Ammoplanellus (Ammoplanellus) nanus, BoucIek and Gayubo

Boucïek, Zdenek, 2001, Palaearctic species of Ammoplanus (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae), Journal of Natural History 35, pp. 849-929 : 919

A. (Ammoplanellus) nanus BoucÏek and Gayubo

Ammoplanu s (Ammoplanellus) nanus BoucÏek and Gayubo, 2001: 57 ±58. Spain (Granada): La Herradura. Holotype male, by original designation; in BMNH (examined).

Addition to the original description

Male. Head see ®gure 132; face mask white, as well as propotal lobes, whilst mandibles, labrum, antennal scapes and underside of ¯agellum are very pale yellow; upper side of ¯agellum brown; legs very pale yellow to white, including trochanters, fore tibia, all tarsi and both ends of mid tibia and base of hind tibia, but except for dark coxae, femora and more or less mid and hind tibiae. Venation brownish along anterior margin of fore wing, pterostigma bicolorous, hyaline in proximal 60%. Fore wing venation see ®gure 64.

Head, mesoscutum and scutellum minutely engraved-reticulate detectable even in relatively shiny areas on frons, mesoscutum and scutellum. Frons convex, without conspicuous median groove and without transverse swelling. Toruli placed very slightly above line through lower ends of eyes. For aedeagus see ®gure 130, tip of gonostyle ®gure 53.

Comment. For a long time it seemed that the diOEerence between nanus and shestakovi was due only to some geographical variation (see distribution of the two) and the question was settled only after a long series of shestakovi from Central Asia was available for examination, thanks to Dr Kazenas. The diOEerence is now summed up in the key above.

Note. The South African A. (Ammoplanus) mandibularis ( Cameron, 1903) is in male similar to the present species, but it diOEers from nanus mainly by the presence of a strong occipital carina which is well visible even dorsally, by the more angular apex of the marginal cell which is anteriorly more than half as long (0.54) than its longest diameter, and by the much more quadrangular head of the female.

Material examined. 59 land 16m from Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Algeria and? Thailand (provenence questionable). For details see BoucÏek and Gayubo (2000).