Aulacus planiceps ( Szépligeti, 1903 )

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 : 74-76

Aulacus planiceps ( Szépligeti, 1903)

Figs 40 , 64 .

Aulacinus planiceps Szépligeti 1903: 390 .— Kieffer 1904 a: 6; Kieffer 1912: 350, 358; Hedicke 1939: 26.

Aulacus planiceps — Smith 2001: 274, comb. nov.; Jennings 2010 [on-line checklist].

Material examined. Holotype. The whereabouts of the holotype female in the HNHM is unknown. The type locality is given as NSW ( Szépligeti 1903).

Other Material examined. Queensland: 1♀, Tamborine Mountains , 27.x.1913, H Hacker ( QM) .

Description. FEMALE. Length. 11.4 mm, excluding ovipositor.

Colour. Black ( Figs 40A, B ), except scape and pedicel dark brown, fore and mid femora and tibiae orange, fore and mid tarsomeres 1–4 white, hind tarsomere 1 white apically, 2–4 white. Wings hyaline, very slightly fuscous near apex ( Fig. 40B ).

Head. 1.3× wider than long when viewed dorsally ( Fig. 40C ); face rugulose, pubescence long; with subantennal groove; frons without lateral medial carina above toruli, rugose, with short pubescence ( Fig. 40D ); vertex reticulate, with slight rugosity, and with a few scattered very shallow and small punctures, with scattered short setae; gena reticulate, with slight rugosity, with scattered long setae; posterior margin of head not concave in dorsal view; occipital carina absent; malar space 0.2× height eye; clypeus 3.0× as wide as high, margin sinuate, with medial process; distance from lateral ocellus to eye margin 0.65× distance between lateral ocelli; scape 1.7× length pedicel; first flagellomere 1.5× as long as scape, 0.6× as long as second flagellomere.

Mesosoma. Propleuron reticulate, pubescence long, ventro-lateral carina present; pronotum rugulose; mesoscutum in lateral view rounded antero-dorsally ( Fig. 40E ), medial and lateral lobes transversely strigate, with scattered short setae, admedial lines present; notauli distinct, carinate, broad and deep; scutellum and axillae transversely strigate, scutellum anteriorly with pair of deep depressions, separated by a weak median carina; metapostnotum scrobiculate, posterior margin convex; mesopleuron rugose, with short pubescence; mesepimeron broad, carinate; metapleuron rugose, with short pubescence; propodeum areolate, posterior margin weakly scrobiculate, hind coxa strigate dorsally, pubescence long laterally, ovipositor guide more or less medial, transverse ( Fig. 40F ), guide narrow dorsally and broadens ventrally, weak proximal carina, distal fringe of setae absent, no setae in groove; hind trochanter imbricate, with scattered short setae; prefemur on hind leg present; hind femur imbricate, with scattered short setae; hind tibia imbricate, pubescence short, with scattered stout emergent setae; hind femur 1.43× length hind tibia; hind tibia with ventro-apical pecten of short robust spines; hind tarsomeres 1–4 with ventro-apical pecten of short robust spines, tarsomere 1, 2.5× length tarsomere 2; tarsomere 2, 1.5× length tarsomere 3; tarsomere 3, 2.8× length tarsomere 4; tarsomere 4, 0.6× length tarsomere 5; hind tarsal claw 0.4× length tarsomere 5; fore wing veins 2r-m and 3r-m spectral medially; hind wing venation complete, R+Rs, M+Cu, Cu, r-m and 2-M spectral, with 3 hamuli.

Metasoma. Ovate, 1.5× length of mesosoma ( Fig. 40E ); T1 and T2 narrow, glabrous; ovipositor 17.0 mm.

MALE. Unknown.

Distribution. This species is known only from NSW (exact locality unknown), and Tamborine Mountains, Queensland ( Fig. 64 ).

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

Comments. Even though the holotype is missing, the single specimen in the QM matches the brief description of Szépligeti (1903). We have refrained from designating this specimen as a neotype of A. planiceps and prefer to wait until additional specimens have been collected and we are quite certain of their identity.

This species can be identified by the combination of characters in the key, viz., mesoscutum rounded in lateral view, metasoma ovate, hind wing venation complete, lateral medial carina above toruli absent, and ovipositor guide transverse and medial. Also, the wings are hyaline, with the fore wing only very slightly fuscous near the apex. It differs from the similar species A. deansi and A. festivus in colouration. Of the three species it is the only one which has a black body (see key above). See also comments under A. deansi and A. festivus .

Figures

FIGURE 40. Aulacus planiceps (Szépligeti), female, (A) dorsal habitus; (B) lateral habitus; (C) dorsal head; (D) frontal head; (E) lateral mesosoma; (F) dorsal hind coxae.

FIGURE 64. Distribution of Aulacus obcordellus sp. nov., A. pallidicaudis (Cameron), A. pallidus sp. nov., and A. planiceps (Szépligeti).