Aulacus elongatus 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 : 286-287

Aulacus elongatus SMITH , new species

( Figs 26-29 )

Diagnosis:

Head red; mesosoma black; forewing apex black. Hind strongly shining, extremely lengthened behind eyes. Mesosoma shining with only large, widely separated punctures; hind coxa smooth, shining.

Female:

Length, holotype 11.5 mm, paratype 7.5 mm; forewing length, holotype 8.5 mm, paratype 5.5 mm; ovipositor length holotype 9.0 mm, paratype 6.0 mm. Color: Antenna black, scape orange. Head orange, apex of mandible black. Mesosoma black. Legs with coxae and trochanters black; fore- and mid femora with basal half blackish, apical half orange, hind femur black; fore- and midtibiae orange brown, hind tibia with basal fifth white, apical four-fifths black; tarsi whitish. Metasoma black, first segment dark brown on sides. Ovipositor sheath black with white band. Wings hyaline, veins and stigma black; forewing with black spot at apex. Head: Antennal length 2.5X head width. Lower interocular distance 0.8X eye height, inner margins of eyes slightly converging below; malar space 0.2X eye height ( Fig. 26 ). From above, straight and long behind eyes, length of head behind eyes in dorsal view almost subequal to slightly longer than eye length ( Fig. 27 ); in lateral view, eye far removed from posterior margin of head ( Fig. 28 ). Vertex and gena shining, with large, widely scattered punctures, interspaces several times diameter of punctures; frons shining with punctures denser than on vertex, separated by interspaces about or slightly more than puncture diameters ( Figs 26-28 ). Mesosoma: Propleuron smooth, shining, impunctate. Mesoscutum and axilla shining with large punctures separated by shining interspaces more than puncture diameters; notauli indistinct, but meeting separately on transscutal articulation ( Fig. 29 ); mesoscutellum with 5 or 6 transverse carinae, with small punctures between carinae ( Fig. 29 ); pronotum shiny, smooth with few punctures, with narrow scrobiculate diagonal band; mesopleuron with upper anterior corner of mesepisternum shining, fine punctures on most of rest of mesepisternum except lower mesepisternum coarsely reticulate, mesepimeron smooth, shining, with narrow scrobiculate band on posterior margin; metapleuron shining, smooth on upper half, finely reticulate on lower half; propodeum reticulate. Mesepisternum more densely pubescent than rest of pleura. Hind coxa smooth and shining, about 2.0X longer than broad. Hind basitarsus 1.2X length of remaining tarsal segments combined. Metasoma: Segments 5 or 6 to apex with fine white pubescence. Ovipositor sheath about 1.1X forewing length.

Male: Unknown.

Types: Holotype: Female labeled “Panama: Canal Zone, Barro Colorado Is., 9 10'N, 79 50'W," “ 30-V-1977, H. A. Hespenheide,” “Sloanea TF, SM4-5.” ( LACM) . Paratype: COSTA RICA: S. Rosa Park, Guan., 13 Jun 77, D. H. Janzen, Dry Hill (1 ♀, AEI) .

Etymology: The name refers to the unusually long head of this species.

Remarks:

Aulacus elongatus and A. ochreus are the only known two species with large punctures on both the head and mesosoma. In A. elongatus , the head is unusually long behind the eyes ( Figs 27, 28 ), whereas in A. ochreus , the head is very short behind the eyes ( Figs 5, 7 ). Also A. elongatus is a red and black species in contrast to the entirely orange A. ochreus .

Figures

Figs 26-29: Aulacus elongatus. 26Xead, front. 27Xead, dorsal. 28Xead, lateral. 29 Mesosoma, dorsal.

Figs 5-10: Aulacus ochreus. 5 Head, dorsal. 6 Head, front. 7 Head, lateral. 8 Forewing. 9 Mesosoma, dorsal. 10 Mesosoma, lateral.