Dasymutilla wasbaueri Manley & Pitts, 2007

MANLEY, DONALD G. & PITTS, JAMES P., 2007, Tropical and Subtropical Velvet Ants of the Genus Dasymutilla Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) with Descriptions of 45 New Species, Zootaxa 1487 (1), pp. 1-128 : 102-103

Dasymutilla wasbaueri Manley & Pitts , new species

Holotype male, Mexico, Tamaulipas, Playa Altamira, VII-5-68, M. S. Wasbauer and J. E. Slansky [ UCDC].

Diagnosis of Male (Plate C9O). This species is differentiated from others by the following combination of characters. This species has the integument of the head, mesosoma, and first and last segments of the metasoma, black. The rest of the metasoma is orange. It is distinguished by the large pit filled with setae on sternum II, and by having an apical fringe of setae on the pygidium. The last sternite is truncate and the cuspis of the genitalia is thin and almost as long as the parameres ( Plate 3G ).

Description. Male: Length, 9–14 mm. Head. Black, clothed with dense white setae; mandible tridentate; clypeus prominently bidentate; scape conspicuously carinate, coarsely punctate, clothed with black setae; flagellomere I slightly shorter than remaining segments; antennal scrobe distinctly carinate; head with coarse contiguous punctures.

Mesosoma. Black; anterior margin nearly straight, not emarginate medially; tegula black, posterior half glabrous, with inconspicuous black setae; mesosoma with coarse contiguous punctures; mesonotum with dense black setae, remainder of mesosoma with white setae.

Legs black, with white setae.

Wings fuscous.

Metasoma. Orange, except first and last segments black; pygidium rugose with apical fringe of black setae; sternum I with longitudinal carina most of length of the segment; sternum II with large pit densely filled with white setae, the pit about 0.5X length of segment and about 2X as long as broad; last sternite truncate with shallow punctures throughout; setae of tergum I white, of last tergum black, of remaining terga orange; setae of sterna I and II white, except apical fringe of II orange; apical fringes of sterna III to IV orange; remaining sterna with black setae.

Genitalia ( Plate 3G ). Paramere with apex dorsally curved, ventral margin not densely pubescent, remain- der with short sparse setae; cuspis with basal 0.3 laterally flattened, remainder cylindrical, ventral and internal surface with long sparse setae, ventrobasal region more thickly setose, dorsal and external surface with sparse shorter setae, length about 0.7X free length of paramere, densely pubescent basal lobe present; digitus linear, tapering towards apex, slightly knob-like apically, length about 0.5X free length of paramere; penial valve bidentate, teeth separate, anterior tooth larger than posterior tooth.

Female. Unknown.

Paratypes. 21♂, COSTA RICA, Guanacaste, 14 km S. Cañas, V-9/13-90, F. D. Parker (1♂, EMUS) ; V- 28-90 (1♂, DGMC) ; V-20/29-91 (1♂, EMUS) ; MEXICO, Guerrero, Cyn. Zopilote, VII-30-62, H. E. Evans (1♂, DGMC) ; Jalisco, Chamela, IX-26-X-8-85, Parker and Griswold (1♂, EMUS; 1♂, DGMC) ; X-4-85 (1♂, EMUS) ; X-10-85 (2♂, EMUS) ; X-17-85 (4♂, EMUS; 1♂, DGMC) ; X-22-85 (1♂, EMUS) ; XI-22-85 (1♂, EMUS) ; Nayarit, San Juan Peyotan, VIII-2-55, B. Malkin (1♂, CISC) ; Oaxaca, 26 mi. N. La Ventosa, VII-19- 63, W. A. Foster (1♂, CISC) ; 23 mi. S. Matias Romero, VIII-14-63, F. D. Parker and L.A. Stange (1♂, UCDC) : San Luis Potosi, 7 mi. S. Ciudad Valles, XII-19-70, P. H. and M. Arnaud (1♂, CASC) ; Veracruz, 25 km N. Jose Cardel, I-2-89, R. L. Minckley and B. N. Danforth (1♂, DGMC) .

Distribution. Mexico (Guerrero, Jalisco, Nayarit, Oaxaca, San Luis Potosi, Tamaulipas, Veracruz); Costa Rica (Guanacaste).

Etymology. Named in honor of Marius S. Wasbauer, in recognition of his contribution to hymenopteran taxonomy and collection of the holotype.

Remarks. This species is known only from the male. It keys with some difficulty because, although it possesses an apical fringe of setae on the pygidium, the fringe is often worn off. Sternum II has a pit densely filled with setae. The pit is very large, longer than wide, and distinctly median. Although the integument of sternum II is usually orange, it is sometimes black. If the pygidial fringe were missing, this species would key to D. sicheliana . It is easily distinguished by the large sternal pit.

Figures

PLATE 3. Male genitalia of Dasymutilla. A. D. nocticaro. B. D. sinaloa. C. D. spiniscapula. D. D. truxali. E. D. sleipniri. F. D. veracruz. G. D. wasbaueri.