Mischocyttarus deceptus ( Fox, 1895 )

Silveira, Orlando Tobias, 2006, Revision of the subgenus Kappa de Saussure of Mischocyttarus de Saussure (Hym.; Vespidae, Polistinae, Mischocyttarini), Zootaxa 1321 (1), pp. 1-108 : 45-48

Mischocyttarus deceptus ( Fox, 1895)

Polybia decepta Fox, 1895 (in Bequaert, 1943).

Mischocyttarus ater (Olivier) : Ducke, 1918: 351, 369 (in part; misidentification).

M. socialis (Saussure) : Bequaert, 1943: 721 (in part; misidentification, incorrect synonymy).

M. atrocyaneus Zikán, 1949: 204 . fig. 404; Snelling, 1983: 275. Holotype: ♀ Costa Rica, S. José (no date) (Nevermann) (IOC), examined, N. syn.

M. atramentarius: Richards, 1978: 298 (misidentification, incorrect synonymy).

HOLOTYPE: ♀ Mexico, Nayarit, Tepic (no date) (anonymous) ( CASC), examined.

FEMALE:. Length of fore wing 10–13 mm; MWH/DLH 2.4, head in frontal view not very low, FHH/intOW 0.95; clypeus very wide, H/WClp 0.81, rarely higher and narrower, median angle moderately projecting below, apex widely truncate, its width corresponding to about 1/2 the height of an antennal socket, lateral margin sinuous, often rather detached and narrowly separated from eye; malar space extensive, almost as much as 1/2 the height of an antennal socket; tentorial pit as close to eye as to antennal socket or a little closer to the latter; mandible anterior surface without a prominent border; antennal scape very short, L/Wesc 2.3; occeli widely separated, POL a little more than two diameters, POL/OOL about 2/3 or a little more; occipital region at sides sometimes appearing as if “compressed” behind upper lobe of the eye, occipital margin distinct and very salient dorso laterally producing a corresponding slight depression behind the eye lobe; gena as wide or a little narrower than the upper lobe of the eye in lateral view; foraminal area shaped ventrally as a shelf; hypostomal lamella narrow; pronotum short and wide, fovea large and deep, with acute anterior border, region just below noticeably protuberant, anterior margin of pronotum medially with the lamella narrow and reflexed, region just behind continuous not raised into secondary margin, humeral angle usually little prominent, carina low or only moderately elevated, slightly curved and reflexed at sides, forming a little produced lateral lobe that never projects strongly forward, carina as seen from above essentially straight, total width distinctly larger than that of mesoscutum, this a little longer than wide, L/WMsc 1.02; fore wing well elongated (LDis/HMpl about 2.24) but sometimes shorter, pterostigma about 2.9 times longer than wide; inner claw of hind tarsus with the apex rather round; propodeum oblique and shortened posteriorly, median furrow wide and deep, with parallell sides but sometimes round, occupying almost the whole dorsal surface, anterior region adjacent to metanotum protuberant only at sides, valve as a high narrow triangle, sometimes wider; first segment of metasoma very short, LSI/HMpl 0.82, always very wide and dorsally convex, apical region about 2.5 times wider than the base, petiole hardly defined, spiracles not prominent, basal sternum flattened but its lateral limit with the sternum not strongly marked, lateral edge not noticeably prominent nor shining.

Sculpture: disk of clypeus with moderately dense medium sized punctures, with more sparse larger ones, interstices shining, area close to the ventral margin reticulate and shining, with large punctures; upper interantennal area and frons with very dense comblike medium to large sized punctures; vertex including area between occeli with small but conspicuous punctures; humeral region and mesoscutum with very dense small to medium sized punctures, never separated by distance equal to or larger than one diameter; mesopleuron with numerous medium sized punctures and a few larger ones, arranged into a rather uniform pattern, less dense on more ventral parts, interstices reticulate and often shining; lateral region of propodeum with very dense small sized punctures, with distinct uniform aspect.

Vestiture: clypeus and face with decumbent light brown hairs, outstanding hairs of frons almost always very long, these and other long hairs, specially those on vertex, typically very dark brown, lateral region of occiput adjacent to carina with a very distinctive spot of transversely directed hairs originating at a position situated inwards relative to the mesal border of the eye; eye with short not very distinct hairs.

Color: deep black; tegula, legs, dark brown; mandible (often), ventral marginal area of clypeus (sometimes), diffuse dorsal spot on gena (sometimes), apex of antenna below (sometimes), posterior margin of pronotum (often), part of mesepisternal plate (sometimes), lower metapleuron (sometimes), ligth reddish brown; inner orbit inconspicuously to the level of upper rim of antennal socket, apex of femora, pale yellow; most of wings basal membrane and hairs, also including pterostigma, black or blackish; apical part of fore wing from second submarginal cell to the apex with membrane hyaline and hairs white, veins of the apical region light yellowish brown; rarely the apex of the fore wing not pale colored, but with the more usual dark brown hairs and veins.

Variation. Specimens from the northern part of the species distribution, in Mexico, may have the wings a little shorter and body color less dark. The holotype from Nayarit state shows these features .

MALE. Head in frontal view low and wide, FHH/intOW 0.93; clypeus very wide, H/ WClp 0.76, median angle scarcely projecting below, apex narrowly rounded; tentorial pit closer to the eye than to antennal socket; antennal scape short and wide, L/Wesc 2,17, ventral surface of antennomeres with conspicuous shining tyloids, third antennomere about 2.8 times longer than wide, apex of the antenna very short, hook like, apical antennomeres not flattened, antennomere 12 almost quadrate, about 1.16 times longer than wide, 13 very short, only 2 times longer than wide, practically with the same length of 12; anterior face of fore coxa not flattened; clypeus with small but distinct punctures, covered by dense decumbent shining pubescence that extends through the rest of face, vertex and occiput.

