Gribodia cupreipennis ( Bingham, 1894 )

Nguyen, Lien Thi Phuong & Xu, Zaifu, 2015, Taxonomic notes on the genus Gribodia Zavattari, 1912 (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae) from Vietnam and China, with description of a new species, Zootaxa 4040 (4), pp. 458-464 : 459-462

Gribodia cupreipennis ( Bingham, 1894)

( Figs 1–14 )

Rhynchium cupreipennis Bingham, 1894: 387 , pl. 1 fig. 3, ♀, “Tavoy forests” [ Myanmar] (The Natural History Museum, London, type no. 18.459)

Odynerus (Rhynchium) cupreipennis: Dover, 1931: 254 , ♂; Peninsular Siam; Malaya. Gribodia cupreipennis: Giordani Soika, 1974: 107 (key), 108.

Material examined. VIETNAM [ IEBR]: 1♀, Khe Ro NP, An Lac, Son Dong, Bac Giang, 21°20'27"N, 106°58'07"E, 11.viii.2012, J. Kojima, H. Nugroho & LTP Nguyen; Cat Ba NP, Cat Hai, Hai Phong, LTP Nguyen & DD Nguyen [1♀, Ngu Lam mt., 28.vii.2013; 4♀, 75 m, 25.vii.2013; 1♀, 25.vii.2013, 1♀, Nest#VN-CB-2013- Eumeninae-01, 20°47'36"N, 106°59'25"E, 75 m, 25.vii.2013]; 1♂, Pa Co, Hang Kia, Hoa Binh, 1400 m, 27.viii.2006, LTP Nguyen; 2♀, 1♂, Xuan Lien NP, Thuong Xuan, Van Xuan, Thanh Hoa, 19°52'28"N, 105°14'21"E, 105 m, 24.viii.2012, LTP Nguyen.

Diagnosis. This species can be distinguished from other congeners by following combination of characters: clypeus in frontal view depressed from the middle to apical margin, in lateral view slightly convex from base to apical margin, punctures on the body coarse, propodeum with pronounced edges, and the color pattern.

The male of this species was described by Dover (1931), as Odynerus cupreipennis . Herein the female and male of the species are redescribed based on material from Vietnam.

Redescription. Female (n=10). Body length 11.5–14.5 mm; fore wing length 10.7–13.8 mm. Head in frontal view subcircular, 1.2 × as wide as high ( Fig. 1 ). Vertex slopping down at apical margin, with cephalic foveae small, bearing dense pubescence, situated close to each other with distance between foveae slightly greater than one-half distance between posterior ocelli; without depression for cephalic foveae, anterior fovea lie inside V-shape edge ( Fig. 3 ). Distance from posterior ocelli to apical margin of vertex 1.5 × distance from posterior ocelli to inner eye margin ( Fig. 3 ). Gena in lateral view 0.5 × as wide as eye ( Fig. 2 ). Occipital carina complete, present along entire length of gena, dorsally weak. Inner eye margins strongly convergent ventrally; in frontal view 1.2 × as further apart from each other at vertex as at clypeus. Clypeus weakly convex from base to apical margin ( Fig. 2 ); pearshaped, slightly depressed, with two edges ( Fig. 1 ), 1.2 × as high as wide ( Fig. 1 ), apical margin truncate, width of emargination 1/4 width of clypeus between inner eye margins. Mandible with prominent teeth, fourth tooth long and blunt apically. Scape nearly 4 × as long as its maximum width; F1 2 × as long as wide, F2–4 slightly longer than width, F5–9 as long as wide, terminal flagellomere bullet-shaped, slightly longer than its basal width ( Fig. 4 ).

Mesosoma longer than width in dorsal view. Pronotal carina raised, produced as humeral angles, reaching ventral corner of pronotum. Mesoscutum weakly convex, 0.9 × as long as wide between tegulae; anterior margin broadly rounded. Disc of scutellum slightly convex. Metanotum angulate, weakly convex. Propodeum excavated medially, with posterior surface distinctly concave and bordered laterally by pronounced edges, basal triangular area without basal fovea, at lower end median carina running to apical margin, upper part of propodeum with pair of blunt teeth behind corners of metanotum ( Fig. 5 ); border between dorsal and lateral, posterior and lateral surfaces angulate.

Metasomal segment 1 slightly narrower than second one, truncate basally; anterior vertical surface convex, with sparse and small punctures, clearly separable from horizontal part, with partial carina, visible at dorsal part. T 1in dorsal view 2 × as wide as long; T2 1.1 × as wide as long ( Fig. 6 ); T2–5 with long, smooth, shiny apical lamella; S2 slightly depressed basally, flat basal half slightly convex to apical margin.

