Pristaulacus townesi SMITH, 2008

Smith, David R., 2008, Aulacidae of the southwestern United States, Mexico, and Central America (Hymenoptera), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 58 (2), pp. 267-355 : 333-334

Pristaulacus townesi SMITH , new species

( Figs 140-143 )

Diagnosis:

Entirely black with metasoma red and apex black. Forewing with black spot below stigma and black spot at apex. Head shining. Mesonotum dull, with dense punctures, some fine transverse carinae. Hind coxa dull, with cross striations. Anterior margin of pronotum without anteriorly projecting tooth.

Female: Unknown.

Male:

Length, 14.0 mm; forewing length, 9.5 mm. Color: Black; metasoma with apical 2/3 of first segment and segments 2 and 3 orange. Wings hyaline; forewing with black spot under stigma and black spot at apex; veins and stigma black. Head: Antennal length 2.2X head width. Lower interocular distance longer, 1.1X, eye height; malar space about 0.3X eye height ( Fig. 140 ). From above, head behind eyes sharply roundly narrowing, length behind eyes about 0.8X eye length ( Fig. 141 ). Occipital carina narrow, less than a fifth diameter of an ocellus. Shining, rather evenly covered with white pubescence; vertex and gena with widely scattered punctures, separated by flat interspaces 2X or more puncture diameters; frons densely punctate with contiguous punctures; punctures of interantennal area and clypeus not as dense or close together as those on frons ( Figs 140, 141 ). Mesosoma: Pronotum without anteriorly projecting tooth. Propleuron shining, with fine punctures. Mesonotum shining, almost evenly reticulate; pleura and propodeum reticulate with reticulations coarser on anteroventral portion of pronotum, and very fine on upper portion of metapleuron ( Figs 142, 143 ). Hind coxa about 3.2X longer than broad; densely punctate, with transverse carinae. Tarsal claws with 5 teeth, lower tooth smallest and indistinct basal lobe. Forewing with cells 1M and 1Rs contiguous not separated by vein Rs+M (as in Fig. 97 ). Hind wing with veins distinct, cells Cu and R1+Rs separated by vein M (as in Fig. 104 ). Metasoma: Smooth, shining, with fine white pubescence on segments 3 to apex.

Holotype: Male, labeled “ San Pedro Iturbide, 32+ Km W. Linares, X.6.62, N.L., Mex., H. & M. Townes ” ( AEI).

Etymology: Named for the late HENRY K. TOWNES, who revised the Nearctic species of Aulacidae .

Remarks:

The color is similar to P. arizonicus and P. rufitarsus , both known from females. Pristaulacus townesi differs by the hyaline forewing with black below the stigma and at the apex, shining head, and narrow occipital carina.

Figures

Figs 140-143:Pristaulacustownesi.140Head,front.141Head,dorsal.142Mesosoma,lateral.143 Mesosoma, dorsal.

Figs 93-97: Pristaulacus anteala. 93 Head, front. 94 Head, dorsal. 95 Mesosoma, lateral. 96 Mesosoma, dorsal. 97 Wings.

Figs 102-105: Pristaulacus nigricoxae. 102 Head, front. 103 Head, dorsal. 104 Mesosoma, lateral. 105 Mesosoma, dorsal.