Aglaotilla Brothers, 2018

Brothers, Denis J., 2018, Aglaotilla, a new genus of Australian Mutillidae (Hymenoptera) with metallic coloration, Zootaxa 4415 (2), pp. 357-368 : 358-361

Aglaotilla Brothers , gen. nov.

Type species. Ephutomorpha submetallescens Turner, 1916

Diagnosis. FEMALE: BOdY ALMOST ENTIRELY dEEPLY ANd dENSELY PUNcTATE TO RETIcULATE, cOLORATION INTENSELY METALLIc; EREcT bRAcHYPLUMOSE SETAE PRESENT; ANTENNAL ScRObE WITH SINUATE dORSAL cARINA ALMOST REAcHINg EYE; MANdIbLE APIcALLY WEAkLY bIdENTATE; PREMENTUM cONVEX, gLOSSA SHORT ANd bLUNT; METAPLEURAL-PROPOdEAL SUTURE ENTIRELY EVIdENT bUT SOMETIMES ObScUREd ANTEROdORSALLY; T1 SUbPETIOLATE, POSTERIORLY cONSTRIcTEd ANd MUcH NARROWER THAN T2, WITHOUT ANY PALE INTEgUMENTAL bANd POSTERIORLY; T2 WITH APIcAL MEdIAN PATcH Of PALE SETAE TRANSVERSELY OR dIAgONALLY ORIENTEd MESAd, WITH NARROW LATERAL fELT LINE; T6 EVENLY cONVEX, WITH UNdELIMITEd ELONgATE MEdIAL SMOOTH AREA ALMOST cONcEALEd bY PUbEScENcE; S6 WEAkLY EMARgINATE APIcALLY. MALE: BOdY ALMOST ENTIRELY dEEPLY ANd dENSELY PUNcTATE, cOLORATION INTENSELY METALLIc; EREcT bRAcHYPLUMOSE ANd PLUMOSE SETAE PRESENT; ANTENNAL ScRObE WITH WEAk dORSAL TRANSVERSE cARINA ANd TUbERcLE dORSOLATERALLY; cLYPEUS MEdIALLY WEAkLY ELEVATEd WITH VENTRAL MARgIN ALMOST STRAIgHT; MANdIbLE APIcALLY bIdENTATE; PREMENTUM WEAkLY cONVEX, gLOSSA SHORT ANd bLUNT; NOTAULUS dEEP bUT RESTRIcTEd TO POSTERIOR TWO-THIRdS Of MESOScUTUM OR LESS; AXILLA WITH dISTINcT fLATTENEd dORSAL SURfAcE PROdUcEd AS AN AcUTE TOOTH POSTEROLATERALLY ; WINgS ENTIRELY HYALINE ANd ALMOST cOLOURLESS EXcEPT fOR dARkER VEINS; fORE WINg MARgINAL cELL ObTUSE APIcALLY, OfTEN WITH ANgLE OR MINUTE SPUR-LIkE VEIN NEAR POSTEROLATERAL EXTREMITY; T1 SUbPETIOLATE, POSTERIORLY cONSTRIcTEd ANd MUcH NARROWER THAN T2, WITHOUT ANY PALE INTEgUMENTAL bANd POSTERIORLY; bOTH T2 ANd S2 WITH LATERAL fELT LINE; HYPOPYgIUM bIdENTATE MEdIOAPIcALLY; PARAPENIAL LObE WELL dEVELOPEd, SIMPLE ANd OVATE APIcALLY; PENIS VALVE WITH TWO STRONg APIcAL TEETH VENTRALLY.

