Pristaulacus virga SMITH, 2008

Smith, David R., 2008, Aulacidae of the southwestern United States, Mexico, and Central America (Hymenoptera), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 58 (2), pp. 267-355 : 304-306

Pristaulacus virga SMITH , new species

( Figs 67-71 )

Diagnosis:

Head, mesosoma, and legs orange. Forewing black with hyaline band at center basal to stigma and hyaline band near apex apical to stigma. Ovipositor with a white band. Head smooth and shining. Mesoscutum with 8-9 coarse transverse carinae. Hind coxa smooth and shining. Pronotum without anteriorly projecting tooth.

Female:

Length, 9.0 mm; forewing length 7.0 mm; ovipositor length 7.0 mm. Color: Antenna with scape and pedicel orange, flagellomeres 1-4 black (missing beyond 4). Head and body orange; apex of mandible and infuscate to black band at apex of first metasomal tergite. Ovipositor brownish with white band near apex. Forewing ( Fig. 71 ) with base, broad band below stigma, and apex black, hyaline areas between base and band below stigma and between band below stigma and apical dark stripe; stigma mostly yellow, infuscate toward base. Hind wing ( Fig. 71 ) black at base, center, and apex with hyaline areas in between. Veins mostly black with those in hyaline areas more yellowish. Head: [Both antennae of holotype broken beyond 6 th segment.] Lower interocular distance subequal to eye height; malar space 0.4X eye height ( Fig. 67 ). Head behind eyes straight then sharply narrowing, head length 0.8X eye length ( Fig. 68 ). Occipital carina very narrow, hardly discernable, less than a fifth diameter on an ocellus. Shining, almost impunctate. With fine white pubescence, densest on interantennal area, lower inner orbits, malar area, and clypeus ( Figs 67, 68 ). Mesosoma: Pronotum without anteriorly projecting tooth. Propleuron smooth and shining. Mesoscutum with transverse carinae, 8-10 carinae on middle lobe; axilla reticulate, mesoscutellum with 3 or 4 arc-shaped transverse carinae, more reticulate laterally; pronotum with narrow scrobiculate band on anterior margin, center shining with diagonal band of fine carinae, reticulate dorsoposteriorly; mesepisternum finely punctate with coarse reticulations on lower third; mesepimeron shining with narrow scrobiculate band on posterior margin; metapleuron finely reticulate on dorsal half, coarsely reticulate on ventral half; propodeum reticulate ( Figs 69, 70 ). Hind coxa smooth and shining, 2.5X longer than broad, with diagonal ovipositor guide near apex on inner surface. Tarsal claws with 5 teeth. Hind basitarsus 1.2X longer than length of remaining tarsal segments combined. Forewing with cells 1M and 1Rs contiguous, without vein Rs+M ( Fig. 71 ). Hind wing veins distinct, cells Cu and R1+Rs contiguous (as in Fig. 110 ). Metasoma: Shining, with fine white pubescence on tergite 2 to apex. Ovipositor length subequal to forewing length.

Male: Unknown.

Holotype: Female labeled “ Mexico: Jalisco, Chamela Biol. Stn., 12 July 1989, R. Brooks, C. Michener, A. Roig Alsina, #024” ( UKAN).

Etymology: From the Latin virga , meaning stripe, referring to the striped- or banded-color pattern of the wings.

Remarks:

This is one of three species with black-banded forewings. It is separated from the other two, P. punctum and P. decorus , by the entirely orange color, lack of an anteriorly projecting tooth on the pronotum, and the transverse carinae of the mesoscutum.

Figures

Figs 67-71: Pristaulacus virga. 67 Head, front. 68 Head, dorsal.69 Mesosoma, lateral. 70 Mesosoma, dorsal. 71 Wings.

Figs 106-110: Pristaulacus unimacula. 106 Head, front. 107 Head, dorsal. 108 Mesosoma, lateral. 109 Mesosoma, dorsal. 110 Wings.