Morochares wolfi Loktionov & Lelej, 2018

Loktionov, Valery M., Lelej, Arkady S. & Liu, Jing-Xian, 2018, Contribution to the knowledge on the spider wasps genus Morochares Banks, 1934 (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) from China, Zootaxa 4462 (4), pp. 497-510 : 504-507

Morochares wolfi Loktionov & Lelej , sp. nov.

( Figs 27–35 )

Material examined. Holotype, ♀, China, Guangdong, Mt. Nanling, 8–17.VIII. 2010, yellow pan trap (Huayan Chen), No 2016001810 [ SCAU].

Diagnosis. Female. The female of Morochares wolfi sp. nov. can be easily separated from those of other congeners by having the clypeal anterior margin strongly and roundly produced ( Fig. 32 ) and the head in frontal view with the vertex slightly produced beyond the eye top and straight medially ( Fig. 28 ). Other characters of importance are: the scape 1.6 times as long as F1; apical flagellomere roundly blunt apically; the propodeum with rugae slightly arched, transverse, deep and coarse on dorsum posteriorly and posterior face apically ( Fig. 33 ); the dorsum of propodeum noticeably convex anteromedially ( Fig. 33 ); the forewing yellowish-brown, with a subapical brown fascia and a wide whitened apical band; and the pterostigma dark ( Fig. 34 ). Male. Unknown.

Description. FEMALE. Length: body 16.7 mm; forewing 10.8 mm. Head 1.23 times as wide as height; MID 0.51 times as long as head width in frontal view, half of MID 1.0 times as long as eye width ( Fig. 28 ). Ocelli large, not raised; ocellar triangle right-angled; POD: OOD = 1.25 ( Fig. 30 ). Head in frontal view with vertex produced beyond eye top and straight medially ( Fig. 28 ). Posterior margin of vertex in dorsal view straight ( Fig. 30 ). Head in lateral view with frons slightly convex ( Fig. 29 ). Temple in dorsal view slightly developed ( Fig. 30 ). Gena in profile narrowing towards vertex ( Fig. 29 ). Face on both sides of antennal sockets slightly concave. Malar space short ( Fig. 32 ). Clypeus noticeably convex medially and somewhat concave anterolaterally, 1.12 times as wide as LID, and 2.84 times as wide as height; anterior margin strongly roundly produced; anterolateral corner not distinct i.e. anterior and lateral margins merge very gradually forming single arch ( Fig. 32 ). Mandible stout with small subapical tooth; in frontal view ventral margin with flattened elongated and narrow lobe. Labrum with inconspicuously concave anterior margin. Maxillary palps 3–6 about same length. Flagellum filiform; scape slightly bent; ratio of scape, pedicel and F1–F4 56: 9: 35: 34: 31: 28; scape 1.6 times as long as F1, and 0.81 times as long as F1 and F2 combined, and 1.22 times as long as UID; F1 3.45 times as long as maximum width and 0.76 times as long as UID; apical flagellomere roundly blunt apically.

Mesosoma with propodeum slightly narrower than mesoscutum in dorsal view. Pronotum in dorsal view medially 0.45 times as long as maximum width ( Fig. 30 ); anterior face low and noticeably inclined, merges into dorsum forming indistinct dull carina ( Figs 29, 31 ); posterior border angulate ( Fig. 30 ). Dorsum of mesoscutum convex in anterior half. Dorsum of mesoscutellum and metanotum slightly convex. Metapostnotum constricted and impressed medially. Propodeum somewhat shortened, in dorsal view 0.8 times as long as wide; dorsum in lateral view convex anteromedially ( Figs 31, 33 ); dorsum roundly merging with lateral and posterior faces, median longitudinal furrow indistinct.

Legs. Proleg without spines, except following: protibia outer face with three short spines, protibia with few different length spines apically, protarsomere 1 with six short spines on outer face and two longitudinal rows of very short spines ventrally, protarsomeres 2 ventrally with distinct median longitudinal row of very short spines and one spine on each side of row, protarsomere 3 with distinct median longitudinal row of spines; protarsi shortened, protarsomere 1 1.37 times as long as protarsomere 2–4 combined. Meso- and metafemur without spines except few short spines dorsoapically; meso- and metatibia, meso- and metatarsomere 1 with scattered long and suberect spines; meso- and metatarsomeres 2 and 3 ventral face with distinct median and two indistinct lateral longitudinal rows of short spines; meso- and metatarsomere 4 ventral face with median longitudinal row of short spines only; metatibia longer spur 0.55 times as long as metatarsomere 1. Tarsomere 5 without spines ventrally. Tarsal claws symmetrical and bifid, inner tooth broad and obliquely truncated.

