Blakeius bipunctatus ( Latreille, 1792 )

Turrisi, Giuseppe Fabrizio, Palmerini, Maurizio Matteini & Brothers, Denis J., 2015, Systematic revision and phylogeny of the genera Blakeius Ashmead, 1903 and Liomutilla André, 1907, with description of two new genera (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae, Myrmillinae), Zootaxa 4010 (1), pp. 1-78 : 11-18

Blakeius bipunctatus ( Latreille, 1792)

( Figs 2–3 , 4 A, 4E, 5)

Mutilla bipunctata Latreille, 1792: 10 (♀); Morawitz 1865: 125 (♀); A. Costa 1887: 94, 106 (♂, ♀).

Mutilla halensis: Olivier 1811: 62 (♀) (redescription). Misidentification according to André 1903: 447, probably correct.

Mutilla angusticollis Spinola, 1843: 132 (♂). Junior subjective synonym according to Sichel & Radoszkowski 1870: 220.

Mutilla tuberculata Lepeletier, 1845: 619 (♀) (nec Fabricius 1804); Bradley, 1957: 38 (listed). Junior subjective synonym according to Morawitz 1865: 125.

Mutilla bituberculata Smith, 1855: 2 (♀); Sichel & Radozskowski 1869 –1870: 156, 160, 219 (♂, ♀) (key, redescription); Ashmead 1903: 327, 328. Junior subjective synonym according to Morawitz 1865: 125.

Mutilla erythrothorax Sichel & Radozskowski, 1869 –1870: 160, 266 (♂) (key, redescription). Junior subjective synonym according to André 1903: 447.

Edrionotus bituberculata: Radozskowski 1885: 34 , plate 7, figs 52a, b, c, k (♂) (genital capsule).

Mutilla (Myrmilla) Bipunctata : André 1901a: 199, 206 (♂, ♀) (key, redescription).

Myrmilla bipunctata: André 1902: 25 (♂, ♀); André 1910: 43 (♂, ♀); Bischoff 1920: 56 (♀); Berland 1925: 318 (♂, ♀); Giner Marí 1944: 57 (♂, ♀); Invrea 1952: 298 (listed).

Myrmilla (Bisigilla) bipunctata: Skorikov 1927: 34 (♀).

Bisigilla bipunctata: Invrea 1964: 74 (♂, ♀); Bordoni 1980: 179 (♀); Bonneau 2001: 16 (listed).

Blakeius bipunctatus: Lelej 2002: 29 (catalogued); Lelej et al. 2003: 124 (catalogued); Pagliano & Strumia 2007: 47 (♂, ♀); Lelej & Yildirim 2009: 2 (listed); Koçak & Kemal 2008: 11 (listed); Koçak & Kemal 2009: 20 (listed); Pagliano & Matteini Palmerini 2014: 177.

Type locality. “Gallo-provincia” (located in Provence, South France).

Type material. According to Lelej (2002) the type material of Mutilla bipunctata Latreille, 1792 was lost, but recently, Pagliano (2005: 290) recorded the holotype in the collection of Massimiliano Spinola (Turin), a female bearing the following data: “ Myrmilla bipunctata Latr. ” ( MRSN). The identity of this species has been checked and confirmed to us by G. Pagliano (2013, in litteris), but it was not possible to examine the type specimen directly as it was unavailable.

