Ammoplanellus (Ammoplanellus) simplex, Gussakovskij

Boucïek, Zdenek, 2001, Palaearctic species of Ammoplanus (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae), Journal of Natural History 35, pp. 849-929 : 922-924

A. (Ammoplanellus) simplex Gussakovskij

Ammoplanus (Ammoplanellus) simplex Gussakovskij, 1952: 221 ±222. Tadjikistan:`Mikoyanabad’ (earlier Kabadia, now Kabla?). Holotype male, by monotypy; in ZMAS (examined). Marshakov, 1976: 678, 681.

5 Ammoplanu s (Ammoplanellus) orbiculatus Tsuneki, 1972: 226 ±227. Mongolia: Bayakhongor Aimak. Holotype female by original designation; in TMB (examined). Syn. nov.

Ammoplanus simplex ; Bohart and Grissell, 1976: 198.

[ Ammoplanus `orbicularis ’; Marshakov, 1976: 681; 1978: 372. Incorrect subsequent spelling.]

Type material. Apart from the holotypes of simplex and orbiculatus I examined another male from Mongolia identi®ed as simplex by Marshakov. The holotype of A. orbiculatus , kindly sent to me for examination by Dr Papp from Budapest, turned out to be the earlier unknown female of simplex and not of chorasmius with which it was (as `orbicularis ’) synonymized by Marshakov (1976: 681).

Diagnostic notes. Male head transverse, shortly oval, face mask (®gure 72) either white or pale yellowish, in extent often reaching broadly half height of face or only the eye orbits, with middle part more extensively black, sometimes narrowly black behind the scapes which are also mostly pale yellow. Legs often yellow or hind femur and tibia more or less darkened. Facial orbits of eyes more or less diverging upwards. Clypeal side narrowly or barely reaching eye orbit at upper condyle of mandible; middle truncate third of clypeus removed from toruli by two torular diameters; toruli placed distinctly above lower ocular line. Little less than apical third of mandibles is dark, brown or black and in some males apparently somewhat divided from the main part, in one case even slightly swollen beyond the division; mandible slender, in distal half almost parallel-sided and slightly curved (®gure 73); teeth sharp, lower one hardly longer than broad at end of upper one. Strong occipital carina is placed dorsally very low (®gure 75), nearer to foramen magnum than to ocelli. Underside of head convex, shiny, virtually smooth.

In female distance between toruli and between torulus and eye orbit rather variable: from 1.0 to 1.4 times (®gures 73, 74). Mesocutum with distinct though shallow transverse striation. In some females the rusty border of clypeus becomes pale yellow on the margin. In Central Asiatic females infumation of the distal half of pterostigma sometimes weak, rarely hardly discernible; the enclosing vein of marginal cell variable (®gures 70, 71), anteriorly often not pigmented but the margins of the vein often traceable (but sometimes similar to the condition in shestakovi ). Propodeum transversely strongly convex, dorsally with very irregular and often wide areolae, posteriorly often carinate. Pygidial area (female) convex, its sides converging at almost 60ss but poorly or barely carinate, with piliferous punctures rather ®ne (in some Turkmenian specimens sparse and rather coarse).

Comments. A. simplex exhibits relatively wide variation in the shape of the head and its various dimensions. The eyes may be relatively large, with the inner orbits strongly emarginate (as ®gure 73) and relatively close to each other; or relatively slender, with orbital emargination shallower and with much greater diOEerence in distance between the upper and lower ends of eyes. The measurements did not make the conclusions any easier. The upper distance is always larger, but in the female from Repetek ( Kazakhstan; ®gure 74) only 1.03 times greater, in three others from Kazakhstan 1.13, 1.14 and 1.17 times, in four from Delhi already 1.23, 1.25, 1.26 and 1.29 times, in one from France 1.27 times, from Algeria 1.30 times (®gure 73) two others from Montenegro 1.32 and 1.37 times, from Greece 1.38 times but in one from Bakanas (East Kazakhstan), even 1.52 times, another from United Arab Emirates 1.54 times and one from Israel 1.55 times, larger above than below, due to the lower ends of eyes strongly prolonged towards toruli (®gure 73). Is it in connection with sandy habitats? Those with ®gures below 1.20 have the inner orbits of eyes only slightly emarginate, which in some other species might indicate diOEerent species.

The males of chorasmius and simplex clearly belong to two diOEerent species as shown by the material available (as well as by the respective descriptions), although the former is known to me only from a couple from Turkmenistan. Marshakov (1978: 371) seemed to be of a diOEerent opinion.

In New Delhi ( India) I collected A. simplex together with another, very similar species (see note under hissaricus ) which bears in males on anterior side of the white scapus long white setae turned diagonally upwards; but the females are di cult to separate from simplex .

Material examined. France (Vaucluse): Entrechaux , 1m, 8 August 1973 (Gijswijt; ZMA); (PyrenneÂes Orient.) : Banyuls-sur-Mer, 1m, 9 August 1955 (Nouvel); (Alpes Marit.): Sospel , 1m, 20 July 1990 (Rasplus; MNHN); (Corsica) : Galeria , 1m, 28 June 1990 (BoucÏek; BMNH) . Croatia (Dalmatia): Novi , 1m, July 1909 (KerteÂsz; TMB) ; Biograd na moru, 2m, 19 July 1965 and 14 July 1968 (BoucÏek; NMP) . Yugoslavia (Crna Gora): Krasici at the Kotor Boka , 2 land 4m, 28 July 1982 (BoucÏek) . Greece (Peloponnisos): Olympia , 1m, 30 August 1979 (BoucÏek) . Algeria: Djanet , 1m, 27 October 1975 (HoOEer; NMP) . Israel: 30ss47¾N, 35ss17¾E, 135 km N of Elat Iddan , 1m, 8 May 1996 (Schmid-Egger) . United Arab Emirates: Hatta , 2m, 28 April 1989 (I. L. Hamer: BMNH) . Kazakhstan (Priaralsk Region): 10 km NNW of Lake Kamyshlybash, 1, 4 July 1990; (Semirechye): 30 km S of Koktal, River Ili Valley , 1m, 5 July 1993; (Almaty Region) : Bakanas district , 3, 4± 8 August 1989; (Semipalatinsk Region) : Kapchagay, R. Ili , 1, 24 August 1989; 80 km E of Chilik, 1, 25 June 1996; Dubun’, 1, 25 June 1996 (all V. Kazenas; part BMNH) . Mongolia (Kobdosk [5 Hovd?] Aimak ): 30 km N of Ikh Khavtgiyn-Nuru, 1, 26 July 1970 (Kozlov; ZMAS) . India: New Delhi, IARI area, 1 land 6m, 6± 17 October 1979 (BoucÏek; BMNH) .

Distribution. Southern France with Corsica, Adriatic coast of Croatia and of Monte Negro ( Crna Gora), Greece, Algeria, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Tajikstan, Mongolia, India.