Body with short, ferruginous setae except lower part of propodeum with silver setae. Clypeus with shallow weak large punctures on disc with border between punctures running into striae, laterally with smaller and deeper punctures. Mandible with several shallow small punctures. Frons with dense shallow large flat bottom punctures, vertex and gena with deeper and coarser punctures. Pronotum with coarse punctures forming reticulation, spaces between punctures narrow. Mesocutum with dense coarse flat-bottomed punctures, laterally similar to those on pronotum, border of punctures near apical margin forming longitudinal striae. Punctures on mesoscutellum similar to those near apical margin of mesoscutum. Punctures on metanotum coarse and dense. Mesepisternum with larger and coarser punctures posterodorsally than in pronotum, barely punctured anteroventrally; border between posterodorsal and anteroventral parts indistinct. Metapleuron with week short striae at lateral and large punctures at upper parts of dorsal area, with sparse shallow and small punctures in ventral area. Propodeum with well define punctures dorsally and smooth areas between them, laterally punctures shallower, forming striae, posteriorly shiny, with oblique long striae along median carina, upper part of inferior ridges irregularly spinose ( Fig. 5 ). T1 with large shallow well define punctures, T2 with large undefined punctures, area between punctures with minute punctures, punctures near apical margins of T2 deeper, larger and coarser than on other part of the tergum, punctures on T3–4 much smaller and weaker than on T1–2, punctures on T5 shallower and smaller than on T3–4; T6 with minute punctures; punctures on S2 uniform and slightly deeper and larger than on lateral margins of T2, punctures on S3– 5 small and deep; narrow basal part of S1 smooth.

Color. Black; following parts yellow: clypeus except black lateral margins and central mark (6 ♀ from Cat Ba NP with large black central mark), narrow band along inner eye margin extending from bottom of frons to nearly ocular sinus, large spot between antennal sockets, antennal scape beneath, narrow short band along pronotal carina at dorsal part of pronotum (omitted medially), two apical narrow spots on T1 (absent in 2 ♀ from Cat Ba NP). Antennal flagellomeres beneath ferruginous. Legs black except following parts ferruginous: inner protibial strip, upper part of meso- and metafenur. Propodeal valvulae dark brown. Wings dark brown, strongly infuscate, veins dark brown.

Male (n=2). Body length 12–13.5 mm; fore wing length 11.5–13 mm. Similar to female, but differs as follows: Head in frontal view 1.25 × as wide as high ( Fig. 1 ). Vertex with deep large depression behind ocelli, and with cephalic fovea at apical margin of depression, height of depression 1.7 × distance between posterior ocelli, width of depression about 4 × distance between posterior ocelli ( Fig. 8 ). Inner eye margins in frontal view 1.4 × further apart from each other at vertex than at clypeus. Clypeus 1.1 × as high as wide, apical margin truncate, width of the truncation slightly more than 1/3 width of clypeus between inner eye margins ( Fig.7 ). Mandible with four distinct teeth on inner side, basal tooth thin, long and point apically. Antennal scape 3 × as long as its maximum width; F1 2.3 × as long as its maximum width, F2–9 longer than wide, F3–9 each with two blunt teeth at inner side, F10 small, as long as wide, terminal flagellomere slightly curved, more than 2 × as long as its basal width ( Fig. 9 ). Digitus and aedeagus of genitalia ( Figs 11–13 ).

Color. Similar to female, but yellow spots on head and pronotum larger, clypeus yellow except black apical margin, inner protibial strip yellow, T1 with two narrow apical yellow spots.

Nest. A nest was found under the tole roof of a direction sign to Ao Ech at Cat Ba NP of northern Vietnam. The nest was made of soil ( Fig. 14 ), about 12 cm long and 8 cm with.

Distribution. Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam (new record).

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 6. Gribodia cupreipennis, ♀. 1. Head, frontal view, 2. Head, lateral view, 3. Vertex, dorsal view, 4. Left antenna, 5. Propodeum, 6. T 1 – 2, dorsal view.

FIGURES 7 – 10. Gribodia cupreipennis, ♂ 7 – 9. 7. Head, frontal view, 8. Vertex, dorsal view, 9. Left antenna, ♀. 10. Habitus, lateral view.

FIGURES 11 – 14. Gribodia cupreipennis, 11 – 13: ♂ genitalia (scale bar = 1 mm). 11. Digitus, 12 – 13. Aedeagus (12, ventral view; 13, lateral view). 14. Nest.