Additional material examined. SPAIN: 1♂, Andalusia, Sierra Nevada, Picacho de la Veleta, 9.ix.1988 ( MPCR). FRANCE: 1♀, Rognac, 15.x. [18]93, Coll. Ernest André, 1914 ( MNHN); 1♀, Nyons, Coll. Ernest André, 1914 ( MNHN); 1♀, Arles, 20.vi. [18]91, Coll. Ernest André, 1914 ( MNHN); 1♀, Mars [Marseille?], Coll. O. Sichel, 1867 ( MNHN); 1♀, Marseille, 8.vi. [18]92, Ferton [leg.], Coll. Ernest André, 1914 ( MNHN); 1♀, Hyères, Coll. Ernest André, 1914 ( MNHN); 1♀, B. Alpes [= Basses Alpes], Coll. Ernest André, 1914 ( MNHN); 1♀, Orlèansville, Coll. Ernest André, 1914 ( MNHN); 1♂, same locality, Coll. J. De Gaulle, 1919 ( MNHN); 1♂, Marseille, Pas des Lanciers, 17.vi. [18]92, Ferton [leg.], Coll. Ernest André, 1914 ( MNHN); 1♂, Marseille, Ferton [leg.], Coll. Ernest André, 1914 ( MNHN); 1♂, same data except 16.ix. [18]92 ( MNHN); 1♀, Vaucluse, Carpentras, 30-31.vii.1951, P.M.F. Verhoeff [leg.] ( MSNG); 4♀, Martigues, Ga. m., 24.iv.1934, Tasso, Schatzm.-Koch [leg.] ( MSNG); 1♀, Grasse, A. Mar., 700 m, 25.iii.1935, Torre Tasso leg. ( MSNG); 1♂, Var, Cavalaire, L. Berland [leg.], vi.1922 ( MNHN); 1♂, Var, Callian, ix.1926, L. Berland [leg.] ( MNHN); 1♂, same locality, vii.1938, L. Berland leg. ( MNHN); 1♀, Var, Croix-Valmer, Mas di Cigaro, 29-31.v.1952, PMF Verhoeff [leg.] ( MNCN); 1♀, Pont du Gard, iv.1939, J. Jeffreys [leg.], Coll. Freeman ( BMNH); 2♀, 1♂, Valescure, 28.vi.1970, K.M. Guichard [leg.] ( BMNH); 1♀, [Les] Dourbes, 1000 m, 24.vi [19]70, K. Guichard [leg.] ( BMNH); 1♂, B. Du Rhône, Crau Coussou, SV Martin, 27.viii.1992, A. Foucart leg. ( UCTC); 1♀, Herault, Notre Dame de Lonches, 11.ix.1999, A. Foucart [leg.] ( UCTC); 1♀, Valescure, 28.vi. [19]70, K. Guichard [leg.] [det. by Guichard? and Brothers] ( DJBC). ITALY: 1♂, Liguria, [Imperia], Coldirodi, 27.vii.1935, C. Menozzi [leg.] ( MSNG); 1♀, same locality, 5.ix.1980, Scaramozzino leg. ( MNCN); 1♀, Liguria, Oneglia, vii.1953, E. Moltoni leg. ( MSNG); 4♀, Liguria, Imperia, Capo Berta, vii.1942, Boldetti leg. ( MSNG); 1♀, Liguria, Imperia, Ventimiglia, 21.iv.1983, G.P. Abbo leg. ( MPCR). MOROCCO: 1♂, Oujda, Triffa Mehdia, Oued Moulouya, Y. Barbier leg. [identified as Myrmilla calva, G. Nonveiller det. 1996] ( MNHN); 1♀, Rabat, Coll. Thery ( MNHN); 1♀, Hipodromos, Melilla, vii.1953, Pardo Alcaide [leg.] ( MSNG); 1♀, Mazuza, Melilla, vi.1955, Pardo Alcaide [leg.] ( MSNG); 1♀, Granja del Muluya, Kabdana [= Ras Kebdana], iv.1952, Pardo Alcaide [leg.] ( MSNG); 1♀, same data ( MNCN); 1♀, San Lorenzo, Melilla, iii.1953, Pardo Alcaide [leg.] ( MNCN); 2♀, Taurirt, B. Sicar-Marruecos, A. Pardo coll., vi.1973 / Myrmilla (Blakeius) bipunctata (Latr.) J. Suárez det. 1974 ( IBSS); 2♀, same locality, A. Pardo coll., 19.vi.1973 ( IBSS). ALGERIA: 8♀, Algeria, Coll. Gribodo ( MSNG); 1♀, 1♂, Algeria, 1889, D. Deyrolle leg., Paris, Coll. P. Magretti ( MSNG); Algeria, D. Gribodo [coll.] ( MSNG); 1♀, Saida, v.1943, K.M. Guichard [leg.] ( BMNH); 1♀, Oran, Coll. O. Sichel, 1867 ( MNHN); 1♀, same locality, Coll. Ernest André, 1914 ( MNHN); 1♂, same locality, Coll. J. De Gaulle, 1919 ( MNHN); 1♀, Oran, Les Trembles, 6.iv. [19]14, Coll. Ernest André, 1914 ( MNHN); 1♀, Tlemcen, 15.iv. [18]80, [Coll.] Finot, 1890 ( MNHN); 1♂, [without locality], Coll. R. Du Buysson, 1900 ( MNHN). TUNISIA: 1♀, Tunisi dint. [environs], i-ii.1882, G. and L. Doria [leg.] ( MSNG); 1♀, same locality, M. Blanc [leg.], 1903 ( MNHN); 1♂, Tunisi, Coll. P. Magretti ( MSNG); 6♀, Kairouan, 24.iii.1899, Coll. P. Magretti ( MSNG); 1♀, 3♂, same locality, Coll. Ernest André, 1914 ( MNHN); 1♀, same locality, Santschi [leg.], Coll. Ernest André, 1914 ( MNHN); 1♀, same data except 28.v. [19]04 ( MNHN); 1♀, Sfax, De Vauloger [leg.], 1895 ( MNHN); 1♀, Mahedia [= Mahdia], 1895, De Vauloger [leg.] ( MNHN); 1♀, Tunisi dint. Belv.[= Belvedere], 22.iv. [18]82, Elena [leg.] ( MSNG); 2♀, Tunisi [unreadable], Parco Belvedere, 1899 ( MSNG); 1♀, Tunis, Soukel Kharmis, 25.iii.1943 ( BMNH); 5♀, Carthago, 30.iii.1899, Coll. P. Magretti ( MSNG); 1♀, Nabeul, 10-11.ix.1987, M. Matteini Palmerini leg. ( MPCR); 1♀, Thuburgo Majus, 27.iv.2003, G. Pagliano leg. ( MPCR); 1♀, Tunis 1898, Schmiedekn[echt] [leg.] [det. by Kohl, Hammer and Brothers] ( DJBC). SYRIA: 1♀, without locality, Coll. Ernest André, 1914 ( MNHN). Material without geographic data: 1♂, Coll. R. Du Buysson, 1900 ( MNHN); 1♀, [locality unreadable], Coll. Lepeletier, 1825 ( MNHN); 1♀, Coll. Lepeletier ( MNHN); 1♀, 1♂, same pin [probably in copula] ( MNHN).

