Genus Platyplectrus Ferrière

Platyplectrus Ferrière, 1941: 20 .

Type species: Platyplectrus natadae (Ferrière) .

Autoplectrus Gadd, 1945: 331–337 .

Type species: Autoplectrus taprobanes Gadd by monotypy. Synonymized by Bouček, 1988: 634.

Diagnosis. Propodeum not areolate, with one strong median carina; scutellum with sublateral grooves straight, or curved inwards sub-basally, or curved inwards to meet with each other; notauli distinct and complete, reaching scuto-scutellar suture. Hind legs always with two long tibial spurs, the longest spur reaching the halfway point of the second tarsal segment.

Identification. Ferrière (1941) published a key to African species of Platyplectrus and Euplectromorpha (mostly synonymized with genus Platyplectrus). Keys are also available to the 8 species of Platyplectrus species of Sri Lanka (Wijesekara &Schauff 1994), 13 species in China (Zhu and Huang 2004), and 16 species in India (Narendran 2011).

The following key to both sexes includes 18 species of Platyplectrus .

Key to species of Platyplectrus in Kenya

(Females+males)

1. Petiole as long as wide or shorter (transverse) (e.g. Fig. 53).................................................... 2

- Petiole 2.6–3.0× as long as wide (Figs 31, 32)....................................... P. meruensis (Delucchi) (♀, ♁)

2. Body mostly yellow or reddish........................................................................... 3

- Body mostly dark brown or black........................................................................ 9

3. Face with dark brown or black scrobes (Figs 37, 54).......................................................... 4

- Face without dark brown or black scrobes (Fig. 30).......................................................... 6

4. Mesoscutum and scutellum without longitudinal dark stripe, propodeum black (Fig. 53)........ P. nyanzaensis sp. nov. (♀)

- Mesoscutum and/or scutellum with complete or interrupted longitudinal dark stripe, propodeum yellow (Fig. 17)......... 5

5. F4 subquadrate (Fig. 18), scutellum rugose, mesoscutum and scutellum with very wide, black, longitudinal bands (Fig. 17).............................................................................. P. capensis (Ferrière) (♀, ♁)

- F4 not subquadrate, scutellum finely reticulate or punctate, mesoscutum and scutellum with narrow, orange-brown longitudinal bands, that of the scutellum incomplete (Fig. 36)....................................... P. mrimaensis sp. nov. (♀)

6. Mesoscutum and scutellum completely yellow-orange (Fig. 28).......................... P. marenjeensis sp. nov. (♀)

- Mesoscutum and/or scutellum with dark pattern............................................................. 7

7. Mesoscutum orange-yellow with narrow, medial, dark orange band. Scutellum with weak, diffuse orange spot on anterior half (Fig. 22)....................................................................... P. kayaensis sp. nov. (♀, ♁)

- Mesoscutum with robust black bands on mesoscutum and scutellum............................................. 8

8. Mesoscutum with medial dark-brown stripe overlaying furrow, with carina-like process within the furrow (Fig. 61), F1 1.3× as long as F2, clava 2.4× as long as F4.................................................... P. ornatus (Ferrier) (♀)

- Mesoscutum with medial dark-brown stripe, but lacking longitudinal furrow (Fig. 66), F1=F2, F3=F4, clava 1.25× as long as F4.......................................................................... P. pseudoornatus sp. nov. (♀)

9. All coxae and femora black (Fig. 19)............................................... P. desertus Yefremova (♀, ♁)

- Only hind coxae black (Fig. 11)......................................................................... 10

10. Clava white, different colour than flagellomeres 1–4 (Figs 9–12)......................... P. albiclavatus sp. nov. (♀, ♁)

- Clava same colour as flagellomeres 1–4.................................................................. 11

11. Eyes densely covered with setae (Fig. 74)................................................................. 12

- Eyes asetose or weakly hairy........................................................................... 13

12. Scutellum strongly transversely strigose (Fig. 75)....................................... P. striolatus (Ferrière) (♀)

- Scutellum shagreened........................................................... P. kiambuensis (Ferrière) (♀)

13. Mesoscutum and scutellum with yellow or reddish-orange maculae............................................. 14

- Mesoscutum and scutellum completely dark............................................................... 15

14. Head mostly yellow-white, clypeus and gena yellow, dark band on vertex and frons, eyes without orbital lines (Figs 42, 44)........................................................................... P. nigroflaveatus Yefremova (♀)

- Head mostly black, clypeus and gena dark brown, eyes with dark reddish-orange orbital lines (Figs 70–71)......................................................................................... P. pyrrhomaculatus sp. nov. (♀)

15. F1–F4 subquadrate (Fig. 15)...................................................... P. brevicornis (Ferrière) (♀)

- F1 not subquadrate, F2–F4 not transverse................................................................. 16

16. Scutellum with lateral and posterior grooves widely foveate (Fig. 58)................... P. obscuratus (Ferrière) (♀, ♁)

- Scutellum without foveate lateral and posterior grooves...................................................... 17

17. Scutellum 1.5× as long as wide, strongly reticulate, F1 1.8–2.0× as long as wide (Figs 38, 40)................................................................................................... P. ngangaoensis sp. nov. (♀, ♁)

- Scutellum 1.2× as long as wide, shagreened, F1 2.8–3.0× as long as wide (Figs 50, 51).... P. nyambeneensis sp. nov. (♀, ♁)