Malayepipona, Giordani Soika, 1993

Nguyen, Lien Thi Phuong & Carpenter, James M., 2013, Taxonomic Notes On The Species Of The Genus Malayepipona Giordani Soika (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae) From Northern Vietnam, With Description Of Three New Species, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 61 (2), pp. 727-734 : 733

KEY TO ALL KNOWN SPECIES OF GENUS MALAYEPIPONA

The characters are applicable to both sexes unless the sex is specified.

1. Small wasps; body length about 9–9.5 mm. Punctures on head and thorax small and strong. Punctures on metasomal terga sparse and less strong.................... M. pagdeni Giordani Soika

– Medium-sized wasps; body length about 11–13 mm. Punctures on head and thorax large and stronger. Punctures on metasomal terga strong..............................................................................2

2. Metasomal sternum II strongly convex at base........................ .................................................. M. assamensis Giordani Soika

– Metasomal sternum II nearly flat at base, then slightly and gradually convex toward its apical margin ( Figs. 5 , 11 )........3

3. Female clypeus wide, about 1.3 times as wide as high ( Fig. 7 ). Punctures on head and thorax very coarse. Upper part of propodeum with a pair of relatively blunt teeth just behind metanotum ( Fig. 10 ). Mandible with prominent long teeth, second and third teeth triangular with inner side produced, nearly square ( Fig. 8 ) ....................... M. clypeata , new species

– Female clypeus narrower, slightly wider than high ( Figs. 2 , 12, 20). Punctures on head and thorax coarse. Upper part of propodeum normal, without blunt teeth. Mandible with short teeth ( Figs. 3 , 14) (except in M. furva with long teeth [Fig. 21], but second and third teeth trapezoid)......................................4

4. Metasomal tergum I about twice as wide as long in dorsal view (Fig. 17); border between anterior and dorsal surfaces slightly raised with faint edge..............................................................5

– Metasomal tergum I less than twice as wide as long in dorsal view (Fig. 23); border between anterior and dorsal surfaces bluntly angulate.......................................................................6

5. Female head with long and dense hairs. Clypeus with coarse punctures. Second and third teeth of mandible with inner side nearly straight, the outer one with inner side slightly curved. Punctures on metasomal terga strong ....................................... .......................................................... M. visenda, Gusenleitner

– Female head with short and sparse hairs. Clypeus with coarser punctures. Second and third teeth of mandible with inner side produced with round edge, the outer one with inner side nearly straight (Fig. 14). Punctures on metasomal terga stronger....... ........................................................... M. seomyty , new species

6. Female clypeus with apical margin deeply emarginate medially, forming a sharp tooth on each lateral side (Fig. 20). Mandible with prominent long teeth, inner side long with round edge (Fig. 21) ................................................. M. furva , new species

– Female clypeus with apical margin shallowly emarginate medially, forming blunt tooth on each lateral side ( Fig. 2 ). Mandibular teeth short with inner side quite short and slightly curved ( Fig. 3 )............................... M. malickyi (Gusenleitner)

Figures

Figs. 1–5. Malayepipona malickyi (Gusenleitner). Female: 1, vertex in dorsal view; 2, clypeus in frontal view; 3, mandibular teeth in frontal view; 4, right antenna; 5, metasomal segments showing second sternum.

Figs. 6–11. Malayepipona clypeata, new species. Female: 6, vertex in dorsal view; 7, clypeus in frontal view; 8, mandibular teeth in frontal view; 9, left antenna; 10, propodeum in posterior view; 11, metasomal segments showing second sternum.