Pison amabile Menke

Pulawski, Wojciech J., 2018, A Revision of the Wasp Genus Pison Jurine, 1808 of Australia and New Zealand, New Guinea, and the Pacific Islands (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae), Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 65, pp. 1-584 : 46-50

Pison amabile Menke

Figures 30 -42.

Pison amabile Menke, 2015:402 , ♀, Holotype: ♀, Australia: Northern Territory: Areyonga (AEI), three paratypes examined.

RECOGNITION.– Pison amabile has three submarginal cells, the second recurrent vein interstitial with the second intersubmarginal vein or nearly so, tegula partly impunctate and asetose, and setae appressed on tergum I; also, the pilosity of the head, thorax, and propodeum is intensely golden. Three other species are similar: P. auratum , P. formosum , and P. basale . P. amabile differs from the three in having the mandible tridentate apically in the female and bidentate in the male (rather than unidentate), forewing yellowish, infumate along outer margin ( Fig. 34 ) rather than nearly hyaline, infumate along outer margin, the female gena and forefemur with well-developed psammophores whose lengths are about equal to the greatest femoral width (versus no psammophores), clypeal lamella of male arcuate (rather than sharply pointed), and male sternum VIII rounded apically (rather than emarginate, only minimally so in P. basale ). Some specimens of P. amabile are unusual in having the thorax and propodeum as well as most of the gaster ferruginous, only the head being black (this type of coloration is shared with P. melanocephalum ).

DESCRIPTION.– Frons dull, finely punctate, punctures less than one diameter apart. Occipital carina widely separated from hypostomal carina, expanded in some specimens, its maximum height about 0.5 × midocellar diameter. Labrum not emarginate or shallowly emarginate. Anteromedian pronotal pit transversely elongate, about twice as long as midocellar diameter. Propleural punctures several diameters apart at center. Scutum not foveate along flange, without longitudinal ridges adjacent to posterior margin; scutal punctures relatively small but well defined, less than one diameter apart; interspaces unsculptured, shiny. Tegula slightly enlarged. Mesopleural punctures, varying: less than one diameter apart in most specimens, but several punctures up to about three diameters apart in some, larger than those on scutum; interspaces unsculptured, shiny. Postspiracular carina present, 0.7-1.5 × as long as midocellar diameter. Metapleural sulcus not costulate or finely costulate between dorsal and ventral metapleural pits. Propodeum without longitudinal carina or with evanescent carina separating side from dorsum and posterior surface; dorsum densely punctate (punctures compressed against each other, interspaces merging into minute ridges); side punctate, also ridged (at least anteriorly) in females and many males; posterior surface punctate, ridged next to median sulcus and also mesoventrally. Posteroventral forefemoral surface with well defined punctures more than one diameter apart; interspaces unsculptured, shiny. Tergum I sloping gently toward base, markedly less so than in most other Pison , in female slightly longer than apically wide; its punctures less than one diameter apart, more than one diameter apart in some specimens. Sterna II and III with punctures several diameter apart at center, apical depressions impunctate.

Setae bright golden on head, thorax, and propodeum, not concealing integument on clypeus; frons with short, dense, nearly appressed setae, and with sparse, erect setae whose length is about 1.5 × midocellar diameter; setae appressed on scutum and tergum I (more information on setae is given below), appressed frontal setae oriented ventrad between dorsal end of midfrontal carina and midocellus. Apical depressions of terga with ill-defined setal fasciae, visible only from certain angles.

Head, thorax, and propodeum black in most specimens, but the following are ferruginous: scape (all or only ventrally), pedicel, and two or three basal flagellomeres; female clypeus narrowly ferruginous next to lobe free margin; mandible black or brown basally, yellowish reddish mesally, dark apically; pronotal lobe narrowly ferruginous posteriorly. In some specimens, thorax and propodeum ferruginous, all or partly. Wings yellowish in basal two thirds, infumate in apical third. Femora, tibiae, and tarsi ferruginous. Gaster in most specimens ferruginous except segment III black, in many specimens segment IV also black, all or basally; in some specimens gaster black except tergum I ferruginous, in others all ferruginous except a pair of large, lateral black spots on each tergum III and IV ( Fig. 37 ).

♀ ( Fig. 36 ).– Upper interocular distance equal to 0.68-0.78 × lower interocular distance; ocellocular distance equal to 1.1-1.3 × hindocellar diameter, distance between hindocelli 0.8-1.2 × hindocellar diameter ( Fig. 33 ); eye height equal to 0.86-0.89 × distance between eye notches. Free margin of clypeal lamella obtusely angulate ( Fig. 30 ). Dorsal length of flagellomere I 2.5-2.7 ×

apical width, of flagellomere IX 1.4 × apical width. Mandible with one apical and two preapical teeth ( Fig. 30 ), trimmal carina without incision. Lower gena, mandibular posterior margin, propleural and forecoxal outer margins, and forefemoral venter with psammophores; longest setae of genal psammophore about 1.0 × greatest forefemoral width ( Fig. 32 ), of mandibular psammophore about 0.9-1.0 × greatest forefemoral width, those of forefemoral psammophore about 0.8-1.1 × greatest femoral width ( Fig. 35 ); lower gena impunctate and asetose between oral fossa and psammophore. Setae of inner margin of forebasitarsus longer than in other Pison . Tergum VI rounded apically. Length 9.3-11.2 mm; head width 2.8-3.2 mm.

