Strangulotilla Nonveiller, 1979

Terine, Joshua B., Lelej, Arkady S. & Kumar, Girish P., 2021, Discovery of the genus Strangulotilla Nonveiller, 1979 (Hymenoptera, Mutillidae) in India and description of a new species from the Western Ghats, Zootaxa 5057 (3), pp. 429-436 : 430

Genus Strangulotilla Nonveiller, 1979

Ctenotilla Bischoff, 1920: 28 ; 1921: 585 (part., ♀♀); Bradley & Bequaert 1928: 72, 116 (part., ♀♀).

Strangulotilla Nonveiller, 1979: 23 , 24, 26, ♂, ♀; Lelej & Nemkov 1997: 4, 18; Lelej & van Harten 2006: 15, ♂; Lelej & Brothers 2008: 60; Brothers & Lelej 2017: 95; Pagliano et al. 2020: 132, 167, fig. 261.

Type species: Mutilla thoracosulcata Magretti, 1906 , ♂, by original designation.

Diagnosis (based on Nonveiller 1979 with adding). MALE. Metasomal sterna armed, rarely simple. Head subrectangular. Eyes deeply emarginated on inner margin. Prementum flat. T2 with long lateral felt line, S2 lacking lateral felt line. S7 unarmed, S8 with elongated curved carina laterally, rarely ecarinate. Mandible with strong tooth on inner margin, bidentate apically. Aedeagus with short, lamelliform parapenial lobes. Gonostyle apically narrow, rounded and slightly flattened. FEMALE. Scutellar scale lacking. T2 without pair of pale setae spots, at most with median spot of pale setae. T6 with well-defined glabrous shiny or weakly shagreened pygidial area carinated laterally. T1 without dorsal surface. Head with rounded posterolateral angles. Mesosoma with sides parallel or slightly dilated to propodeum, the latter weakly dilated, wider than the pronotum in dorsal view. Posterior margin of the mesosoma with 7–12 relatively short spines.

Sex association. The male of the type species was associated and identified as Mutilla mitana Cameron, 1910 by Nonveiller 1979: 44.

Remarks The genus Strangulotilla is newly recorded from India. In the Oriental Region the genus Strangulotilla closely related to the genera Lehritilla Lelej, 2005 and Zeugomutilla Chen, 1957 . The males of Strangulotilla differs from the males of Lehritilla in having: S8 and S7 without any carina or tubercle (in Lehritilla , S8 with strong medial carina and S7 with lateral tubercle); gonostylus not bilobed, much longer than volsella, rather straight (in Lehritilla , gonostylus bilobed with strong basal lobe curved dorsally and narrow short distal lobe); and mandible with strong subbasal inner tooth (in Lehritilla , mandible bidentate with weak subbasal inner tooth). The females of Strangulotilla differs from females of Zeugomutilla in having: T2 without pale spots located transversely, posterad without ( S. krombeini ) or with pale band (Afrotropical species) (in Zeugomutilla , T2 with two pale spots located transversely near the middle) ( Lelej 2005).

Natural history. Strangulotilla krombeini Lelej, 2005 is distributed in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka, mostly at low elevations ( Fig. 1 ). A cumulative occurrence per months of 24 specimens collected in Sri Lanka during eight years see Fig. 2 . Strangulotilla sureshani sp. nov. has been collected in India in the moist deciduous forest.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Map of Sri Lankan Provinces (solid lines), Districts (dashed lines), and the localities, where specimens of Strangulotilla krombeini have been collected (Lelej 2005). District abbreviations follows those of Krombein & Pulawski (1994).

FIGURE 2. Strangulotilla krombeini, cumulative occurrence per months of 24 specimens collected in Sri Lanka during eight non-consecutive years (Lelej 2005).