Description. FEMALE: INTEgUMENT USUALLY dARk, WITH STRONg dENSE PUNcTATION ANd INTENSE JEWEL-LIkE METALLIc cOLORATION. EREcT SETAE INcONSPIcUOUSLY bRAcHYPLUMOSE TO SIMPLE. Head: WEAkLY TRANSVERSE, SLIgHTLY PROdUcEd bEHINd EYES WITH POSTEROLATERAL ANgLE ROUNdEd, ENTIRELY fINELY dEEPLY ANd dENSELY PUNcTATE. OccIPITAL cARINA PRESENT dORSALLY ALTHOUgH SOMETIMES INcONSPIcUOUS. EYE bROAdLY HORIzONTALLY OVATE, STRONgLY PROTRUdINg, SURfAcE SHININg, OMMATIdIA ScARcELY dIScERNIbLE. ANTENNAL ScRObE bROAd, ALMOST HORIzONTAL, WITH SINUATE TRANSVERSE dORSAL cARINA STRONg LATERALLY ANd ALMOST REAcHINg EYE. CLYPEUS WITH RAISEd MEdIAN fLATTISH TRIANgULAR AREA, ANTEROVENTRAL MARgIN WEAkLY cONVEX. MALAR SPAcE EqUAL TO OR gREATER THAN bASAL HEIgHT Of MANdIbLE. HYPOSTOMAL cARINA STRONg, LAMELLATE, EXTENdINg IN WEAk cURVE TO POSTERIOR MANdIbULAR cONdYLE. ORAL ANd MANdIbULAR fOSSAE SEPARATEd bY dEPRESSEd ANTERIORLY UNfUSEd bRIdgE, ORAL fOSSA SHORTER TO ScARcELY LONgER THAN SMOOTH POSTgENAL bRIdgE. ScAPE SIMPLE. PEdIcEL LONgER THAN WIdE, SHORTER THAN F1; F1 LONgER THAN WIdE ANd LONgER THAN F2, bUT RARELY SUbEqUAL IN LENgTH TO F2. MANdIbLE WEAkLY cURVEd, SLENdER, TAPERINg, bIdENTATE APIcALLY, SUbAPIcAL TOOTH ScARcELY dEVELOPEd, NO VENTRAL bASAL TOOTH bUT SMALL TAPEREd NARROW fLANgE. MAXILLARY PALP 6-SEgMENTEd; LAbIAL PALP 4-SEgMENTEd; INTERMEdIATE PALPOMERES STRONgLY fLATTENEd ANd bROAdENEd, dENSELY cOVEREd WITH SHORT APIcALLY bENT EREcT SETAE ON fUNcTIONALLY VENTRAL SURfAcE. PREMENTUM SMOOTH, EVENLY cONVEX IN cROSS-SEcTION; gLOSSA SHORT ANd bLUNT. Mesosoma : LONgER THAN WIdE, OVOId, bROAdENEd TO POINT POSTERIOR TO PROTHORAcIc SPIRAcLE, THEN EVENLY NARROWEd IN A WEAkLY cONVEX ARc, dORSUM cONVEX; PROPOdEUM ROUNdEd POSTERIORLY, dISk ANd dEcLIVITY MERgINg; SURfAcE dENSELY ANd dEEPLY RETIcULATE, cOARSEST ON dORSAL ANd POSTERIOR fAcES, dENSELY PUNcTATE TO RUgOSE LATERALLY. PRONOTAL dORSAL fAcE (EXcLUdINg ANTERIOR cOLLAR) WITH ANTERIOR MARgIN SLIgHTLY cONVEX ANd AbRUPTLY ROUNdEd IN PROfILE, EPAULET A MINUTE TUfT Of SHORT fINE SETAE ON VERY SLIgHT TUbERcLE, HUMERAL ANgLE AbRUPT; POSTEROdORSAL MARgIN NOT EVIdENT. ScUTELLAR ScALE AbSENT. PRONOTAL-MESOPLEURAL SUTURE ENTIRELY dISTINcT. MESOPLEURON ALMOST SMOOTH IN SMALL ANTERIOR AREA; VERTIcAL MESOPLEURAL RIdgE ON VENTRAL HALf TO TWO-THIRdS ONLY, WEAkLY dEVELOPEd TO STRONgLY