂ ( MSVI); Luzon , Aurora, Dingalan , Sierra Madre , IX.2017, 1♀ ( MSVI); Luzon , Cagayan, St. Ana , XI.2014, 1♀ ( MSVI); Luzon , Isabela, Dindin , VIII.2014, 1♂ 1♀ (1♂ MSVI; 1♀ MSNVE) .

Description.

Male. Body length 22.0–23.5 mm (holotype 22.0 mm); fore wing length 16.5–18.5 mm (holotype 16.5 mm). Habitus in Fig. 1 .

Head in frontal view ( Fig. 3 ) 1.1 × as wide as high. Clypeus in lateral view sinuate, convex in basal half and on apical margin, slightly depressed in the middle; in frontal view 1.1 × as wide as high; disc of clypeus with a median transverse depression; apical margin emarginate, emargination trapezoidal and 5.5 × as wide as deep, lateral teeth triangular but apically rounded. Interantennal space bluntly carinate. Distance from posterior ocellus to occipital carina 2.4 × as long as distance from posterior ocellus to inner eye margin. Interocellar area slightly raised posteriorly, with a shallow and short longitudinal furrow. Gena about as wide as eye at bottom of ocular sinus; occipital carina complete, dull on vertex and shortly lamellar on upper two thirds of gena, strongly angled in lower half of gena. Scape 1.95 × as long as apically wide; F1 2.65 × as long as wide and shorter than F2+F3; F2–F10 longer than wide, becoming proportionally shorter apically; F11 digitiform, apically rounded and slightly curved. Mandibles short and robust, with four subequal triangular teeth. Mesosoma in dorsal view 1.35 × as long as wide. Pronotal carina complete and sharp, shortly lamellate on dorsal face, broadly rounded on humeri; sides of pronotum strongly converging anteriorly in dorsal view, constricted just before pronotal carina; pretegular carina very short and blunt, visible only above pronotal lobe. Mesoscutum 0.95 × as long as wide between tegulae; distinctly convex in lateral view, so that the anterior margin is placed below level of posterior margin; parapsidal furrow deep and sharply defined, reaching middle of mesoscutum ( Fig. 7 ). Scutellum nearly flat, smoothly passing from mesoscutum; anterior margin crenate, forming six deep large pits; posterior margin with a shallow median incision. Metanotum weakly convex in lateral view, forming a regular curvature with scutellum and propodeum; anterior corners bearing a deep fovea, median third deeply furrowed. Tegula elongate and narrow, outer margin evenly and weakly convex; posterior lobe triangular and long, pointed apex exceeding apex of parategula; margins of posterior half of tegula strongly reflexed, delimiting a V-shaped furrow on posterior lobe. Parategula very narrow and strongly curved, posteriorly fused with posterior corner of mesoscutum and delimiting a deep fovea. Mesepisternum strongly convex on whole surface; epicnemial carina sharp and complete, reaching upper margin of mesepisternum, preceded by a shallowly crenate furrow; mesosternum with a pair of deep pits in front of mid coxae, separated by a sharp longitudinal carina. Posterior face of propodeum deeply concave, with a deep elongate fovea at base; submedian propodeal carina dull and very irregular, confused in the coarse sculpture of posterior face of propodeum, but dorsal and posterior faces of propodeum sharply separated; lateral carina of propodeum sharp and complete from base to apex; submarginal carina sharp and forming a short triangular lobe above propodeal valvula. T1 petiolate and robust; in dorsal view, T1 2.7 × as long as maximum width, sides strongly diverging posteriorly in basal fifth, then nearly parallel to the apex, median third of dorsal face slightly depressed; in lateral view steeply sloping basally, then nearly flattened except for a shallow preapical furrow; S1 elongate elliptical, anteriorly not invading basal narrow portion of T1, sutures between T1 and S1 sharply carinate. T2 very shortly petiolate at base, sides strongly convex in dorsal view; S 2 in lateral view evenly convex from base to apex, more convex than T2, basally bearing a deep setose pit.