Color: similar to female; apex of antenna with the inner aspect yellow.

NEST. Zikán (1949, fig. 404) shows a photograph of a small nest, with a circular comb of 7 cells, and with a very short peduncle. Snelling (1983: 275) describes two nests from Panama, one small with only 12 cells and central peduncle, the other far larger, with an oval comb of 74 cells, and with an eccentric peduncle. Both nests were attached to leaves.

Remarks

Bequaert (1943) considered Fox’s species a synonym of Mischocyttarus socialis at a time when this name had the widest meaning. However, neither Bequaert nor Richards (1945, 1978) saw the type of P. decepta , and the same can be said of Zikán (1949) who described M. atrocyaneus .

Fox’s type and other specimens from Mexican states of Nayarit and Guerrero show a less dark color, and wings are shorter than in the form typically found in the southern parts of the species distribution, which actually served as basis to the description of M. atrocyaneus by Zikán (1949). However, while differences in length of the wings are certainly not trivial, some specimens from Mexico are intermediate indicating a transition so that the forms cannot be positively diagnosed.

Snelling (1983) records M. atrocyaneus from El Salvador. A female from Colombia, Oiba (EMEC) here examined represents the first record of M. deceptus in South America. Two other females from the USNM collection (one with the clypeal apex tinged with orange yellow) have in their labels the locality name "Ecua". If this is an abreviated form of " Ecuador ", then these would be additional records of the species in South America.

Distribution

CENTRAL AMERICA: Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama;

SOUTH AMERICA: Colombia, Ecuador?.

Examined material COLOMBIA: 1♀ Oiba, Sap (?), “Columbia” (Colômbia, Santander), 23/ii/65 (Michellbacher) ( EMEC) ; COSTA RICA: 3♀ Pacayas (no date) (Werckele) ( AMNH) , 1♀ Escazú , 20/v/1987 (H. & M. Townes) ( AEIC) , 2♀ Cartago, 13/vi/76 (Wasbauer) , 1♀ Puntarenas, Las Cruces , 19–22/vi/1976 (Wasbauer) ( EMEC) , 1♀ Puntarenas (no specific locality), 1600m, ii/1987 (Zakharoff) ( CASC) , 1♀ San Ramón , 13/ii/1974 (Windsor) ( GBFM) ; GUATEMALA: 1♀ Solola, Olas de Moka , ix/1908 (anonymous) (Engelhardt collection) , 6♀ Variedades, Such, 500 ft, 1/ix/47 (C. & P. Vaurie) ( AMNH) , 1♀ cidade da Guatemala, 6/x/1979 (Aguilar) ( UCDC) , 1♀ Cacao (no date) (Schwarz & Barber) , 1♀ Concepcion , 4/iii/1932 (C.N. Ainslie) , 2♀ Yepocapa , v/1948 (H. T. Dalmat) ( USNM) ; ME XICO: Chiapas , 2♀ Huixtla , 27/vi/65 (Slobodchikoff) , 1♀ Simojovel, 18–31/vii/58 (Chemsak) ( EMEC) , 1♀ Motozintla , 2438–2743m, 15/xii/1976 (D. & J. Breedlove) ( CASC) , 1♀ Chiapas (no specific locality), 6–8/viii/66 (Breedlove & Emmel) ( CASC) , 1♂ 37 Km N Tapachula 440m, 17/iv/1993 (A. Rodriguez) , 2♀ Chajul , 14–17/iv/1993 ( R. Ayala & F. Noguera) , 5♀ 6♂ (nido 7a), 11♀ 2♂ (nido 8a) 44 Km NE Huixtla , 1.560m, 19/ iv/1993 (A. Rodriguez) ( EBCC) ; Guerrero , 1♀ Chilpancingo, 30/vii/62 (Evans) ( AMNH) ; Jalisco , 1♀ El Tuito , 28/x/1985 (A. Rodriguez) , 2♀ Carr. Barra Navidad­Pto. Vallarta Km 157, 18/iv/1986 (F. Noguera) , 1♀ 20 Km S Autlán , 20/xii/1990 (F. Noguera) ( EBCC) ; Nayarit , 2♀ Compostela, 28/v/33 (anonymous) ( AMNH) , 10♂ 4♀ Compostela, 10/viii/30 (D.G. Shappirio collection) ( USNM) , 1♀ 20 Km SE San Blas , 7/iv/1994 (A. Rodriguez) ( EBCC) ; Oaxaca , 1♂ Oaxaca (no specific locality) 21/vii/52 (Gilbert & MacNeil) ( UCDC) , 1♀ Oaxaca (no specific locality), 13/xii/1982 (S. Meredith) ( EMEC) , Vera Cruz, 1♀ Cordoba , 7/iii/08 (FredKnab) , 1♀ Cordoba, 19/v/37 (A. Stone) ( USNM) , 1♀ Fortin de las Flores , 25/xii/63 (L. & C. O'Brien) , 1♀ Fortin de las Flores , 13–22/ix/ 1954 (Williams) ( CASC) ; PANAMA: 1♀ Chiriqui, 20/ii/36 (Gertsch) ( AMNH) , 1♀ Chiriqui, Boquete (no date) (anonymous) ( USNM) , 3♀ V. de Chiriqui (no date) (Champion) ( BMNH) , 1♀ Limo, 800m ( MPEG) .

* Dubious: 2♀ Ecua (?) (no date) (C.F. Baker colection) ( USNM) .