Redescription. ♀ ( France: Les Dourbes). Length: 7.0 mm. Colour. Head blackish to dark reddish brown with scattered mixed erect and recumbent setae, blackish on dorsal areas, whitish on clypeus, mandibles, antennae and ventral areas; clypeus dark reddish with apical margin blackish; mandible reddish with inner margin darker and apex blackish; antenna dark brown to reddish orange, especially on A1 and A2; mesosoma reddish orange except sides and ventral part much darker; legs blackish to dark reddish distally; metasoma blackish with moderately dense, long mixed erect and recumbent whitish and blackish setae; T2 with two whitish to weakly goldish round setal spots very close to anterior margin, diameter of each spot equal to their distance from each other; T3 with broad whitish-goldish pubescent band very narrowly but distinctly interrupted medially; T4 without pale pubescent band. Head shiny, with coarse, deep and dense to very dense (vertex) punctures (distance between punctures 0.5– 2.0 × puncture diameter); head width/length: 1.24; head width/pronotum width: 1.36; genal area (dorsal view) moderately long, margin regularly rounded toward occiput; gena (lateral view) convex, bulging, not angulate, without denticle; gena length/eye length: 1.23; frontal carina touching inner margin of eye; antennal rim concealed, not visible in dorsal view; supra-antennal tooth present, developed, sharply acute; clypeus triangle shaped, wide (axis of lateral process beyond antennal insertion), upper half (above transverse carina) prominent, flat and lower half concave with a moderately developed acute tooth-like process laterally; postgena (behind oral fossa) convex; oral fossa wide (width more than length); mandible tridentate, with wide and prominent inner basal tooth, about equal in size to inner apical tooth; ratios A2:A3:A4 = 5:12:7. Mesosoma length/width: 1.3, coarsely punctate dorsally, polished and shiny on sides, with scattered and very fine punctures to very weakly strigate; humeral angle acutely angulate with epomial carina strongly raised, touching pronotal spiracle; fore coxa moderately slender, apex rounded without distal process; mid and hind tibia with seven dorsal pre-apical spines arranged in two rows. Metasoma ovoidal, slender, shiny, punctate, punctures dense and fine to very coarse; T2 1.23 × as wide as long; S6 folded longitudinally.

