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

Genus Ceropales Latreille, 1796

Ceropales Latreille, 1796: 123 .

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

The subgeneric classification of Ceropales is mainly based on the characteristic features of their tarsal claws, cells and venation of fore wing, sculpture on frons, and shape of the last metasomal sternite of females. Subgenus Priesnerius can be segregated from congeners in having a triangular SMC3 which is larger than SMC2, a short and bifid protarsomere 4, and the last sternite with a rectangularly truncate base. Fore wing SMC2 and SMC3 are of almost same size in the remaining two subgenera. Subgenus Hemiceropales can be differentiated from its congeners in having their upper frons convex, the claws bifid, S6 of females long (with basal projection truncate or slightly rounded apically), and males with an asymmetric protarsomere 5. Subgenus Ceropales s. str. can be differentiated from congeners in having the frons flat and scantly punctured, the fore wing with SMC3 acute angulate-prolonged inferiorly with a short upper portion, the claws with well-defined tooth like protuberance, the fore and mid claws bifid with an obliquely truncate subapical tooth, females with a triangular hypopygium with the apex of the basal projection angulate or slightly rounded, males with protarsomere 5 asymmetric, and in females protarsomere 5 swollen but the asymmetry might not be conspicuous ( Waichert et al. 2022).