Tropidotilla frontalis ( Klug 1829 )

Lelej, Arkady S. & Harten, Antonius Van, 2006, A review of the Mutillidae (Hymenoptera) of Yemen, Zootaxa 1226, pp. 1-50 : 19-20

* Tropidotilla frontalis ( Klug 1829)

Mutilla frontalis Klug 1829 : [15], tab. 4, fig. 2, ♂, holotype "Angabe" ( Egypt) [ZMHU]. Ephutomma frontalis: André 1910: 27 , ♂.

Tropidotilla frontalis: Bischoff 1920: 160 , ♂; Invrea 1960: 206, ♂; Lelej 2002: 49, ♂.

Material examined

Yemen: Al Mahrah, Al Ghayda, 12–14.XI.1997, A. Sallam & S. Ba Angood, 1 ɗ [ ZMAN]; Al Kadan, 3.XII.1997 – 17.II.1998, MT, AvH & H.M. Naser, 1 ɗ[ ZMAN]; Lahj, 1.IV–17.V.2000, MT, AvH & A. Sallam, 1 ɗ [ ZMAN]; 17.V–15.VI.2000, MT, AvH & A. Sallam, 6 ɗ [ RMNH]; 15–30.VI.2000, MT, AvH & A. Sallam, 10 ɗ [ RMNH]; VII.2000, MT, AvH & A. Sallam, 7 ɗ [ RMNH]; VIII.2000, MT, AvH & A. Sallam, 5 ɗ [ RMNH]; XI.2000, MT, AvH & A. Sallam, 2 ɗ [ RMNH]; I.2001, MT, AvH & A. Sallam, 2 ɗ [ RMNH]; III.2001, MT, AvH & A. Sallam, 1 ɗ [ RMNH]; IV.2001, MT, AvH & A. Sallam, 5 ɗ [ RMNH]; V.2001, MT, AvH & A. Sallam, 2 ɗ [ RMNH]; VII–IX.2001, MT, AvH & A. Sallam, 5 ɗ [ RMNH]; 1.X–17.XI.2001, MT, AvH & A. Sallam, 1 ɗ [ RMNH]; 12 km NW Manakhah, 3.VII–21.VIII.2001, MT, AvH, 3 ɗ [ RMNH].

Distribution

Yemen (new record), Egypt.

Remarks

This species is known only from the male. The head color in the specimens from Yemen varies from wholly ferruginous­red with a weak darkened spot on frons to almost black with ferruginous­red spots between eye and antennal socket. Mesosoma also varies in color from ferruginous­red darkened ventrally to ferruginous­red with black mesoscutum and rarely darkened mesoscutellum and pronotum. In spite of the head and mesosoma coloration, the legs are always brown to piceous with lighter tarsi. Antennae castaneous, flagellomeres beneath ferruginous­red; flagellomere 1 beneath always lighter (yellowish­red) than other flagellomeres.

It is quite possible that Tropidotilla bellii (Magretti 1906) , which is known only as male and has variable coloration of mesosoma, overlaps with T. frontalis and that this black headed species is a color form of T. frontalis , because other morphological characters like the posterolateral denticle of S2 and the absence of a carina on S1 are similar. In Yemen both species are collected practically at the same localities and at the same time of the year. Body length of T. frontalis 5.2–10.4 mm, T. bellii — 6.0–11.0 mm.

Invrea (1960) and Bischoff (1921) regarded Mutilla pharaonis André 1902 , male, described from Egypt ( André 1902) as a probable synonym of T. frontalis or T. bellii . We have not possibility to study the holotype of M. pharaonis but according to the original description this species has antennae and legs ferruginous­red that never observed in T. frontalis and T. bellii . We support here the opinion of André (1902) who regarded his species related to barbara ­group [currently the genus Ronisia Costa 1858 (= Pycnotilla Bischoff 1920 )].