cARINATE. METAPLEURON SMOOTH ANd SHININg ANTEROdORSALLY. METAPLEURAL-PROPOdEAL SUTURE ENTIRELY EVIdENT bUT SOMETIMES ObLITERATEd ANTERIORLY; ENdOPHRAgMAL PIT LARgE bUT ObScUREd bY ScULPTURE. LATERAL fAcE Of PROPOdEUM dENSELY RETIcULATE. MESOSTERNUM WITH STRONg TRANSVERSE cARINA ANd cONSPIcUOUS MEdIAN PIT ANTERIOR TO MESOcOXA. METASTERNAL PROcESS TRIANgULAR, SLIgHTLY LONgER THAN METAcOXAL HEIgHT. Legs: TIbIAL SPUR fORMULA 1-2-2. FORELEg WITHOUT TARSAL cOMb. MId ANd HINd TIbIAE EAcH WITHOUT ANY dORSAL SPINES TO TWO ROWS Of PROMINENT STOUT SPINES, fEW SPINES IN EAcH ROW, APIcAL SPINES SOMETIMES INSERTEd ON A SHORT PROcESS; EAcH SUbAPIcALLY WITH INcONSPIcUOUS SEcRETORY PORE NEAR bASE Of INNER APIcAL SPUR; APIcAL SPURS NARROW, fINELY TO cOARSELY SERRATE LATERALLY, OUTER SPUR SHORTENEd. METAcOXA WITH STRONg EVEN LONgITUdINAL cARINA ON INNER MARgIN, ENdINg AbRUPTLY NEAR cOXAL APEX. Metasoma: SURfAcE ENTIRELY fINELY ANd dENSELY PUNcTATE, EXcEPT SPARSER ANd cOARSER ON S2 ANd SOMETIMES SPARSE ON T2. T1 SHORTER THAN WIdE, AbOUT 0.5 × WIdTH Of T2, EVENLY EXPANdEd fROM bASE, ANTERIOR fAcE WEAkLY cONVEX ANd dISTINcT fROM SHORT dORSOLATERAL fAcE, cONSTRIcTEd APIcALLY; ANTERIOR AURIcLE PROMINENT, VERTIcALLY LAMELLATE bUT APPARENTLY dENTATE fROM AbOVE. T2 WITH MEdIAN APIcAL PATcH Of PALE SETAE TRANSVERSELY OR dIAgONALLY ORIENTEd MESAd; LATERAL fELT LINE NARROW. T6 EVENLY cONVEX, WITH ELONgATE MEdIAL SMOOTH AREA UNdEfINEd LATERALLY ANd ALMOST cONcEALEd bY PUbEScENcE. S2 STRONgLY cONVEX ANTEROMEdIALLY, POSTERIORLY STRAIgHT TO cONcAVE IN PROfILE, SOMETIMES WITH POORLY dELIMITEd TRANSVERSE dEPRESSION NOT fORMINg A dISTINcT gROOVE, WITHOUT fELT LINE bUT RARELY WITH INdISTINcT LATERAL fELT LINE. S6 WITH APEX WEAkLY EMARgINATE.

MALE: INTEgUMENT gENERALLY dARk WITH STRONg dENSE PUNcTATION ANd INTENSE JEWEL-LIkE METALLIc cOLORATION. EREcT SETAE bRAcHYPLUMOSE, PLUMOSE ON cLYPEUS ANd VENTRALLY ON ScAPE AT LEAST. Head: BROAdLY TRANSVERSE, AbOUT AS WIdE AS MESOSOMA , ENTIRELY fINELY dEEPLY ANd dENSELY PUNcTATE. OccIPITAL cARINA dISTINcT dORSALLY. VERTEX cONVEX. EYE TRANSVERSELY bROAdLY OVATE, STRONgLY PROTRUdINg, SURfAcE SHININg, OMMATIdIA ScARcELY dIScERNIbLE. OcELLI SMALL TO MOdERATE. ANTENNAL TUbERcLES SLIgHTLY SEPARATEd bASALLY. ANTENNAL ScRObE dEEP, EXTENdINg AbOUT HALf dISTANcE TO EYE MARgIN WITH A WEAk cURVEd