Ammoplanus (Ammoplanus) ceballosi, Giner

Boucïek, Zdenek, 2001, Palaearctic species of Ammoplanus (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae), Journal of Natural History 35, pp. 849-929 : 875-878

A. (Ammoplanus) ceballosi Giner MarõÂ

Ammoplanu s (Ceballosia) ceballosi Giner MarõÂ, 1943b: 292±293, 286, 288. Spain (Teruel): AlbarracõÂn. Holotype female, by monotypy; in MNCN Madrid (examined).

Apart from the female type Giner had in his collection also a male as belonging to ceballosi (as`tipo’; not published) but after examination of the specimen I can con®rm that it does belong to A. insularis Giner , as supposed by Gayubo (1981b: 197) who later placed it de®nitely under the latter name (1991: 144). Marshakov (1976: 679) was not sure how to separate ceballosi from monticola and thought that the two may be synonymous. I have examined both and they proved to be diOEerent.

See the recent description of ceballosi male by BoucÏek and Gayubo (2001); here are a few more characters.

Male. Pterostigma at base with small area paler, in contrast with darker parastigma (widened Sc1 R1 Rs); wing blade with dark, rather dense and extremely short pilosity. Frons with orbital foveae distinct, mostly with engraved reticulation, but in one large male with numerous punctures on convex part. Face below with short vertical groove above inner margin of either torulus (as in female, ®gure 10, but shallower); distance between toruli 1.5 times to twice torular diameter. Clypeal margin in median third truncate, touching border of toruli, clypeal tooth present, horizontal, usually long and narrow but sometimes shortened in smallest specimens. Labrum shorter than distance between toruli, trapezoidal, almost twice as broad as long, anterior margin shallowly emarginate. Mandibles normal, broad at base. Underside of head slightly convex, ¯at in middle, without concavities; oral fossa almost as long as its distance from foramen magnum. Maxillary palpi with fourth segment (before the double last one) fully twice as long as broad. Flagellar segments 2±10 distinctly elongate, each 1.5±1.7 times as long as broad.

Pronotum rather long, dorsally rounded. Mesoscutum minutely reticulate merging with very ®ne striation. Propodeum broad, with rather regular, very dense, raised reticulation, without any median carina (®gure 83), or only with a vestigial one; hind corners rounded and sometimes with sculpture weaker, hence shinier than in middle.

Metasoma ventrally with large though sometimes shallow concavity comprising sternites 4±6 and de®ned on sides by unusual paired features (®gures 80, 81). Sternite 4 posteriorly with broad sublunate depression, on its either side with broad, diagonal, subconcave to ¯at area of pale decumbent pilosity supporte d underneath by chitinous ridge rising caudad. Side of sternite 5 with elbowed hard chitinous branch with apex directed diagonally mesad and bearing at end on outer edge a horizontal thick brush of long hairs directed at right angles outwards. Sternite 6 with apical margin broadly rising to form a transverse plate with sides subangular to sharp angular or even narrowed into spine-like projections (in largest specimens), in middle of sternite with shiny angular projection broadly rising at apex, or forming a little angle at apex. Basal part of sternite 7 subtriangular.

Female. Pterostigma usually dark in distal three-quarters. Frons at upper ends of eyes moderately convex, median groove on face sometimes weak and then indicated only by a narrow strip devoid of punctures. Orbital fovea present. Clypeal tooth usually long and narrow, slightly compressed from sides, not rising. Apex of narrow labrum with two long teeth (®gure 10; rarely teeth shorter). Mandibles with upper apical tooth only slightly shorter than lower one. Underside of head on sides densely longitudinally striate, in middle behind oral fossa concave, concavity posteriorly ending by blunt cross-swelling about half way between fossa and foramen. Occipital carina dorsally in middle obliterate. Propodeum sometimes with weak median carina.

Comments. The female of ceballosi is similar to the variable perrisi and in some aspects also to the Asiatic A. curvidens and to A. bischo ; they are separated in the key above. The short groove-like depression above the inner sides of each torulus seems to hold well in separation of both sexes of ceballosi ; these depressions and the median groove along middle of face are not present in bischo , known only in the male sex. The males of ceballosi are quite distinctive by the secondary sexual features on the sternites. Most examined Iberian females of ceballosi (length over 2.4 mm) belong to a big-headed form in which the head is generally slightly broader than long, but one small female of 2.2 mm length has the head slightly oblong, rather ¯at and the median groove on face is barely indicated.

Material examined. Portugal: Lisbon, 2, 20 and 27 May 1947 (N. F. de Andrade; UZUS) ; 1, 25 July 1947 (N. F. de Andrade; ZMUL); ( Ribatejo ) : Outeiro Alto, nr Ciborro , 4m, 9 June 1998 (Springate; BMNH) . Spain: Viana de Casa, 2m, 27 June 1995 (Gayubo; UZUS); (Madrid) ; El Escorial, 2 land 2m, 7 July 1974 (BoucÏek; BMNH); ( Teruel ) : AlbarracõÂn , holotype female, July 1904 (Dusmet: MNCN); (Murcia) : Santa Almenara, 20 km N of Aquilas, 1m, 26 April 1997 (Gijswijt; ZMA); ( Sevilla ) : 1, (J. Ardois; MZL); ( Malaga ) : Ronda , 1m, 1 July 1974 (BoucÏek; BMNH) . France (HeÂrault): Les Lavagnes, 1m, 1 June 1990 (J.-Y. Rasplus; MNHN); ( Var ) : Ollioules, 1m, 30 April 1955 (J. Barbier; MNHN); ( Alpes Maritimes ) : St DalmasÐTende, 1m, 17 July 1990 (Rasplus; MNHN) . Switzerland (Valais): Martigny , 1m, 10 June 1934 (Beaumont; MZL) ; Follaterres , 1m, 28 June 1956 (Besuchet; MHNG) . Italy (Piemonte, Cuneo): Valdieri , 980 m, 1m, 8 August 1986 (G. Della BeOEa; MCSN) ; S. Benedetto Belbo, 637 m, 1, July 1978 (Pagliano;

MCSN).

Distribution. Portugal, Spain, S. France, Switzerland, N. Italy.

A. crudelis Marshakov 5 kaszabi