♂ ( France: Crau Coussou). Length: 6.7 mm; fore wing: 4.1 mm. Colour. Head blackish, except vertex moderately reddish, with scattered mixed erect and recumbent setae, blackish on dorsal areas, whitish on clypeus, mandible, antenna and ventral area; clypeus blackish; mandible reddish orange with inner margin darker and apex blackish; antenna dark brown with A1 and A2 extensively reddish orange; mesosoma reddish orange, except side and ventral part blackish; legs blackish to dark reddish distally; wings hyaline infuscated in middle due to the presence of denser black setae; metasoma blackish with moderately dense erect long whitish setae; T2 with mixed erect and recumbent whitish and blackish setae, without pale spots; T3 with whitish broad pubescent band, narrowly but distinctly interrupted medially; T4 without pale pubescent band. Head shiny, with coarse, deep and dense to very dense (vertex) punctures (distance between punctures 0.5–2.0 × puncture diameter); head width/ length: 1.28; head width/pronotum width: 1.12; genal area (dorsal view) long, with margin strongly convergent toward occiput; gena (lateral view) convex, slim, slightly bulging, not angulate, without denticle; gena length/eye length: 1.75; longitudinal frontal furrow absent; antennal rim forwarded, recognizable in dorsal view; clypeus triangle shaped, wide (axis of lateral process slightly beyond antennal insertion), with anterior margin concave and amoderately developed acute tooth-like process laterally; ocelli well developed, distance between anterior and posterior ocelli more than distance between posterior ocelli; OOL:POL = 1.33:1.00; postgena (behind oral fossa) convex; oral fossa wide (width more than length); mandible tridentate, with a wide and prominent inner basal tooth, about equal in size to inner apical tooth; ratios A2:A3:A4 = 5:10:10. Mesosoma length/width: 1.7, coarsely punctate to coarsely areolate-rugose (propodeum), mesopleuron strongly convex and coarsely rugose-punctate; humeral angle obtusely angulate; sutures of mesoscutum well distinct; mesoscutum convex; mesoscutellum well defined, fairly convex; propodeum (dorsal view) about as wide as pronotum; tegula wide, subcircular with a few punctures; fore wing with axis of vein 2m-cu well beyond apex of marginal cell; submarginal cell 2 more than half as wide as marginal cell; angle between veins 2Rs and 2M acute; vein 4Rs weakly curved, apical angle clearly acute; veins 2Rs and 2M equal length; vein rs-m weakly thickened; fore coxa stout; mid tibia with one subapical dorsal pre-apical spine; hind tibia with two subapical dorsal pre-apical spines. Metasoma subelliptical, slender, shiny, punctate, punctures moderately dense to dense, fine to coarse; T2 1.33 × as wide as long; S2 with a well raised straight acute tooth-like process in middle; S8 stout with sides slightly convergent toward apex, distal margin slightly pointed medially, length/width: 1.03, with very large and raised tooth-like process in middle on ventral surface; genital capsule: cuspis of volsella elongate, finger-shaped, apex regularly rounded, weakly convex to flat toward apex, ending well beyond mid length of paramere harpe, without longitudinal carina; digitus of volsella much shorter than cuspis, about half length; penis valve with midventral process elongate and strongly curved.