TRANSVERSE RIdgE dORSALLY ANd A WEAk TUbERcLE dORSOLATERALLY. CLYPEUS dEPRESSEd dORSOLATERAL TO WEAkLY ELEVATEd MEdIAN AREA, ANTERIOR/VENTRAL MARgIN VERY SLIgHTLY cONVEX TO STRAIgHTISH. MALAR SPAcE AbOUT AS LONg AS bASAL HEIgHT Of MANdIbLE . GENAL cARINA AbSENT TO WELL dEVELOPEd ANd LONg. HYPOSTOMAL cARINA STRONg, LAMELLATE ANTEROVENTRALLY, EXTENdINg IN A cURVE OR ALMOST STRAIgHT TO POSTERIOR MANdIbULAR cONdYLE. ORAL ANd MANdIbULAR fOSSAE SEPARATEd bY dEPRESSEd ANTERIORLY UNfUSEd bRIdgE, ORAL fOSSA LONgER THAN SMOOTHISH POSTgENAL bRIdgE. ScAPE WITH SINgLE WEAk LONgITUdINAL cARINA ANTEROVENTRALLY, A WEAkER LONgITUdINAL RIdgE SOMETIMES EVIdENT dORSAL TO THIS. PEdIcEL SLIgHTLY WIdER THAN LONg, SHORTER THAN F1, WHIcH SHORTER THAN F2. MANdIbLE IN dORSAL/ANTERIOR VIEW STRONgLY ANd EVENLY cURVEd TO ANgULATE, STRONgLY TAPERINg APIcALLY, WITH MOdERATE LONgITUdINAL cARINA dORSALLY, bIdENTATE APIcALLY, SUbAPIcAL TOOTH WELL TO ScARcELY dEVELOPEd, VENTRALLY WITH ObTUSELY LAMELLATE bASAL TOOTH (SOMETIMES ScARcELY dEVELOPEd). MAXILLARY PALP 6-SEgMENTEd; LAbIAL PALP 4-SEgMENTEd; INTERMEdIATE PALPOMERES STRONgLY fLATTENEd ANd bROAdENEd, dENSELY cOVEREd WITH SHORT APIcALLY bENT EREcT SETAE ON fUNcTIONALLY VENTRAL SURfAcE. PREMENTUM cONVEX IN cROSS-SEcTION; gLOSSA SHORT ANd bLUNT. Mesosoma : SURfAcE dEEPLY ANd dENSELY PUNcTATE EXcEPT SMOOTH ON dORSAL REgION Of METAPLEURON ANd dENSELY RETIcULATE ON PROPOdEUM. PRONOTAL dORSAL fAcE (EXcLUdINg ANTERIOR cOLLAR) WITH ANTERIOR MARgIN WEAkLY cONVEX TO SLIgHTLY cONcAVE, ROUNdEd IN PROfILE, EPAULET A MINUTE OR LINEAR TUfT OR A bROAd PATcH Of fINE SHORT SETAE, HUMERAL ANgLE bLUNT TO PROMINENT; POSTEROdORSAL MARgIN bROAdLY V-SHAPEd. TEgULA VERY bROAdLY OVATE WITH POSTERIOR MARgIN TRUNcATE TO cONcAVE, POSTERIORLY NOT OR JUST REAcHINg LEVEL Of TRANS-ScUTAL ARTIcULATION, STRONgLY cONVEX bUT VERY WEAkLY REcURVEd POSTEROMESALLY, ALMOST ENTIRELY SMOOTH ANd gLAbROUS TO SPARSELY ANd SHALLOWLY PUNcTATE OR WITH A fEW TRANSVERSE WEAk RUgAE. MESOScUTUM WITH NOTAULUS dEEP bUT RESTRIcTEd TO POSTERIOR TWO-THIRdS Of ScUTUM OR LESS, PARAPSIdAL LINE fORMINg A dISTINcT RIdgE OR fINE gROOVE ON POSTERIOR HALf Of ScUTUM, POSTEROLATERAL cORNER fORMINg A SLIgHT fLATTISH LObE dIScONTINUOUS WITH AXILLA. ScUTELLUM cONVEX; AXILLA POSTEROLATERALLY dEEPLY cONcAVE, dORSAL HORIzONTAL SURfAcE dISTINcT ANd