♂.– Upper interocular distance equal to 0.70-0.96 × lower interocular distance; ocellocular distance equal to 1.3-1.8 × hindocellar diameter, distance between hindocelli 1.1-1.6 × hindocellar diameter; eye height equal to 0.90-0.94 × distance between eye notches. Clypeal lobe conspicuously narrow, free margin of lamella rounded or inconspicuously, obtusely pointed mesally ( Fig. 31 ). Dorsal length of flagellomere I 2.2-2.3 × apical width, of flagellomere X 1.1-1.2 × apical width. Mandible bidentate apically ( Fig. 31 ). Lower gena with erect setae that are 1.5-2.0 × midocellar diameter long. Sternum VIII with basomedian, unsculptured swelling, apical margin rounded ( Figs. 38, 39 ). Genitalia: Figs. 40, 41 . Length 8.2-9.7 mm; head width 2.4-2.8 mm. GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION (Fig. 42).–

Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia.

RECORDS.– AUSTRALIA: Northern Territory:

Areyonga (Menke, 2015), Gregory National Park at

16°03ʹ01ʺS 130°24ʹ07ʺE (1 ♀, ANIC; 1 ♀, 1 ♂,

USU), 28 km SE Katherine at 14°34.0ʹS 132°28.5ʹE

(2 ♀, 1 ♂, CAS), Keep River National Park at

15°45.4ʹS 129°05.6ʹE (2 ♂, ANIC), at 15°45ʹ44ʺS

129°05ʹ55ʺE (2 ♀, 3 ♂, ANIC; 4 ♂, CAS; 1 ♀, 3 ♂,

USU), at 15°45ʹ42ʺS 129°06ʹ45ʺE (1 ♂, USU), at

15°47ʹ49ʺS 129°06ʹ31ʺE (1 ♀, ANIC; 2 ♂, USU) ,

and at 15°57ʹ55ʺS 129°01ʹ52ʺE (1 ♂, USU), 12 km

NNW Mount Cahill at 12°46ʹS 132°39ʹE (1 ♂,

ANIC), Mount Ooraminna 46 km SE Alice Springs FIGURE 42. Collecting localities of Pison amabile Menke. at 24°06ʹS 134.00ʹE (1 ♂, ANIC), Old Andado

Homestead in Simpson Desert (1 ♂, ANIC) . Stuart Point road 14.5 km N Arnhem Highway at 12°43.6ʹS 131°50.0ʹE (1 ♀, CAS) . Queensland: Langi Lagoon in Mungkan Kandju National Park at 13°27ʹS 142°42ʹE (1 ♀, ANIC) , Musselbrook camp at 18°36ʹS 138°08ʹE (2 ♀, ANIC) , 1 km N Rounded Hill near Hope Valley Mission at 15°17ʹS 145°13ʹE (1 ♀, ANIC) . South Australia: Ngarkat Conservation Park at 35°56ʹ23ʺS 140°21ʹ06ʺE (1 ♂, SAM) . Western Australia: Beverley Spring Station at 17.93°S 125.44°E (1 ♂, WAM) , 150 km ESE Broome at 18°55ʹS 123°14ʹE (1 ♀, ANIC) , 8 km S Cape Bertholet at 17°19ʹS 122°10ʹE (1 ♀, 1 ♂, ANIC) , 22 km E Cobra Station at 24°13.3ʹS 116°33.1ʹE (1 ♂, ANIC; 2 ♀, USU), 51 km NE Kalbarri at 27°15ʹ22ʺS 14°19ʹ58ʺE (1 ♀, WAM) , Karijini National Park at 22°28.4ʹS 118°32.6ʹE (1 ♂, CAS) , Kennedy Range National Park at 24°38.7ʹS 115°10.7ʹE (1 ♀, USU) , 63 km E Marble Bar at 21°13.0ʹS 120°20.2ʹE (1 ♀, 2 ♂, ANIC; 1 ♂, USU), 104 km E Marble Bar at 21°19.1ʹS 120°40.3ʹE (5 ♀, CAS) , Mount Augustus National Park at 24°21.7ʹS 116°50.2ʹE (2 ♀, 2 ♂, CAS) , Nanutarra - Wittenoom road 25 km NE railway crossing at 22°21ʹ21ʺS 117°54ʹ16ʺE (2 ♂, AMS) , 45 km S Newman on Great Northern Highway at 23°42.4ʹS 119°44.3ʹE (1 ♂, ANIC) , 47 km S Pardoo Roadhouse on Shay Gap road at 20°22.7ʹS 120°01.3ʹE (3 ♀, 1 ♂, ANIC; 2 ♀, 1 ♂, CAS; 2 ♀, USU), 80 km S Pardoo Roadhouse at 20°28.3ʹS 120°10.0ʹE (1 ♀, 1 ♂, USU) , Rudall River 7 mi. WNW Poonemerlarra Sk. (1 ♂, ANIC) , Tambrey, 3 Aug 1958, R.P. McMillan (1 ♀, WAM) , Yalgorup National Park at 32°54.8ʹS 115°42.1ʹE, (12 ♀, 9 ♂, CAS) , Yandicoogina Creek 30 km E Marble Bar at 21°11.0ʹS 120°01.7ʹE (3 ♀, ANIC) .

Figures

FIGURES 30–35. Pison amabile Menke. (30) Female clypeus and mandibles; (31) Male clypeus and mandibles; (32) Female gena showing psammophore; (33) Female head in dorsal view; (34) Female forewing; (35) Female forefemur showing psammophore.

FIGURES 36–41. Pison amabile Menke. (36) Female body in lateral view; (37) Female gaster in dorsal view; male: (38) Sternum VIII (ventral surface); (39) Sternum VIII in lateral view; (40) Genitalia in dorsal view; (41) Genitalia in lateral view.