Wings translucent, yellowish-brown ( Figs 34, 35 ). Forewing ( Fig. 34 ) with brown fascia on marginal cell (entirely), SMC2 (almost entirely), SMC3 (entirely) and 2M (apical part) across wing, and with somewhat whitened wide apical band; pterostigma dark; SMC2 1.64 times as long as high, narrowed on vein Rs by 0.69 times its own length on vein M, receiving crossvein 1m-cu at basal 0.55; SMC3 0.97 times as long as SMC2 on vein M, 0.90 times as long as SMC2 on vein Rs, narrowed on vein Rs by 0.65 times its own length on vein M, receiving crossvein 2m-cu at basal 0.56; crossvein 2rs-m straight; crossvein 3rs-m arched towards wing apex; crossvein cu-a straight, originating slightly beyond separation of vein M+CuA; vein M ending slightly before wing margin; vein Cu1 almost touching wing margin. Hind wing ( Fig. 35 ) without apical fascia; crossvein cu-a hardly anterofurcal, arched before confluence with vein A.

Metasoma wider than mesosoma in dorsal view. Posterior margin of S1 and S2 straight, S3 and T2 slightly emarginate, S4, S5, T1 and T3–T5 strongly emarginate medially. S5 not compressed laterally, with indistinct longitudinal median carina in posterior half.

Sculpture. Body matt, except clypeus apically, mandible and malar space polished ( Fig. 32 ), metasoma somewhat polished ( Fig. 27 ). Body with inconspicuous micropunctures. Metapostnotum with fine transverse striae disconnected medially. Propodeum with transverse deep and coarse slightly arched rugae on dorsum posteriorly and posterior face apically ( Fig. 33 ); dorsum microshagreened. S6 with carina polished posteromedially. Antenna and legs matt.

Colour and pubescence. Body black ( Fig. 27 ); top of apical flagellomere yellowish; mandible dark brown; maxillary palps, spurs and claws brown; longitudinal brush on metatibia inner face golden-brown. Body without setae except following: vertex near orbits with few short pale setae; mandible with few thin and pale setae; S1–S5 with short scattered pale setae posteriorly; S6 and T6 with long brown setae. Head, mesosoma and legs with iridescence micropubescence; frons, dorsum of pronotum, mesoscutum, mesoscutellum, metapleuron and sides of propodeum with somewhat coppery micropubescence; posterior face and dorsum of propodeum with silver micropubescence. Metasomal segments with iridescent micropubescence; T2–T4 anteriorly with band of silver micropubescence more distinct in anterolateral portion.

MALE. Unknown.

Distribution. China: Guangdong.

Etymology. In reference to Heinrich Wolf, world authority in spider wasps.

Remarks. The female of Morochares wolfi sp. nov. is similar with those of M. sinica sp. nov. and M. xuzaifui sp. nov. in having the forewing yellowish-brown ( Fig. 34 ), but it can be easily distinguished by the following characters: the clypeal anterior margin distinctly roundly produced ( Fig. 32 ) in M. wolfi sp. nov. vs straight in both of the other species ( Figs 10 , 38 ); the head in frontal view with vertex slightly produced beyond the eye top ( Fig. 28 ) in M. wolfi sp. nov. vs not produced in M. sinica sp. nov. ( Fig. 7 ); the temple in dorsal view slightly developed ( Fig. 30 ) in M. wolfi sp. nov. vs not developed in M. sinica sp. nov. ( Fig. 9 ).

Figures

FIGURES 27–35. Morochares wolfi sp. nov., ♀, holotype. 27. Habitus, lateral view. 28. Head, frontal view. 29. Head, lateral view. 30. Head, pronotum and mesoscutum, dorsal view. 31. Head, mesosoma and T1, lateral view. 32. Clypeus, frontal view. 33. Propodeum, dorsolateral view. 34. Forewing. 35. Hind wing.

FIGURES 6–14. Morochares sinica sp. nov., ♀, holotype. 6. Habitus, lateral view. 7. Head, frontal view. 8. Head, lateral view. 9. Head, dorsal view. 10. Clypeus, frontal view. 11. Mesosoma, lateral view. 12. Propodeum, dorsolateral view. 13. Forewing. 14. Hind wing.

FIGURES 36–45. Morochares xuzaifui sp. nov., ♀, holotype. 36. Habitus, dorsolateral view. 37. Apical flagellomeres of both antennae. 38. Clypeus, frontal view. 39. Head, frontal view. 40. Head, lateral view. 41. Mesosoma and T1, dorsal view. 42. Head, pronotum and mesoscutum, dorsal view. 43. Mesoscutellum, metanotum, metapostnotum, propodeum and T1, dorsolateral view. 44. Forewing. 45. Hind wing.