Myzinum maculatum (Fabricius)

Kimsey, Lynn S., 2009, Taxonomic purgatory: Sorting out the wasp genus Myzinum Latreille in North America (Hymenoptera, Tiphiidae, Myzininae), Zootaxa 2224, pp. 30-50 : 44-46

Myzinum maculatum (Fabricius)

Fig. 19 , Map 5

Tiphia maculatum Fabricius 1793:224 . Holotype female; USA: Georgia (BUENOS AIRES?).

Tiphia serena Fabricius 1805:234 . Holotype female; Carolina (COPENHAGEN). New synonymy.

Sapyga majorta Panzer 1806 ?:iv. Holotype male; “ Carolina ” (BERLIN?). Synonymized by Krombein 1938.

Tiphia interrupta Say 1824:322 . Holotype female; USA: Pennsylvania (destroyed). Synonymized by Krombein 1938.

Myzine hamatus Say 1836:300 . Holotype male; USA: Indiana (destroyed). Synonymized by Krombein 1938.

Meria costata Say 1837:360 . Holotype female; USA: Indiana (destroyed). Synonymized by Krombein 1938.

Myzine hyalina Cresson 1865:442 . Holotype male; “Colorado Territory” (PHILADELPHIA). Synonymized by Krombein 1938.

Myzine maiorta Cresson 1887:268 . Invalid emendation of majorta .

Plesia spilonota Cameron 1908:240 . Holotype female; USA: New Mexico, Gallinas Co. (LONDON). New synonymy.

Elis floridanus Rohwer 1920:54 . Holotype female; USA: Florida, Inverness (WASHINGTON). Synonymized by Krombein 1938.

Mesa italica Guiglia 1963:301. Holotype male; Sicily (!) (COPENHAGEN). Synonymized by Gorbatovsky 1981.

Male.―Body length 11–16 mm. Head: frons punctures contiguous; ocellocular distance equal to interocellar distance; flagellomere I length 1.8x breadth; flagellomere IX length twice breadth; hypostomal angle acute in side view. Thorax: mesopleuron with omaulus, punctures 0.5–1.0 PD apart; propodeum coarsely rugosopunctate; legs unmodified. Metasoma: tergum VII flat, smooth apicomedially. Genital capsule ( Fig. 19 ): paramere ventral lobe 0.3x as broad as long, 4–5 spines extending along apical fourth of lobe length, dorsal lobe marginal setae fewer than ten, three-fourths as long as volsella; volsella as long as paramere ventral lobe, subtriangular in cross-section, setose apically; aedeagus apical bulb about 1.5x as broad as shaft below. Color: black, with yellow markings; yellow on clypeus, labrum, antennal lobes, scape, along inner and posterior eye margin, mandibular base; pronotum with broad, transverse anterior and posterior yellow bands; mesopleuron with large anterodorsal and posteroventral yellow spots; scutum with large, medial yellow spot and smaller posterolateral one; metanotum yellow medially; propodeum with large lateral yellow spots merging medially in some specimens; coxae with yellow spot; femora yellow basally, tibiae and tarsi yellow; metasomal terga I–VII with posterior transverse yellow band, sterna II–VI with lateral yellow spot; wing veins brown, membrane untinted except wing tip. Ves ti tu r e.―silvery.

Female.―Body length 11–13 mm. Head: frons punctures contiguous near antennal lobes, becoming widely separated near midocellus; ocellocular distance twice interocellar distance; vertex punctures 0.5–3.0 PD apart; hypostomal angle acute in lateral view; flagellomere I length 0.7x breadth. Thorax: pronotum dorsal surface medially with numerous tiny interpunctures between punctures; propodeum laterally finely transversely ridged, posterior surface transversely rugose dorsally, smooth ventrally. Color: black, with yellow markings; face with yellow band along inner and posterior eye margins; pronotum with broken or complete anterior yellow band; mesopleuron with anterior and posterior yellow spots; scutum with medial and lateral yellow spots; metanotum yellow medially; legs with little to extensive yellow and reddish markings; propodeum with one large to two smaller yellow spots; metasomal terga I–V with partial to complete medial to subbasal yellow band; sterna II–IV with lateral yellow spot; forewing strongly bicolored, dark brown-tinted along costal margin, rest of wing lightly brown-tinted. Ves ti tu re: silvery.

Distribution (Map 5).― USA: Alabama: Colbert Co.; Arizona: Cochise, Coconino, Mohave, Navajo , Pima, Pinal, Santa Cruz, Torrance, Yavapai, Yuma Counties; California: Contra Costa, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Imperial, Kern, Lake, Los Angeles, Mendocino, Monterey, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Shasta, Yolo Counties; Colorado: Adams, El Paso, Logan Counties; Florida: Alachua, Brevard, Citrus, Duval, Highlands, Palm Beach, Volusia Counties; Georgia: Glynn, Liberty, Richmond, Tift Counties; Idaho: Blaine Co.; Illinois: Scott Co.; Indiana: Porter Co.; Maryland: Montgomery Co.; Michigan: Berrien, Livingston Counties; Minnesota: Nichollet Co.; Nevada: Clark, Lincoln Counties; New Hampshire: Hillsborough Co.; New Jersey: Mercer Co.; New Mexico: Dona Ana, Eddy, Gallinas, Grant, Hidalgo, Luna, Otero, Torrance Counties; New York: Suffolk Co.; North Carolina : Ashe, Moore Counties; North Dakota: Richland Co.; Ohio: Athens, Harrison Co.; Oklahoma: Bryan Co.; Texas: Brewster, Cameron, Jeff Davis, Kennedy, Presidio, San Patricio, Tyler Counties; Utah: Cache, Logan, Weber Counties; Virginia: Grayson, Rockbridge, York Counties; MEXICO: Baja California, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco, Mexico D. F., Michoacan, Morelos, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Pueblo, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Tampico, Veracruz, Yucatan, Zacatecas; GUATEMALA: Cordoba, Guatemala Provinces, COSTA RICA: Guanacaste, Heredia; EL SALVADOR: La Libertad; NICARAGUA: Chinandega; 372 females and 810 males were studied.

Discussion.―This is the most widespread species of Myzinum in North America, occurring from California east to Virginia and south to Costa Rica. The large number of synonyms reflects this broad geographic range. Female maculatum exhibit a diversity of markings from region to region but the bimaculate wings are diagnostic. Krombein (1938) diagnosed spilonotum and assigned a male without seeing the holotype. Examination of the holotype of spilonotum revealed it to be a variant of maculatum , differing only in the more or less confluent pronotal punctures and lack of interpunctures. No males could be found to correspond geographically with the spilonotum females.

Male maculatum can be readily distinguished by features of the genitalia, but females are more difficult to identify. The ventral lobe of the male paramere is subequal in length to the volsella and both fit together almost seamlessly forming a single structure in many specimens. The paramere has no dorsal lobe and the aedeagus has a slender apical bulb. Males are similar in size and coloration to those of dubiosum , but lack the modified hindcoxae diagnostic for that species. Female maculatum have distinctively bicolored wings, with a dark band along the costal third of the wing.

Figures

FIGURES 13 – 22. Male genital capsule, lateral view. Abbreviations: ae = aedeagus, dl = paramere dorsal lobe pa = paramere, v = volsella; vl = paramere ventral lobe.