Aulacus flavus Smith, 2016

Smith, David R., 2016, Two unusual new species of Aulacus Jurine (Hymenoptera, Aulacidae) from South America, Journal of Hymenoptera Research 53, pp. 163-170 : 165-167

Aulacus flavus Smith sp. n. Figs 4-9

Description.

Female (holotype). Length, 9.5 mm; forewing 7.0 mm; ovipositor 4.5 mm. Antenna black; scape yellow. Head yellow with frons and ocellar area and vertex black; lower inner orbits, area below antennae, genae and upper inner orbits with spot extending behind each lateral ocellus yellow. Mesosoma with propleuron black; pronotum yellow, pleurae black with orange spot on lower part of mesepisternum, and mesoscutum, metanotum, and propodeum black. Fore and midlegs orange; apical 1 or 2 tarsomeres dark; hind leg black with extreme apex of coxae, both trochanteral segments, extreme apex of femur and extreme base of tibia and tarsus except for apical tarsomere black. Metasoma orange with tergum 1 black dorsally interrupted by transverse orange band at center, terga 2 to apex each with central black spot, appearing as a longitudinal black stripe; sheath black. Wings hyaline with apex black; veins and stigma black. Head (Figs 5-7 ): Shiny; clypeus and supraclypeal area rugose, with scattered pits separated by flat shiny interspaces several times diameter of an ocellus; pits densest on frons. Antennal length about 3.0 × head width; first antennomere longer than broad, second antennomere about as long as broad, third and fourth antennomeres subequal in length. Lower interocular distance subequal to eye height. Malar space about 0.25 × eye length. Head behind eyes from above slightly convex behind eyes; in lateral view, lower gena markedly produced with greatest width of gena more than half width of eye. Mesosoma (Figs 4 , 8 , 9 ): Shiny with fine white hairs; longs hairs laterally and ventrally on propleuron. Propleuron with dorsolateral longitudinal carina; area above carina slightly dulled, microsculptured; area below carina punctured with flat interspaces equal to or slightly more than puncture diameters. Pronotum shiny with widely scattered punctures; vertical scrobiculate line near posterior margin; front and lower margins flangelike. Mesoscutum shiny, with pair of tubercles on anterior margin, area anterior to tubercles punctate, posterior to tubercles with about 10 strong widely spaced transverse carinae; notauli meeting transscutal articulation at separate points; axilla with one or two transverse carinae, each with small tubercle; mesoscutellm with 3 or 4 transverse carinae, with small tubercle near posterior margin, area lateral to mesoscutellum rugulose. Meso- and metapleurae finely punctate, with small shiny impunctate area on upper halves. Propodeum coarsely rugulose. Tarsal claws simple. Hind coxa about 2.2 × longer than broad, shiny, punctate, punctures denser and somewhat more rugulose on sides and venter; without projecting ventral lobe; ovipositor guide a very shallow, almost indiscernible oblique groove near apex on inner surface. Hind tarsus about 1.2 × length of hind tibia; hind basitarsus subequal in length to remaining tarsomeres combined. Forewing with 2-Rs+M long, longer than first discal cell. Hind wing with 3 hamuli. Metasoma: Shiny with short, fine white hairs, densest on apical 3 segments. Ovipositor about 0.7 length of forewing

Male. Length, 8.5 mm. Color and structure similar to female.

Type material.

Holotype female, "Brasilien, Rondon [ Paraná], 24°38'B, 54°07'L, 500 m, May 1953, Fritz Plaumann" with red holotype label (AEI). Paratypes: BRAZIL: Same data as for holotype (3 ♀, 2 ♂), same data except for dates, X.4.1952 (1 ♂), X.12.1952 (1 ♀), X.16.1952 (1 ♂), X.22.1952 (1 ♂), X.23.1952 (1 ♂), X.26.1952 (1 ♀), X.30.1952 (1 ♀), X.31.1952 (1 ♀), XI.6.1952 (1 ♂), XI.8. 1952 (1 ♀), XI.12.1952 (1 ♂), XI.14.1952 (1 ♂), XI.15.1962 (1 ♂), XI.16.1952 (1 ♂), XI.20.1952 (2 ♂), XI.23.1952 (1 ♂), XI.25.1952 (2 ♂, 1 USNM), XI.28.1952 (1 ♂), XI.29.1952 (1 ♂), XII.1.1952 (1 ♂), XII.4.1952 (1 ♂), XII.6.1952 (1 ♂), XII.7.1952 (1 ♂), XII.10.1952 (1 ♂), I.2.1953 (1 ♂), III.1953 (1 ♀), III.29.1953 (1 ♀), IV.1953 (3 ♀, 1 USNM), IV.13.1953 (1 ♀), IV.14.1953 (1 ♀), V.1953, XI.13.1953 (1 ♀), X.12.1962 (♀ CNC), X.16.1062 (1 ♀ CNC), X.26.1962 (1 ♀ CNC); Rio Caraguatá [Mato Grosso do Sul], 1°48'B, 52°27'L, 400 m, XI.4.1953, Fritz Plaumann (1 ♀), same except dates, III.1953 (1 ♀); III.30.1953 (1♀, 1♂), IV.1953 (1 ♀), XI.21.1953 (1 ♀), XI.22.1953 (1 ♂), XI.24.1953 (1 ♂), XI.25.1953 (1 ♀), XI.30.1953 (1 ♂); Nova Teutonia, Santa Catarina, II.9.1940, Fritz Plaumann, same except dates, I.#.1941 (2 ♀), I.17.1941 (1 ♀), XII.9.1942 (1 ♀ MCZ), X.27.1952 (1 ♀), XI.1.1952 (1 ♀), VI.1953 (1 ♀); Encruzilhada, Bahia, XI.'74, 980 m, M. Alvarenga (1 ♀); Itapetinca, Bahia, 800 m, XI.'69, F. M. Oliveira (1 ♀). Deposited at AEI, except where noted.

Distribution.

Brazil: Bahia, Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraná, Santa Catarina. Apparently most common in southern Brazil.

Etymology.

From Latin meaning yellow, with reference to the entirely yellow pronotum.

Remarks.

There are slight variations in color, especially the amount of orange on the mesonotum and size of black marks on the metasoma. The entirely yellow pronotum seems to be constant in the specimens examined. Size is relatively stable, the length varying only by ± 1.0 mm; proportions of the ovipositor and forewing remain the same regardless of length.

Figures

Figures 4 - 9. Aulacus flavus. 4 Lateral (scale bar = 1.0 mm) 5 Head, lateral 6 Head, dorsal 7 Head, front 8 Mesosoma dorsal 9 Mesosoma, lateral.