PROdUcEd POSTEROLATERALLY AS A STRONg AcUTE TOOTH. METANOTUM SIMPLE , TRANSVERSE, dORSELLUM POORLY TO WELL dELIMITEd LATERALLY. PROPOdEUM EVENLY cONVEX bUT dORSAL ANd LATERAL fAcES dISTINcT, dISk ANd dEcLIVITY MERgINg IN LATERAL VIEW. METASTERNAL PROcESS bROAdLY TRIdENTATE, APEX AcUTE TO ObTUSE, SLIgHTLY LONgER THAN METAcOXAL HEIgHT. Wings : FORE WINg WITH MOdERATE ELONgATE ScLEROTIzEd PTEROSTIgMA; MARgINAL cELL fAIRLY SHORT, bROAdLY ObTUSE APIcALLY, OfTEN WITH ANgLE OR dISTINcT SPURLIkE VEIN POSTEROAPIcALLY; THREE cLOSEd SUbMARgINAL cELLS, THIRd SOMETIMES PARTIALLY OPEN. Legs: TIbIAL SPUR fORMULA 1-2-2. MId ANd HINd TIbIAE WITHOUT dORSAL SPINES, APIcAL SPINES NOT INSERTEd ON ANY PROcESSES; APIcAL SPURS fLATTISH dORSALLY, MARgINS MIcROSERRATE, dENSELY cLOTHEd WITH MIcROSETAE. METAcOXA WITH dISTINcT EVEN LONgITUdINAL cARINA ON bASAL TWO-THIRdS Of INNER MARgIN; METATIbIA WITH MINUTE SUbAPIcAL SEcRETORY PORE NEAR bASE Of INNER SPUR. Metasoma: PUNcTATION ENTIRELY VERY dENSE ANd fINE EXcEPT MUcH cOARSER ANd LESS dENSE ON S2. T1 SHORTER THAN WIdE, AbOUT 0.5 × WIdTH Of T2 , EVENLY EXPANdEd fROM bASE, ANTERIOR fAcE fLATTENEd ANd dISTINcT fROM SHORT POSTEROdORSAL fAcE, cONSTRIcTEd APIcALLY; ANTERIOR AURIcLE PROMINENT, VERTIcALLY LAMELLATE bUT APPARENTLY dENTATE fROM AbOVE. T2 WITH LATERAL fELT LINE NARROW ANd MOdERATE TO LONg. S1 WITH WEAk LONgITUdINAL cARINA. S2 IN LATERAL VIEW STRONgLY cONVEX ANTEROMESALLY; LATERAL fELT LINE NARROW ANd fAIRLY SHORT. S7 cONcEALEd OR ScARcELY EXPOSEd APIcALLY. HYPOPYgIUM SLIgHTLY WIdER THAN LONg, SURfAcE fLAT TO WEAkLY cONcAVE ANd LATERALLY bOUNdEd bY A WEAk LONgITUdINAL RIdgE, POSTERIOR MARgIN WITH PROMINENT AcUTE TOOTH ON EAcH SIdE NEAR MIdLINE. Genitalia : PARAMERE ELONgATE , ALMOST cYLINdRIcAL TO LATERALLY fLATTENEd OR TRIANgULAR IN cROSS-SEcTION, NARROWLY ROUNdEd TO AcUTE APEX WEAkLY cURVEd dORSAd OR ALMOST STRAIgHT. PARAPENIAL LObE WELL dEVELOPEd AS A SIMPLE OVATE LObE. CUSPIS cONSTRIcTEd NEAR bASE, PARAcUSPIS A SHORT LObE , VENTRAL LObE SHORT ANd TRIANgULAR TO LONg ANd cYLINdRIcAL; dIgITUS ELONgATEd ANd WEAkLY LATERALLY fLATTENEd, PROMINENT. PENIS VALVE APIcOLATERALLY WITH NUMEROUS MINUTE SETAE ANd SEVERAL STRONg LONg SETAE APIcOdORSALLY, APIcALLY TRUNcATE WITH A STRONg LONg AcUTE TOOTH, A SEcONd TOOTH APIcOLATERALLY cONTINUOUS WITH cARINA bOUNdINg LATERAL POckET.