Clypeus with shallow, flat-bottomed punctures, denser medially and disappearing basally; interspaces shallowly shagreened. Frons dull and shagreened with deep rounded punctures, some confluent around antennal insertions, interspaces ranging from half to one puncture diameter. Ocellar area more sparsely punctate with large impunctate areas between lateral ocelli and eyes. Vertex and gena with punctures deeper and sparser than on frons, interspaces becoming shinier ventrally. Pronotum with rounded deep punctures on dorsal face and upper part of lateral face, lower part of lateral face coarsely and irregularly striate. Mesoscutum punctured similar to pronotum, with large impunctate areas laterally to parapsidal furrows, area between furrows more sparsely punctured than anterior half of mesoscutum, parapsidal furrows and posterior margin bearing coarse punctures; interspaces shagreened, bearing fine micropunctures on lateral thirds of mesoscutum, denser on posterolateral corners. Scutellum with few rounded deep punctures; interspaces reaching up to 3 × puncture diameter, shagreened and with moderately dense micropunctures. Metanotum with rounded deep punctures, smaller than those on scutellum, denser and coarser on posterior margin. Mesepisternum with deep large punctures, coarser and denser in upper half, becoming shallower and sparser ventrally, disappearing on posteroventral corner, interspaces shagreened and slightly shiny with moderately dense micropunctures; epicnemium shinier and more densely micropunctate, with some coarse but shallow punctures near ventral corners. Metaepisternum mostly shagreened and impunctate, with few shallow punctures on anterior margin. Dorsal faces of propodeum entirely impunctate, except for few shallow punctures on anteromedian corner, surface shallowly shagreened and distinctly shiny with sparse very fine micropunctures; posterior face of propodeum with very coarse and dense punctures, interspaces ridge-like and forming a sharp irregular reticulation; lateral faces of propodeum irregularly microsculptured and very dull, with some coarse deep punctures just below lateral carina. T1 densely micropunctate and with sparse small deep punctures on lateral thirds of dorsal face; median third of dorsal face with a sharp longitudinal carina in the middle, flanked by a series of posteriorly diverging carinae becoming duller laterally; ventral parts of T1 very shiny, with deep rounded punctures. S1 dull and irregularly ridged on whole surface. T2 with sparse fine punctures, interspaces several times larger than punctures medially, becoming narrower posteriorly and laterally; surface shallowly shagreened and densely micropunctate in basal third, microsculpture becoming sparser and shallower posteriorly, almost disappearing in posterior third. S2 very smooth and shiny in the middle, with shallow shagreen and sparse deep fine punctures on sides and posteriorly; punctures arranged in a preapical transverse series, leaving a smooth apical margin. T3–T7 punctured like apical margin of T2; S3–S7 punctured similar to respective terga but punctures coarser. Whole body covered in thick black setae, longer on frons, vertex, pronotum, anterior third of mesoscutum, metanotum, dorsal faces of propodeum, base and lateral margins of T1 and on sides of T2. Setae very dense T3–T7 and S3–S7. Clypeus with brownish setae, longer on emargination. Propleura, coxae and sides of mesosoma with short brownish pubescence.

Black; following parts pale yellow: line on mandible, spot above antennal insertion and anterior line on scape. Wings strongly fuscous with bluish reflections, green reflections on venations.

Apical part of aedeagus narrow and elongate in ventral view, evenly narrowing from base to apex, with a small rounded apical swell; distinctly and more or less evenly curved in lateral view. Ventral lobes of aedeagus in lateral view large, much wider than base of apical part (about 2.5 ×), apically rounded, with an evenly and weakly curved apical margin and a strongly sinuate proximal margin; irregularly elliptical and broad in ventral view, with a longitudinal proximal projection in ventral view. Basal plate very broad, apically emarginate. Volsellar body narrow in the apical two thirds, weakly expanded in the apical third and ending in a broad scythe-shaped lobe. Root of digitus elongate and narrow, apically rounded. Anteroventral lobe of digitus right angled, apically rounded; distal lobe of digitus membranous and subtriangular. Genitalia in Fig. 9 .

Female. Body length 24.0–25.0 mm; fore wing length 19.5–20.0 mm.

Similar to male, differs as follows: clypeus 1.1 × as wide as long, apical margin rounded and depressed ( Fig. 4 ), vertex and gena longer and more convex, antenna shorter with F3–F10 at most as long as wide, T1 more robust in dorsal view, 2.5 × as long as wide, integument generally brighter and punctures finer, except on clypeus where punctures are much coarser and denser.

Distribution. Philippine Islands: Luzon ( Fig. 11 ).

Etymology. The specific name is in reference to the Ilocano people, an ethnolinguistic group living in the same area where the new species was collected. The genus Calligaster being feminine, we use the word used to refer to female Ilocanos: Ilocana. It is a noun.

Notes. The male from Aurora, Dimasisit, presents the apical emargination of clypeus rounded and not trapezoidal as in the other two specimens. The emargination, however, is much shallower and wider than in C. williamsi , and the other characters confirm the specific attribution of the specimen to the new species.

Figures

FIGURE 11. Distributional map illustrating the distribution of Philippines species of Calligaster de Saussure.

FIGURES 1–2. 1, Calligaster ilocana Selis, sp. nov., male paratype, habitus. 2, Calligaster williamsi Bequaert, 1940, male, habitus.

FIGURES 3–8. 3–4, 7, Calligaster ilocana Selis, sp. nov. 5–6, 8, Calligaster williamsi Bequaert, 1940. 3, 5, Head of male in frontal view. 4, 6, Head of female in frontal view. 7–8, Mesoscutum and scutellum in dorsal view.

FIGURES 9–10. Male genitalia, from left to right: aedeagus in lateral view, aedeagus in ventral view, digitus and volsella. 9, Calligaster ilocana Selis, sp. nov. 10, Calligaster williamsi Bequaert, 1940.