Auplopus charlesi Waichert & Pitts, 2012

Waichert, Cecilia, Rodriguez, Juanita, Von Dohlen, Carol D. & Pitts, James P., 2012, Spider wasps (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) of the Dominican Republic, Zootaxa 3353 (1), pp. 1-47 : 11-12

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.3353.1.1
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6489344
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/A9185567-9B0D-FFAF-92FE-F96B4AE018DB
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Auplopus charlesi Waichert & Pitts
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Auplopus charlesi Waichert & Pitts View in CoL , sp. nov.

( Figs 1D View FIGURE 1 , 5C–D View FIGURE 5 )

Diagnosis. This species can be recognized by the following unique combination of characters: the body integument is black with bluish-purple reflections, and the legs are orange ( Figs 5C–D View FIGURE 5 ), except for fore coxa that is black with purplish reflections; the antenna is brown; the pubescence on the body is long and silver, and abundant on propodeum; the clypeus is convex and enlarged medially ( Fig. 1D View FIGURE 1 ); the pronotum has the collar differentiated from the disc; the first metasomal segment is not carinate; the pygidium is well defined and bare; the dorsal face of hind tibia is not spinose; and the fore and hind wings are darkened with purple reflections. The male of this species is unknown.

Description. Holotype, female. Body length 12.50 mm. Fore wing 9.20 mm; maximum wing width 2.50 mm.

Coloration. Head black with shiny purple reflections; clypeus black; mandibular and maxillary palpi pale brown; mandible black from base to half of its length, pale brown apically; antenna dark brown; pronotum, mesosoma, and mesonotum black with bluish-purple reflections; scutellum black with bluish-purple reflections laterally, green centrally; postnotum black with bluish-purple reflections above transversal furrow; propodeum black with faint bluish-purple reflections; metasoma dark brown with faint bluish-purple reflections; wing subtranslucent with faint blue reflections; veins dark brown; fore coxa black with purple reflections, remainder of fore leg and all of mid and hind legs orange, apical tarsi dark brown.

Head ( Fig. 1D View FIGURE 1 ). Head wide; TFD 1.13 × FD; MID 0.60 × FD. Ocelli in nearly right triangle; lateral ocelli closer to each other than to compound eyes; POL 1.1 × OOL. Mandible wide, with long, sharpened apical teeth; pubescence on mandible short, abundant on first half of length. Clypeus long, semi-angulated, convex; anterior margin slightly enlarged medially; LC 0.55 × WC; clypeal projection not present medially; anterior margin polished, enlarged medially. Maxillary beard with few, thick, long setae. Antenna elongate; length of fourth segment 4.50 × its width; ratio of the first four antennal segments 13:5:21:19; WA3 1.90 × LA3; LA3 0.38 × UID.

Mesosoma ( Figs 5C–D View FIGURE 5 ). Short, whitish pubescence abundant on entire body, giving coarse appearance to specimen, pubescence more abundant on propodeum ( Fig. 5C View FIGURE 5 ); punctuation inconspicuous. Pronotum not elongated, width 6.28 × length, posterior margin semi-angulated; pronotal collar inconspicuous. Notauli present on very beginning of mesonotum. Postnotum striated. Propodeum punctures inconspicuous under abundant setae; propodeal disc with long setae, more abundant on median and inferior corner. Wing long; length of first radial 2 cell 0.63 × distance from its origin to wing apex; third radial sector 1.25 × longer than second; 2m-cu vein bent, slightly curved, meeting third radial sector 0.30 × distance from base to apex of cell. Spines absent on anterior and posterior margins of front tibia; spines on mid tibia, sparse, short, sharpened; hind tibia dorsal teeth absent; tibial brush thin, complete.

Metasoma. Metasoma polished, covered by short, abundant setae; pygidium well defined, bare, polished; terminal metasomal sternum with sparse, long setae; metasoma 1.31 × as long as mesosoma.

Etymology. Named in honor of Samuel Dashiell Hammett (1894–1961), who was a well-known American author of hardboiled detective novels and short stories, and creator of the famous protagonist, Nick Charles.

Variation. The purplish-blue reflections are brighter on some of the paratypes.

Material examined. Holotype, ♀. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Pedernales, 26 km N Cabo Rojo , 18–06N, 71–38W, 730 m, wet deciduous forest, intercept trap, L. Masner et al., 19–25.VII.1990, CMNH –370,786 . Paratypes: 3 ♀ with same data as holotype ; 2 ♀, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Pedernales, 26 km N Cabo Rojo , 18–06N, 71–38W, 730 m, wet deciduous forest, intercept trap, L. Masner et al., 13–20.VII.1990, CMNH –369,979/ 368,202 .

Distribution. Dominican Republic.

Host. Unknown.

Remarks. Auplopus charlesi is morphologically similar to the Cuban species, A. aquilus Dreisbach. The two species differ in coloration of the clypeus and head, which is greenish in A. aquilus and black in A. charlesi . Also, A. charlesi has the hind tibia orange without purple reflections, which are present in A. aquilus . Lastly, the antenna in A. aquilus has orange on the ventral surface, whereas A. charlesi does not. The male of A. charlesi is unknown.