Species included. THE fOLLOWINg SPEcIES ARE TRANSfERREd TO Aglaotilla, bASEd ON SPEcIMENS AUTHORITATIVELY IdENTIfIEd bY cOMPARISON WITH THE RELEVANT TYPES OR ON PHOTOgRAPHS Of THE TYPES: A. aeruginosa ( SMITH, 1879), comb. nov. ♂ (fROM Mutilla ); A. australis ( ANdRé, 1898) , comb. nov. ♀ (fROM Mutilla ); A. discolor BROTHERS , nom. nov. ♀ (= Ephutomorpha aeneidorsis TURNER, 1916 , A PRIMARY JUNIOR HOMONYM Of Ephutomorpha lauta VAR. aeneidorsis ANdRé, 1903 , dEEMEd AN AVAILAbLE SUbSPEcIfIc NAME UNdER COdE ARTIcLE 45.6.4; ICZN 1999); A. cuprea ( ANdRé, 1901) , comb. nov., stat. nov. ♂ (fROM Mutilla , AS VAR. Of semicuprea ) (EXTREMELY SIMILAR TO THE MALE Of A. submetallescens , ANd POTENTIALLY SYNONYMOUS, bUT dIffERS IN HAVINg T3 ALMOST ENTIRELY bLAck PUbEScENT; I HAVE bEEN UNAbLE TO cOMPARE THE HOLOTYPE dIREcTLY WITH THE SPEcIMENS ASSOcIATEd WITH THE fEMALES Of A. submetallescens , SO PREfER TO RETAIN THEIR SPEcIfIc dISTINcTION); A. dilecta ( TURNER, 1916) , comb. nov. ♀ (fROM Ephutomorpha ); A. ignita ( SMITH, 1855) , comb. nov. ♀ (fROM Mutilla ); A. metallica ( SMITH, 1855) , comb. nov. ♀ (fROM Mutilla ); A. mira ( ANdRé, 1895) , comb. nov. ♂ (fROM Mutilla ( Sphaerophthalma [SIc.])); A. nigroaenea ( SMITH, 1855) , comb. nov. ♀ (fROM Mutilla ); A. picturata ( TURNER, 1914) , comb. nov. ♀ (fROM Ephutomorpha ); A. semicuprea ( ANdRé, 1898) , comb. nov. ♂ (fROM Mutilla ); A. submetallescens ( TURNER, 1916) , comb. nov. ♀ (fROM Ephutomorpha ); A. viridatis ( SMITH, 1855) , comb. nov. ♂ (fROM Mutilla ); A. viridiaurea ( ANdRé, 1895) , comb. nov. ♂ (fROM Mutilla ( Sphaerophthalma [SIc.])). I HAVE NOT SEEN THE TYPES Of OTHER POTENTIAL cONgENERS, OR bEEN AbLE TO RE-EXAMINE SOME OTHERS cRITIcALLY, SO THE AbOVE LIST Of dEScRIbEd SPEcIES IS ALMOST cERTAINLY INcOMPLETE. IN AddITION, I HAVE SEEN SPEcIMENS Of SEVERAL UNdEScRIbEd SPEcIES. IT IS PREMATURE TO ATTEMPT TO PROVIdE A kEY TO THE SPEcIES AT THIS STAgE, SINcE THE NEcESSARY REVISIONARY WORk HAS NOT bEEN dONE. THE gENUS IS PLAcEd IN THE SUbfAMILY SPHAEROPTHALMINAE ANd THE TRIbE DASYMUTILLINI BROTHERS & LELEJ, 2017.

Distribution. AUSTRALIA.

Etymology. LATINISEd fROM GREEk “AgLAOS” = SPLENdId, bRIgHT, bEAUTIfUL, WITH REfERENcE TO THE STRIkINg METALLIc cOLORATION; THE SUffIX - tilla, IS A cOMMON ONE IN MUTILLIdAE , dERIVEd fROM Mutilla .

Remarks. BOTH SEXES Of THIS gENUS ARE PARTIcULARLY cHARAcTERISTIc ANd EASY TO REcOgNISE, THE bOdY bEINg ALMOST ENTIRELY dENSELY ANd dEEPLY PUNcTATE-RETIcULATE, ITS cOLORATION STRONgLY METALLIc ANd JEWEL-LIkE ( MESOSOMA OR METASOMA VERY RARELY NON-METALLIc) ANd THE fIRST METASOMAL TERgUM SHORT bUT SUbPETIOLATE ANd POSTERIORLY cONSTRIcTEd WITHOUT ANY PALE INTEgUMENTAL APIcAL bANd. MALES AddITIONALLY HAVE THE NOTAULUS dEEP, ANd THE WINgS ENTIRELY HYALINE ANd ESSENTIALLY cOLOURLESS EXcEPT fOR THE