Malayepipona lamellata Bai, Chen & Li, 2021

Bai, Yue, Chen, Bin & Li, Ting-Jing, 2021, Two newly recorded genera Malayepipona Giordani Soika and Megaodynerus Gusenleitner, with eight new species from China (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Eumeninae), Zootaxa 5060 (3), pp. 371-391 : 377-379

Malayepipona lamellata Bai, Chen & Li , sp. n.

( Figs 22–31 )

Material examined. Holotype, 1♀, China, Guizhou Province, Qiannan Prefecture, Maolan Nature Reserve , Dongdai Village , 25.311°N, 107.936°E, 736 m, 21.VI.2015, Zhenxia Ma ( CNU); paratype: 1♀, China, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region , Tianlin County, Cenwang Laoshan , County Road 794, 24.474°N, 106.383°E, 1554 m, 26.VII.2014, Xiang Li ( CNU).

Diagnosis. This species resembles M. seomyty Nguyen & Carpenter 2013 from Vietnam, but it differs from the related species and all other species of Malayepipona by the following character combination: distance from posterior ocelli to apical margin of the vertex longer, about 2.0 times of the distance from posterior ocelli to inner eye margin ( Fig. 26 ), T4 with thin apical lamella ( Fig. 30 ), and clypeus largely to wholly yellow ( Figs 24–25 ).

Description. Female ( Figs. 22–23 ). Body length 10.5–11.0 mm, forewing length 10.5 mm; body covered with short, silver setae except lower part of propodeum with dense, long silver setae; black, with the following parts yellow: clypeus largely to wholly yellow ( Figs. 24-25 ), mandible partly, whole inner eye margin or narrow band along inner eye margin extending from bottom of frons to lower ocular sinus ( Fig. 25 ), lower part of frons or interantennal spot, scape and pedicel, gena or small spot on gena, dorsal base of pronotum and with branches extending along posterodorsal margin of pronotum, tegula, parategula, apical margin of scutellum or with two lateral spots, basal margin of metanotum or with two lateral spots, posterodorsal spot of mesopleuron, legs except basal margins of femora or spots on apical margins of femora, apical bands of T1–T5 (widest on T2 and narrowest on T3–T5) and apical margins of S2-S5; wings brown, marginal cell of forewing without an apical dark spot.

Head. In frontal view, head subcircular, about 1.1 times as wide as long ( Fig. 24 ); vertex with two small cephalic foveae as big as maximum punctures on vertex, bearing dense pubescence, interspace between foveae slightly depression, distance between foveae about 0.7 times as long as distance between posterior ocelli ( Fig. 26 ); distance from posterior ocellus to apical margin of the vertex about 2.0 times the distance from posterior ocellus to inner eye margin; vertex, gena and frons with coarse punctures, interspaces slightly reticulate, interspaces on frons narrower ( Figs 24–26 ); gena slightly narrower than eye, occipital carina complete along gena; in frontal view, distance between inner eye margins at vertex about 1.2 times that at clypeus; clypeus about 1.2 times as wide as long, densely punctate, punctures sparser than those on frons, in lateral view convex at basal half, apical margin shallowly emarginated medially and curved, laterally forming a short tooth ( Figs 24–25 ); clypeal width: emargination width = 1.32: 0.37; mandible with four teeth, the first tooth with inner side slightly concave, the second and the third with inner side slightly produced to form wavy, the outer one pointed apically; A1 about 3.3–3.8 times as long as its maximum width, curved; A3 about 1.3–1.4 times longer than wide, A4–A11 wider than long, A12 bullet–shaped, as long as its basal width.

Mesosoma. Mesosoma longer than wide in dorsal view ( Fig. 28 ); pronotum, mesoscutum and scutellum coarsely, densely punctate and reticulate, punctures slightly larger than vertex and gena ( Fig. 28 ); pronotal carina raised and complete, mesoscutum weakly convex, slightly longer than wide between tegulae; scutellum almost flat, in lateral view at the same level of mesoscutum, medially with longitudinal furrow ( Fig. 28 ); metanotum weakly convex, sloping down to apical margin, punctures on metanotum denser than scutellum, strongly carinate and reticulate; mesepisternum with dense, large, flat–bottomed punctures, similar to those on pronotum; metapleuron dorsally with several punctures, ventrally with sparse shallow and degraded punctures ( Fig. 27 ); propodeum ( Figs. 27–29 ) dorsally with dense, large, flat–bottomed punctures, strongly carinate and reticulate, deeper than mesepisternum, without a pair of blunt teeth behind metanotum, medially excavated and the basal fovea about 0.5 times of the length of the median carina which runs from the fovea to the apical margin; dorsal and posterior surfaces connected by carinae between punctures; posterior and lateral surfaces connected by bluntly angulate; laterally with punctures shallower and sparser than mesepisternum, the depth of the punctures on the lateral surfaces decreasing from upper to bottom (sometimes mixed with striae), posterior surface coriaceous with finely punctures or striae, and with flask-shaped depression along propodeal carina ( Fig. 29 ).

Metasoma. T1 ( Fig. 30 ) about 2.0 times as wide as long, and basally truncate and weakly raised or even flat edge, anterior vertical surface weakly convex, with sparse punctures; T2–T4 ( Fig. 30 ) with thin apical lamella, apical lamella on T2 longer than T3–T4, T2 ( Fig. 30 ) about 1.2 times as wide as long; S2 ( Fig. 31 ) in lateral view slightly convex from base to apical margin, in frontal view concave at basal; T1–T2 with moderate punctures, S2 punctures similar to or a little sparser than those on T2, T3–T5 punctures smaller than T2, S3–S5 punctures sparser than T5, tergum and sternum 6 with minute punctures smaller and sparser than T5; punctures on metasoma generally smaller and sparser than those on mesosoma.

Male. Unknown.

Distribution. China (Guizhou).

Etymology. The specific name is derived from the Latin word lamella, referring to the apical lamellae of T2–T4.

Figures

FIGURES 22–31. Malayepipona lamellata sp. nov., 22, 24, 26–31, holotype, ♀; 23, 25, paratype, ♀. 22–23. Habitus, dorsal view; 24–25. Head, frontal view; 26. Head, dorsal view; 27. Mesosoma, lateral view; 28. Mesosoma, dorsal view; 29. Propodeum, posterior view; 30. Metasoma, dorsal view; 31. Metasoma, ventral view.