Zetheumenidion flavissimum GiOrdani SOika, 1987

Selis, Marco, 2024, Revision of the Afrotropical genus Zetheumenidion Bequaert (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae), Zootaxa 5406 (1), pp. 37-65 : 47-49

Zetheumenidion flavissimum GiOrdani SOika, 1987 sTaT. nOv.

( Figs. 5 , 12 )

Zetheumenidion femoratus flavissimus Giordani Soika 1987: 200 , ♀ —“ Provincia del Capo : Vryburg ” (holotype lost?).

Diagnosis. Recognized by the following combination of characters: dorsal side of mesosoma not forming an even surface, pronotal carina evenly developed for whole length, anterior margin of pronotum straight, mesepisternum with dense small punctures, propodeum evenly sloping from metanotum to orifice and weakly convex, not bulging above valvula, dorsal faces of propodeum with rounded and shiny interspaces, T1 not expanded basally and of same height for whole length, apical lamella of T2 barely reflexed ( Fig. 5E ), male hind femur shiny and not shagreened on outer face and strongly swollen on ventral face ( Fig. 5D ), black and yellow pattern with reduced red markings.

Material examined. SOUTH AFRICA: Northern Cape, Vryburg , 9.XII.1977, leg. Empey, 1♂ ( MSNVE) ; Northern Cape, Vryburg , 12.XII.1977, leg. Empey, 1♀ ( MSNVE, paratype of Zetheumenidion femoratum flavissimum ) .

Distribution. South Africa: North West ( Giordani Soika 1987, 1989) ( Fig. 13 ).

Notes. Giordani Soika (1987, 1989) reported the holotype of Zetheumenidion femoratum flavissimum to be in his collection, now housed in MSNVE. Examination of the material in MSNVE however revealed the presence of the female paratype ( Fig. 5A ) and one male with the same data as the “ allotype ” (but not labeled as such), but not of the holotype.

Giordani Soika (1987, 1989) differentiated Z. femoratum flavissimum from the nominotypical subspecies by coloration only, with yellow mostly replacing the ferruginous-orange markings. In fact, this taxon is more closely related to the newly described Z. concinnoide rather than the true Z. femoratum , and comparison of the two taxa revealed the presence of other subtle but constant differences: apical margin of male clypeus subtruncate with shallow emargination in the middle ( Fig. 5B ), hind femur of male less swollen on ventral side ( Fig. 5D ), integuments generally shinier, posterior half of mesoscutum and scutellum more sparsely punctured, mesepisternum more densely and coarsely punctured, dorsal faces of propodeum more convex and with rounded smooth interspaces, T1 with barely microsculpted interspaces, and T2 more densely micropunctate. These differences, combined with the absence of intermediate forms both in coloration and sculpture, allow raising Zetheumenidion flavissimum to species-level.

Figures

FIGURE 5. Zetheumenidion flavissimum Giordani Soika, 1987. A, female habitus in dorsal view. B, male head in frontal view. C, female head in frontal view. D, male hind femur in lateral view. E, female metasoma in lateral view.

FIGURE 12. Male genitalia of Zetheumenidion species: aedeagus in ventral view, aedeagus in lateral view and digitus + volsella.

FIGURE 13. Distribution maps of Zetheumenidion species.