Poecilopompilus mixtus ( Fabricius, 1794 )

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 : 33

Poecilopompilus mixtus ( Fabricius, 1794)

Sphex mixta Fabricius, 1794 , Entomologia Systematica Emendata et Aucta, vol. 4, p. 457 [Holotype: ♀, WEST INDIES (ZMUC)].

Pompilus sulphurescens Dahlbom, 1843 , Hymenoptera Europaea , p. 56 [Holotype: ♀, SOUTH AMERICA (MZLU)].

Pompilus polistoides Smith, 1855 , Catalogue of hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Mutillidae and Pompilidae , part III, p. 152 [Holotype: ♀, Brazil (BMNH)].

Pompilus flavopictus Smith, 1862 , Journal of Entomology , vol. 1, p. 396 [Holotype: ♀, MEXICO (BMNH)]. Junior primary homonym of Pompilus (Agenia) flavopictus Smith, 1857 .

Pompilus varietatis Smith, 1873 , Annals and Magazine of Natural History, p. 3 [Lectotype: ♀, BRAZIL (BMNH)].

Pompilus flavopictus Smith, 1879 , British Museum (Natural History), p. 156 [Lectotype: ♀, COSTA RICA (BMNH)]. Junior primary homonym of Pompilus (Agenia) flavopictus Smith, 1857 ; and of Pompilus flavopictus Smith, 1862 .

Batazonus hookeri Rohwer, 1915 , Proceedings of the United States National Museum, vol. 49, p. 237–238 [Holotype: ♀, PUERTO RICO, Mayaguez (USNM)].

Batazonus mundiformis Rohwer, 1916 , Proceedings of the United States National Museum, vol. 49, p. 238 [Holotype: ♀, JAMAICA, Bonwood Valley (USNM)].

Diagnosis. This species can be recognized by the following unique combination of characters: the mesosoma is black with yellow markings; the metasoma is dark brown with yellow stripes ( Figs 7L–M ); the postnotum is arcuately broadened on each side of the median line, then constricted again; and the Cu vein is distinctly deflected downward at the base forming a posterior pocket in the second medial cell.

Material examined. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: 2 ♂, Independencia, 4 km S Los Pinos, Loma de los Vientos , 18–35N, 71–46W, 455 m, 23.VII.1992, semiarid deciduous forest with pastures, R. Davidson et al., CMNH –370,453/ 371,143; 3 ♂, Hato Mayor, Parque Los Haitises, 3 km W Cueva de Arena, 13–04N, 69–29W, 20 m, 7–9.VII.1992, mesic lowland forest, R. Davidson et al., CMNH –370,509/ 369,958/ 370,000; 1 ♂, La Altagracia, Parque del Este, Caseta Guaraguao , 4.4 km SE Bayahibe, 18–19–59N, 68–48–42W, 3 m, 26–27.V.2004, semihumid forest near sea, limestone, malaise trap, sample 51184, C. Young et al. CMNH –370,992; 1 ♀, Distrito Nacional, Santo Domingo, Parque Paseo de los Indios , 18–26–53N, 69–56–39W, 60 m, 1–10.X.2002, urban park near ocean, hand collected, sample 50449, Walter. A. Zanol, CMNH –370,081; 1 ♀, La Altagracia, 9.7 km NW Punta Cana , 18–35–11N, 68–26–22W, 36 m, 29.V.2004, disturbed dry forest, limestone, hand collected, sample 53144, CMNH –369,967.

Distribution. Jamaica, Dominica ( Evans 1972), St. Croix, St. Kitts, St. Thomas, Puerto Rico ( Wolcott 1948), Cuba ( Genaro 1996), and Hispaniola.

Host. Araneid spiders have been reported as Poecilopompilus hosts ( Evans 1950, 1966).

Remarks. Evans (1972) synonymized P. hookeri with P. mixtus . Snelling and Torres (2004) mentioned P. hookeri as a subspecies of P. flavopictus and apparently missed the earlier paper published by Evans, because this study was neither discussed nor cited by Snelling and Torres (2004). Because the first synonymy ( Evans1972) has precedence, all the synonyms of P. flavopictus hookeri are herein synonymized to P. mixtus . Hunting females of this species dart toward the spider on its web; the spider drops to the ground and is then safely attacked by the wasp ( Snelling & Torres 2004).

Figures

FIGURE 7. A. Aporinellus medianus: habitus, lateral view, ♀. B–C. Drepanaporus antillarum: habitus, lateral view: B. ♂; C. ♀. D–E. Drepanaporus collaris: habitus, lateral view: D. ♀; E. ♂. F–G.Episyron conterminous cressoni: habitus, lateral view: F.♀; G.♂. H. Notocyphus anacaona sp. nov.: habitus, lateral view, ♂. I–J. Psorthaspis hispaniolae: habitus, lateral view: I. ♀; J. ♂. K. Tachypompilus ferrugineus bicolor: habitus, lateral view, ♀. L–M. Poecilopompilus mixtus: habitus, lateral view: L. ♂; M. ♀.