Aulacus vespiformis ( Kieffer, 1911 )

Jennings, John T., Parslow, Ben A. & Austin, Andrew D., 2018, Systematics of the parasitoid wasp genus Aulacus Jurine (Hymenoptera: Evanioidea: Aulacidae) from Australia, Zootaxa 4538 (1), pp. 1-113 : 90

Aulacus vespiformis ( Kieffer, 1911)

Fig. 50 .

Neuralacinus vespiformis Kieffer 1911: 217 , 218.

Aulacus vespiformis — Smith 2001: 276, comb. nov.; Jennings 2010 [on-line checklist].

Material examined. Holotype. ♂, "Townsville, Feb. 1903. F.P. Dodd " ( BMNH—3 a.232; NHMUK011507536). Right hind wing glued to card. Right fore leg and mid tarsomere 5 and claw missing.

Description. MALE. Length. 13.3 mm.

Colour. Body brown with variable amounts of darker brown on head, propleuron, pronotum, mesoscutum, scutellum, metanotum, mesopleuron, mesepimeron, and propodeum; metathoracic tergites dark brown and posteriorly banded with creamish-yellow except T1 and T2 brown; legs and antenna brown ( Figs 50A, B ). Wings fuscous, darker brown in anterior half of fore wing ( Fig. 50A ).

Head. 1.3× wider than long when viewed dorsally; face imbricate, with long golden pubescence; frons with weak transverse carina above toruli, rugulose-imbricate with a few scattered shallow punctures, with long, golden pubescence; vertex imbricate with a few scattered shallow punctures medially, with short, golden pubescence; gena imbricate, with long golden pubescence; posterior margin of head not concave in dorsal view; occipital carina absent; malar space 0.22× height eye; clypeus 3.65× as wide as high; distance from lateral ocellus to eye margin 0.83× distance between lateral ocelli; scape 1.75× length pedicel; first flagellomere 1.1× as long as scape, 0.9× as long as second flagellomere.

Mesosoma. Propleuron rugulose dorsally, punctate-imbricate laterally, pubescence long, ventro-lateral carina present; pronotum rugose; mesoscutum in lateral view rounded antero-dorsally, medial and lateral lobes coarsely rugose with short setae, admedial lines present; notauli distinct, carinate, broad and deep; scutellum, axillae, and mesopleuron rugose, scutellum anteriorly with pair of deep depressions, separated by a weak median carina; mesepimeron broad, scrobiculate; metapleuron rugose, with long pubescence; propodeum coarsely rugoseareolate, posterior margin scrobiculate; hind coxa strigate dorsally, pubescence long laterally; hind trochanter and femur imbricate, pubescence short; hind tibia imbricate, pubescence short, with scattered emergent stout setae, hind femur 0.71× length hind tibia; hind tibia with ventro-apical pecten of very short robust spines; hind tarsomeres 1–4 with ventro-apical pecten of short robust spines, tarsomere 1, 2.6× length tarsomere 2; tarsomere 2, 1.4× length tarsomere 3; tarsomere 3, 1.8× length tarsomere 4; tarsomere 4, 0.6× length tarsomere 5; hind tarsal claw 0.5× length tarsomere 5; fore wing vein 2r-m entire, 3r-m largely spectral; hind wing venation complete, R+Rs, M+Cu, Cu, r-m and 2-M spectral, with 2 hamuli.

Metasoma. Ovate, 1.43× length of mesosoma ( Figs 50A, B ); T1 and T2 broad, imbricate with a few shallow punctures dorsally and posteriorly; digitus slightly longer than basiparamere.

FEMALE. Unknown.

Distribution. This species is known only from the holotype locality, Townsville, Queensland.

Biology. Nothing is known of the biology of this species.

Comments. This species is known only from the holotype male. It is readily distinguished from all other Australian Aulacus by the distinctive creamish yellow banding on the metathorax and anterior half of fore wing being distinctively fuscous.

Figures

FIGURE 50. Aulacus vespiformis (Kieffer), holotype male, (A) dorsal habitus; (B) lateral habitus (Images ©The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London).