Zatypota Förster, 1869

Khalaim, Andrey I., Ruíz-Cancino, Enrique & Coronado-Blanco, Juana María, 2024, Darwin wasps of the subfamily Pimplinae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) of Mexico: Polysphincta genus-group, Zootaxa 5458 (2), pp. 151-196 : 187

Genus Zatypota Förster, 1869

Zatypota Förster 1869: 166 . Type species: Ichneumon percontatorius Müller, 1776 , by subsequent designation ( Viereck 1914: 156).

Synonyms:

Polysphinctopsis Habermehl, 1917 ( Uchida 1941: 122; Townes 1944: 51).

Lycorinopsis Haupt, 1954 ( Townes & Townes 1960: 262).

References. Cushman 1920: 29 [subgenus of Polysphincta ; review of 10 species (3 described as new) from North America; key]. Townes & Townes 1960: 262 [description; review of 13 Nearctic species]. Townes & Townes 1966: 20 [catalogue; 2 species in Neotropical region; 1 species in Mexico]. Townes 1969: 109 [diagnosis]. Carlson 1979: 338 [catalogue; 13 species in North America]. Gauld 1991: 364 [description; review of 7 species (6 described as new) from Costa Rica; key]. Gauld et al. 1998: 123 [9 species in Costa Rica (2 described as new); key]. Gauld et al. 2002: 47 [3 species (1 described as new) in El Salvador; key]. Ruíz-Cancino et al. 2002: 645 [checklist; 3 species in Mexico]. Zwakhals 2006: 36 [key to 6 European species]. Fernández-Triana 2007: 212 [1 new species from Cuba]. Fritzén 2010 [7 species (1 described as new) in Europe; biology]. Matsumoto & Takasuka 2010 [review of 12 species (9 described as new) from Japan; key; host, biology].

Zatypota is a cosmopolitan genus with about 50 species. Twelve species occur in the Nearctic region, ten species in Central America, and one species was recently described from Cuba. Four species of Zatypota were found to occur in Mexico.

Zatypota patellata Townes was recorded from Mexico on base of one poorly preserved female ( Ruíz-Cancino et al. 2002: 645; Hernández-Aguilar et al. 2005: 470). This specimen has a distinct hairless groove on inner side of the hind tibia, and undoubtedly is a member of the genus Flacopimpla (see Remarks under F. kasparyani ). Thus, Z. patellata is excluded from the Mexican fauna.

Species of Zatypota are koinobiont ectoparasitoids of adult spiders, mainly the family Theridiidae . The larva of the parasitoid induces its host spider to build a modified web providing apparent protection and support of the wasp’s cocoon ( Eberhard 2010). However, Kloss et al. (2024) observed Z. alborhombarta and its host spider Cryptachaea migrans and found that modified webs built by parasitized spiders in the host web did not improve the survival of parasitoid pupae, and they suggested that the effects of altered web designs may depend on specific host-created web features and environmental factors like predation pressure ( Kloss et al. 2024).

Zatypota lagiralda Gauld et al. is included to the key because it was described from El Salvador, and therefore has the potential to be found in Mexico.

Key to species of Zatypota occurring in Mexico

1. Metasomal tergites 2 and 3 centrally granulate. Front of eye orbits black, without pale markings. El Salvador; not recorded from Mexico..................................................................... Z. lagiralda Gauld et al., 2002

– Metasomal tergites 2 and 3 centrally polished. Front of eye orbits with white markings.............................. 2

2. Mesoscutum coriaceous, dull, entirely and evenly pubescent with short and dense setae. Tergite 3 of metasoma strongly transverse, 0.45–0.55× as long as broad. Flagellum with 16 flagellomeres in female and 14 flagellomeres in male....................................................................................... 2. Z. anomala (Holmgren)

– Mesoscutum polished, glabrous, at most with short and sparse setae anteriorly on median lobe. Tergite 3 of metasoma longer, 0.6–0.75× as long as broad. Flagellum of Mexican species with at least 20 flagellomeres in female and 18 flagellomeres in male............................................................................................... 3

3. Face white. Metasoma with at least tergites 3 and 4 bicoloured, anterocentrally pale, posteriorly dark ( Fig. 79 )......................................................................................... 1. Z. alborhombarta (Davis)

– Face black, sometimes with small to large triangular yellowish marks below antennal sockets. Metasomal tergites more or less unicolorous black..................................................................................... 4

4. Hind femur slender, about 5.0× as long as maximally broad ( Fig. 82 ). Yellowish orbital marks short, at most reaching top of eye, not extending backwards behind ocelli ( Fig. 81 ). Mesosoma reddish orange with black marks on pronotum and propodeum, and white marks on mesoscutum ( Fig. 80 ).................................................... 4. Z. petronae Gauld

– Hind femur stouter, about 4.0× as long as maximally broad. Yellowish orbital marks longer, extending backwards eyes and ocelli. Mesosoma entirely reddish orange................................................ 3. Z. crassipes Townes

Figures

FIGURES 79–82. Zatypota alborhombarta, ♀: 79—tergites 2–4 of metasoma, dorsal. Zatypota petronae, ♀ (Tamaulipas): 80—habitus (without antennae), lateral; 81—head and anterior part of mesosoma, dorsal; 82—hind leg, lateral.