Priocnessus vancei 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 : 21-22

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.3353.1.1
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5253415
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/A9185567-9B13-FFB1-92FE-FC2B4A171F9A
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Priocnessus vancei Waichert & Pitts
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Priocnessus vancei Waichert & Pitts View in CoL , sp. nov.

( Figs 1H View FIGURE 1 , 5K–L View FIGURE 5 )

Diagnosis. This species can be recognized by the following unique combination of characters: the integument on the head, mesosoma, and coxae is black, while metasoma and legs are red; the antenna is black ( Fig. 5L View FIGURE 5 ) with orange underside; the clypeus is enlarged ( Fig. 1H View FIGURE 1 ), trapezoidal, apical margin with two teeth laterally and one median rounded tooth; the pubescence on the body is long and black, abundant on the propodeum; the pronotum has the collar differentiated from the disc; the dorsal face of the hind tibia has scale-like spines; the fore and hind wings are darkened with purplish reflections. The male of this species is unknown.

Description. Holotype, female. Body length 14.70 mm. Fore wing 11.50 mm; maximum wing width 3.20 mm.

Coloration. Head black with small orange maculation between torulus, and on internal, outer, and superior margin of eye; clypeus black, dark reddish brown on apical margin; mandibular and maxillary palpi dark reddish brown; mandible dark brown, somewhat orange, base darker, almost black; antenna black, inferior margin of flageromeres orange; pronotum, mesosoma, and propodeum black; metasoma orange, first segment with black spots; wing darkened.

Head ( Fig. 1H View FIGURE 1 ). Head wide; TFD 1.12 × FD; MID 0.65 × FD. Ocelli in nearly right triangle; lateral ocelli closer to each other than to compound eyes; POL 1.22 × OOL. Mandible wide, with two sharpened apical teeth, basalmost longer; pubescence long, abundant. Clypeus truncate, large, anterior margin sinuous, giving impression of having three-rounded apical teeth; inferior margin not enlarged; LC 0.52 × WC; clypeal projection absent medially; dorsal surface slightly convex laterally; anterior margin coriaceus. Maxillary beard absent. Antenna elongate; length of fourth segment 3.50 × its width; ratio of the first four antennal segments 11:4:19:15; WA3 0.21 × LA3; LA3 0.86 × UID.

Mesosoma ( Figs 5K–L View FIGURE 5 ). Pubescence abundant on entire body; body with both long and short setae, black and whitish respectively; punctuation inconspicuous. Pronotum not elongated, posterior margin angulated, width 5.43 × length; pronotal collar inconspicuous. Notauli absent. Postnotum with integument covered by setae. Propodeum punctuate, covered by long and short setae; propodeal disc coarsely setose, setae equally abundant. Wing long; length of first radial 2 cell 0.56 × distance from its origin to wing apex; third radial sector 1.36 × longer than second; 2m-cu vein slightly curved, meeting third radial sector 0.50 × distance from base to apex of cell. Front tibia spines absent on anterior margin, few on base; mid tibia spines present, thick, sharpened, abundant; hind tibia dorsal teeth present, scale-like, arranged on rows; tibial brush thick, complete.

Metasoma. Metasoma coriaceus, covered by short golden pubescence; long abundant setae present on sternum and tergum 1, 4–7; pygidium covered by both golden-short and black-long erect setae; terminal metasomal sternum with long, abundant setae; metasoma 1.45 × as long as mesosoma.

Etymology. Named in honor of Willard Huntington Wright (1888–1939), an American crime writer who created the fictional detective, Philo Vance.

Material examined. Holotype, ♀. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Pedernales, Sierra de Baoruco, Aceitillar , 23.6 km NE Pedernales, 18–09–23N, 71–34–09W, 1560 m, open pine forest with grassland, hand collected, sample 42142, C. Young et al., CMNH –369,954.

Distribution. Dominican Republic.

Host. Unknown.

Remarks. We were unable to determine what species are morphologically similar to P. vancei due to the problematic state of taxonomy in this genus. A single species, P. nubeculatus (Cresson) , was recorded for Cuba by Ferrer and Triana (2004). Priocnessus vancei , however, differs from P. nubeculatus by the mesosoma and head coloration, which is darkened-reddish brown in P. nubeculatus and black in P. vancei . The wing of P. vancei is subtranslucent with slight blue reflections while in P. nubeculatus it is yellow translucent with apex darkened.