VEINS. FEMALES ARE MOST SIMILAR TO Ephutomorpha ANdRé, 1902 , sensu stricto (SEE BROTHERS 2012, fOR WHIcH MALES ARE UNkNOWN), INcLUdINg IN HAVINg THE POSTERO-MEdIAL PALE SETAE ON T2 OfTEN TRANSVERSELY ORIENTEd, ANd THE PYgIdIUM EVENLY cONVEX WITH AN UNdELIMITEd NARROW SMOOTH AREA ALMOST cONcEALEd bY PUbEScENcE, bUT AddITIONALLY dIffER IN HAVINg S2 WITHOUT A WELL dEfINEd TRANSVERSE gROOVE (ALTHOUgH SOMETIMES WITH AN IRREgULAR TRANSVERSE dEPRESSION). FEMALES SEEM TO fALL INTO TWO fAIRLY dISTINcT gROUPS, A SMALLER gROUP WITH THE LEgS LONg ANd SLENdER ANd NO SUbAPIcAL SPINES ON THE MESO- ANd METATIbIAE, ANd A MORE SPEcIOSE gROUP WITH THE LEgS RELATIVELY SHORTER ANd STOUTER ANd A fEW STRONg dORSAL SUbAPIcAL SPINES ON THE MESO- ANd METATIbIAE; A VERY fEW SPEcIES IN THE LATTER gROUP HAVE A SMALL LATERAL fELT LINE ON S2 IN AddITION TO THAT ON T2, AN UNUSUAL SITUATION. MALES ALSO SEEM TO cOMPRISE TWO gROUPS, dIffERINg IN THE fORM Of THE TEgULA, WHETHER APIcALLY EVENLY cONVEX TO TRUNcATE, OR dISTINcTLY EMARgINATE, bUT SEX ASSOcIATIONS ARE TOO fEW TO EVALUATE WHETHER THE gROUPINgS cORRESPONd WITH THOSE Of THE fEMALES. IN AddITION, IN THE MALES THE fORMS Of THE PARAMERES ANd cUSPIdES VARY MARkEdLY, bUT INdEPENdENTLY Of THE TEgULAE.

ALTHOUgH cOLOUR PATTERNS IN bOTH SEXES cAN dIffER STRIkINgLY bETWEEN SPEcIES, THESE cANNOT bE RELIEd UPON AS dEfINITIVE cHARAcTERISTIcS; SPEcIMENS WITH IdENTIcAL cOLORATION, EVEN VERY UNcOMMON PATTERNS SUcH AS MALES WITH dARk PURPLE-bLUE MESOSOMA ANd bRIgHT gOLdEN METASOMA, MAY cLEARLY dIffER MORPHOLOgIcALLY. CONSEqUENTLY, AccURATE IdENTIfIcATION gENERALLY REqUIRES cOMPARISON WITH TYPE SPEcIMENS. (FOR EXAMPLE, TWO Of THE NEW SPEcIES dEScRIbEd IN AN ASSOcIATEd PAPER bY TAYLOR et al. (IN PREP.) WERE INITIALLY IdENTIfIEd AS kNOWN ONES fROM THEIR ORIgINAL dEScRIPTIONS ANd kEYS, bUT cOMPARISON WITH PHOTOgRAPHS Of THE TYPES Of THE SUPPOSEd SPEcIES SHOWEd THAT THOSE IdENTIfIcATIONS WERE ALMOST cERTAINLY INcORREcT.)

THE AbSENcE Of fORE-TARSAL RAkES ANd dEfINEd PYgIdIAL PLATES IN THE fEMALES SUggESTS THAT THEIR HOSTS LIVE ENTIRELY AbOVE gROUNd, ANd dO NOT bURROW IN THE SOIL, AS HAS bEEN fOUNd fOR SOME OTHER MUTILLIdS WITH THOSE cHARAcTERISTIcS (e.g., PITTS & MANLEY 2004, WILLIAMS et al. 2011, BARTHOLOMAY et al. 2015; BAYLISS & BROTHERS 2001 PROVIdEd bIOLOgIcAL INfORMATION fOR SPEcIES Of Dolichomutilla ASHMEAd, 1899, WHIcH ALSO LAck fORE-TARSAL RAkES ANd PYgIdIAL PLATES ANd UTILIzE AS HOSTS VARIOUS WASP SPEcIES WHIcH MAkE MUd NESTS). THE AVAILAbLE HOST REcORdS fOR SPEcIES Of Aglaotilla ( BROTHERS 1984 ANd bELOW; TAYLOR et al. IN PREP.) ALL INVOLVE AcULEATE HYMENOPTERA WHIcH NEST AbOVE THE gROUNd, EITHER bUILdINg MUd NESTS OR UTILIzINg HOLLOW STEMS. DETAILEd HOST REcORdS ANd A SURVEY Of kNOWN HOSTS Of AUSTRALIAN MUTILLIdAE WILL bE PROVIdEd IN TAYLOR et al. (IN PREP.).