Ceropales Latreille, 1796

Anju, K., Thejass, P., Binoy, C. & Kumar, P. Girish, 2023, Taxonomic study on the spider wasp genus Ceropales Latreille, 1796 (Pompilidae: Ceropalinae) with description of two new species from India, Zootaxa 5264 (1), pp. 119-128 : 120-121

Subgenus Ceropales Latreille, 1796 sensu stricto

Ceropales Latreille, 1796: 123 .

Type species: Evania maculata Fabricius, 1775 , by subsequent monotypy of Latreille 1810: 437.

Agenioxenus Ashmead, 1902: 137 . Type species: Ceropales rufiventris Walsh & Riley, 1869 = robinsonii Cresson, 1867 , by original designation. Junior subjective synonym of Ceropales Latreille, 1796 according to Viereck 1902: 275.

Ceratopales Schulz, 1906: 174 . Subsequent misspelling of Ceropales Latreille, 1796 .

Hypsiceraeus Morice & Durant, 1915: 403 , 405. Type species: Evania maculata Fabricius, 1775 , by original designation. Junior subjective synonym of Ceropales Latreille, 1796 according to Wahis 1986: 34.

Bifidoceropales Wolf, 1965: 72 (as subgenus of Ceropales ). Type species: Ceropales (Bifidoceropales) pygmaeus Kohl, 1880 , by original designation. Synonymy with Ceropales s. str. by Waichert et al. (2022).

Key to species of the subgenus Ceropales (Ceropales) from India

1. Tarsal claws simple, not bifid apically; body ferruginous or black with yellow-ivory patches......................... 2

– Both claws of fore (♀) and middle (♀, J) tarsi bifid, with a long appressed, obliquely truncate subapical tooth; body black; inner claw of fore leg (J) deeply split owing to the unusually large, not truncate inner tooth basally..................................................................................................... declivis ( Haupt, 1934)

2. Wings subfuscous or fusco-hyaline....................................................................... 3

– Wings hyaline....................................................................................... 5

3. Fore wing infuscated in apical third; metasoma black, T1–T3 with white lateral bands............. ligea Bingham, 1903

– Fore wing subfuscous or fusco-hyaline entirely; metasomal segments ferruginous or yellow with ferruginous patches..... 4

4. Metasoma yellow, basal margin of the metasomal segments 1–3 basally ferruginous, fuscous or fusco-ferruginous; mesosoma yellow, mesothorax and base of metathorax black or fuscous; legs yellow, variegated with ferruginous spots.................................................................................................. ornata Smith, 1855

– Metasoma ferruginous with basal segment black; mesosoma: pronotum, tegula ferruginous; legs ferruginous, coxa and trochanter black................................................................... fuscipennis Smith, 1855

5. Pronotum strikingly convex in lateral view and rather steeply sloping to mesonotum................................ 6

– Pronotum not convex in lateral view, in level with mesonotum................................................. 7

6. Frons raised in lateral view onto antennal region; lateral side of propodeum with remarkable and finely cross-wrinkled metapleural suture; free margin of the last metasomal segment significantly curved; propodeum conspicuously flat over its entire length; posterior part of propodeum dark reddish laterally.............................. judicatrix Nurse, 1902

– Frons normal, moderately raised in lateral view, shortly flat below fore ocellus and raised between antennal sockets; metapleural sulcus not developed, rarely hardly discernible; free margin of the last metasomal segment nearly straight, slightly curved above in lateral view; posterior margin of propodeum raised laterally; lateral corners of propodeum white........................................................................................................ indica Móczár, 1989

7. Head with dense yellowish-brown setae, mainly concentrated on upper frons and vertex; clypeus completely pale yellow without any marking; ivory patch on face non confluent; antenna pale yellow ventrally, brownish black dorsally; medial emargination of compound eyes not deep......................................... keralaensis Anju, Binoy & Thejass , sp. nov.

– Head without prominent yellowish-brown setae; clypeus pale yellow with a black spot medially; ivory patch on face confluent till upper eye margin; antenna entirely brownish black; compound eyes medially deeply emarginated............................................................................. anaghae Anju, Girish Kumar & Thejass , sp. nov.