Sphecodes engeli Astafurova & Proshchalykin sp. nov. Figures 53, 54-59

Type material.

Holotype: ♀, Laos, Hua Phan Prov., Ban Saleui, Phou Pan Mts., 20°13'30"N, 103°59'26"E, 1350-1900 m, 08.V.2012, C. Holzschuh & locals (OLBL), Fig. 59. Paratypes: 1 ♀, the same label as for holotype, but 27-28.IV.2011 (OLBL); Vietnam: 1 ♀, prov. Hoa Binh, Pa Co, 27-28.IV.2002, S. Belokobylskij (ZISP).

Diagnosis.

As with members of the Palaearctic hyalinatus species group (Astafurova and Proshchalykin 2017a), the new species has a pronotum rounded between the dorsal and lateral surfaces, but it differs in the strongly transverse head (1.3 times as wide as long) with a straight upper margin as seen in frontal view (versus head 1.2-1.25 times as wide as long with rounded vertex as seen in frontal view in species of the hyalinatus group).

Description.

Wings with weak brownish darkening, veins and stigma brown; hind wing with angle between basal (M) and cubital (Cu) veins ca. 90°, costal margin with six hamuli. Preoccipital carina absent. Female. (holotype. Fig. 53). Total body length 7.5-8.5 mm, fore wing 6.5-7.0 mm. Head black (Fig. 55); strongly transverse, ca. 1.3 times as wide as long; vertex weakly elevated as seen in frontalview, distance from top of head to upper margin of a lateral ocellus approximately a half lateral ocellar diameter as seen in frontal view and ca. 2 diameters as seen in dorsal view; mandible bidentate; labrum trapezoidal, 0.7 times as long as basal width; gena wide, 1.2 times as wide as eye; clypeus medially slightly emarginated; supraclypeal area weakly bulging; clypeus and supraclypeal area with punctures (15-25 μm) separated by at most a puncture diameter; paraocular area and frons with confluent punctures, ocello-ocular area with punctures separated by 1-3 puncture diameters (Fig. 54), vertex behind ocelli and gena strigose; face below antennal sockets with sparse plumose setae, gena with sparse thin setae. Mesosoma black (Fig. 56); pronotum rounded between the dorsal and lateral surfaces; mesoscutum finely punctate (15-25 μm / 1-4); mesoscutellum irregularly punctate, medially sparsely; metafemur enlarged in proximal half, maximum width 0.4 times its length; hypoepimeral area, mesepisternum, propodeal triangle (metapostnotum) and lateral parts of propodeum reticulate rugose (Figs 56, 57). Mesosoma (Fig. 58) sparsely punctate, T1 impunctate or with a few fine punctures; remaining terga basally with sparse and fine punctures (5-10 μm); marginal zones impunctate; pygidial plate dull, pointed apically, narrow, 0.6-0.7 times as wide as metabasitarsus; T1-T4 red, remaining terga red or red-brownish; sterna tessellate, with tiny and sparse shallow setae pores on S2 and coarse and dense on S3-S5.

Male unknown.

Etymology.

This species is dedicated to our colleague Dr. Michael S. Engel (University of Kansas, USA), in recognition of his significant contributions to systematic entomology.

Distribution.

Laos, Vietnam.