Intraspecific variation. Examined 79♀, 21♂. Female. Length: 4.1–8.9 mm; the colour varies slightly as well as the size of the setal spots on T2; the head is blackish, rarely with a small to wide reddish spot on the vertex, to entirely dark reddish brown; the mesosoma is mostly reddish orange, sometimes darkened, especially on the sides, in some specimens also the margins of the mesonotum are blackish (North-Africa); the legs vary from reddish to dark reddish to brownish, with the femora blackish. One small female from Tunisia (4.2 mm) has the body dark reddish orange overall, including the antennae and legs. Male. Length: 4.9–6.7 mm; the colour seems to vary on the basis of the body size e.g., smaller specimens are lighter overall, including the tegulae and legs reddish and the metasoma dark reddish; one specimen has a small irregular reddish spot on the vertex, just behind the ocellar area.

Distribution. Europe: Spain, Southern France, Corsica (?), North-Western Italy, Greece (?). North Africa: Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt. Asia: Cyprus and Syria (?) ( Fig. 36 ).

Remarks. According to Berland (1925), this species was doubtfully recorded in Central France by André (1901a: 199, 207), because its distribution in that country seems to be restricted to southern part. The records from Greece (e.g., Invrea 1964: 76; Lelej 2002: 29; Lelej & Yildirim 2009: 2; Koçak & Kemal 2009: 20) are vague and not based on material, and apparently referred to the old record by André (1901a: 199), which we cannot confirm based on material examined; moreover, contributions dealing with the mutillid fauna of the Balkans (e.g., Nonveiller 1976; Nonveiller et al. 1998) or specifically Greece ( Giachino et al. 2000) have not reported the presence of Bla . bipunctatus . Therefore, we consider the presence of this species in Greece as doubtful and needing to be confirmed. Similarly, the old vague records for Corsica ( Costa 1887: 94, 106) and Cyprus ( André 1901a: 199, 206; André 1902: 25), in our opinion, require confirmation. Pagliano (2005: 287) recorded a specimen from Corse as Bla . bipunctatus under the name “ Mutilla cyrnea ”, but we cannot ascribe this name to any described taxon; judging from Pagliano’s (2005: Fig. 3 ) photograph of the relevant box, this is an unpublished Spinola name for what Spinola considered a variety of M. halensis ; we have not been able to examine the specimen, but the (small) photograph looks more like a specimen of Bid. chiesi than Bla . bipunctatus . The presence in Syria is based on only one female, without exact locality, present in Coll. Ernest André (MNHN) (examined). Finally, the record for Egypt, although old and vague, is considered reliable, since it is corroborated by a detailed description which fits Bla . bipunctatus well ( André 1910: 43).

Biology. Based on material examined, this species shows a wide phenological range, with females collected mainly between March and October, and some collected earlier (January–February) in N-Africa; the males were collected in June–September. It is recorded as a parasitoid of Halictidae ( Férton 1898; Brothers et al. 2000).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Blakeius bipunctatus, habitus in dorsal and lateral views: (A – B) ♀; (C – D) ♂ (metasomal apex missing). Scale bars = 1.0 mm.

FIGURE 3. Blakeius bipunctatus, ♀ (A – E) and ♂ (F – J): (A, F) head, dorsal view; (B, G) head, lateral view; (C, H) head, frontal view; (D, I) mandible; (E, J) clypeus. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 4. Blakeius bipunctatus, ♀ (A) and ♂ (E): (A) head ventro-lateral view; (E) wings. Oral fossa, ventral view, ♀ (B – D): (B) Myrmilla (Myrmilla) calva (Villers, 1789); (C) Blakeius cobosi; (D) Bidecoloratilla negrei. Scale bars = 0.5 mm (except E, 1.0 mm).

FIGURE 36. Distributions of species of Blakeius and Bimaculatilla, according to the material examined and selected and checked literature data.