Cryptopimpla rubrithorax Morley, 1916

Berry, Terry Reynolds & van Noort, Simon, 2016, Review of Afrotropical Cryptopimpla Taschenberg (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Banchinae), with description of nine new species, ZooKeys 640, pp. 103-137 : 129-130

Cryptopimpla rubrithorax Morley, 1916 Fig. 9

Material examined.

HOLOTYPE ♀: South Africa, Western Cape, Elsenberg, 11 October 1914, Mally and Petty, SAM-HYM-P000874 (SAMC). Additional material: ♀ South Africa, Western Cape, Kogelberg Nature Reserve, 34°16.481'S, 19°01.033"E, 16 September 1999, S. van Noort, KO98-M40, Malaise trap, Mesic mountain fynbos last burnt c. 1988, SAM-HYM-P044558 (SAMC). 2♀, 3♂ South Africa, Western Cape, Koeberg Nature Reserve, 33°37.622'S, 18°24.259'E, 8 August - 5 September 1997, S. van Noort, KO97-M07, KO97-M08, Malaise trap, West Coast Strandveld, SAM-HYM-P047461 (SAMC, BMNH). 1♀ South Africa, Western Cape, Koeberg Nature Reserve, 33°37.622'S, 18°24.259'E, 5 September - 3 October 1997, S. van Noort, KO97-M09, Malaise trap, West Coast Strandveld, SAM-HYM-P047477 ♀, ♂ South Africa, Northern Cape, Hantam National Botanical Garden, 31°23.802'S, 19°08.799'E, 752m, 23 July 2008 - 23 August 2008, S. van Noort, GL07-REN1-M43, Malaise trap, Nieuwoudtville Renosterveld Shale, SAM-HYM-P044547 (SAMC, BMNH).

Description

(updated from Morley, 1916). Body subpolished. Colour. Head and metasoma black, posterior margins of terga 6-8 white. Clypeus rarely distinguished by colour to the rest of the face. Mesosoma rufescent, black ventrally; mesonotum black at the wing bases.

Head. Densely punctate. Frons unarmed. Setae on head and clypeus short and sparse. Clypeus profile weakly convex with a curved lip on the ventral margin. Clypeus edge convex. Upper tooth of mandible longer than the lower tooth. Flagellum tapered to a slender apex. Tentorial pits small or indistinct. Maximum eye width in anterior view 0.6-0.66 shortest inter-ocular distance, eye large in lateral view with maximum width 0.7-0.75 times maximum length.

Mesosoma. Mesosocutum moderately punctate. Scuto-scutellar groove broad with deep lateral indentations. Epicnemial carinae present ventrally and dorsally, dorsally converging toward anterior edge of mesopleuron. Propodeum lacking carinae, its anterior margin medially straight but may have a blunt medial projection. Wings hyaline. Fore wing with two bullae closely situated appearing as one; vein 2m-cu sinuate; areolet truncate-shaped. Hind wing with one basal hamulus and six distal hamuli.

Metasoma. Tergum 1 densely punctate with dorsolateral carinae substituted with longitudinal wrinkles, posterior margin weakly convex; second tergum 0.8-1.09 times as broad as long, spiracle situated at basal 0.25-0.32 of tergum (measured in lateral view), gastrocoeli elongate; terga 4-8 slightly compressed; female metasomal tergum 6 half as wide as tergum 5; hypopygium strongly sclerotized. Ovipositor straight or slightly upcurved; sheath striations present.

CT 1.9-2.2; ML 0.9-1.3; IO 1.9-2.4; OO 1.4-2.1; Fl1 4.3-5.4; OT 0.6; body length 7-8.6 mm; antenna length 7.9-9.7 mm; fore wing length 6.3-6.9 mm.

Differential diagnosis.

Reduction of the dorsolateral carinae to longitudinal wrinkles on the first metasomal tergum distinguishes this species from the closely-related species Cryptopimpla fernkloofensis and Cryptopimpla neili . Elongate gastrocoeli on tergum 2 separate the species from the closely-related species Cryptopimpla fernkloofensis , Cryptopimpla elongatus , Cryptopimpla hantami , and Cryptopimpla neili . The malar space and basal mandibular width are more or less equal in length with the malar space 0.91-1.3 times as long as the basal mandibular width, as opposed to the malar length index being much shorter in the closest related species Cryptopimpla zwarti , where the malar space is 0.6 times as long as the basal mandibular width. The shortened malar space in Cryptopimpla zwarti produces a more globular head shape, compared to a more lenticular head shape in Cryptopimpla rubrithorax due to the longer malar space. Cryptopimpla rubrithorax can be further separated from Cryptopimpla zwarti by the length of tergum 2 relative to its width. In Cryptopimpla rubrithorax tergum 2 is 0.8-1.09 times broader than long compared to 1.25 times as broad as long in Cryptopimpla zwarti .

Etymology.

The species epithet is likely to refer to the rufescent colour of the metasoma of this species (Morley 1916).

Distribution.

South Africa (Northern and Western Cape).

Comments.

This species occurs in three vegetation types, Strandveld, Mesic Mountain Fynbos and Renosterveld, and exhibits corresponding intra-specific variation in terms of colouration. The specimen sampled from mesic mountain fynbos, which has a white pronotal collar and tegula as per Morley's original description, whereas the specimens from the Renosterveld have a black pronotal collar and tegula. Molecular sequencing demonstrated that there is no genetic divergence between specimens associated with the two different habitats (0% sequence divergence for COI, 28S, and 18S), with two site changes on the COI gene sequence (Reynolds Berry, Matthee and van Noort unpubl. data). Strandveld specimens also have black pronotal collars and tegulae, but are slightly darker in colour and are blacker ventrally on the mesosoma.