Tachytes argyropis de Saussure, 1887

Pulawski, Wojciech J., 2019, A Review of the Wasp Genus Tachytes Panzer, 1806 of Madagascar (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae), Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 66 (7), pp. 117-135 : 119-121

Tachytes argyropis de Saussure

Figures 1 –6.

Tachytes argyropis de Saussure, 1887:18 , ♀. Lectotype: ♀, Madagascar: no specific locality (MHNG), present designation, examined. – de Saussure, 1890:pl. 10, fig. 8a and pl. 11, figs. 8 and 8m), 1892:476 ( Madagascar, redescription); Dalla Torre, 1897:687 (in catalog of world Hymenoptera ); Kohl, 1909:372 ( Madagascar: Imerina, Toamasina, Toliara); von Schulthess in Friederichs, 1918a:47 ( Madagascar: Antananarivo); Arnold, 1945:108 (in revision of Tachytes of Madagascar); Leclercq, 1960:99 ( Madagascar: locality records), 1961:111 ( Madagascar: locality records); R. Bohart and Menke, 1976:263 (in checklist of world Sphecidae ); Leclercq, 1990:118 ( Madagascar: locality records); Pulawski, 2003:798 (in checklist of Malagasy Sphecidae ); Madl, 2014:986 (in catalog of Ampulicidae , Crabronidae , and Sphecidae of Madagascar, with synonymy and locality records).

LECTOTYPE SELECTION.— Owing to the kindness of Monsieur Bernard Landry, I was able to examine two female and two male syntypes of this species, bearing the original name labels by de Saussure, and preserved in the MHNG. The labels read “ Madagascar, Sikora”, with no specific locality (Franz Sikora was a renowned collector). I have selected a female as the lectotype of this species. It agrees perfectly well with the current interpretation of this species.

COMPARISON WITH SIMILAR SPECIES.— Tachytes argyropis shares the reduced number of palpomeres (palpal formula 5 + 3), and closely resembles, three species from continental Africa: T. admirabilis Turner, 1916 , T. danae Arnold, 1923 , and T. marshalli Turner, 1912 (that were placed by Turner, 1917 in his subgenus Calotachytes ). All three species have an elongate galea ( Figs. 1, 2 ), longer than the scape, markedly elongate basal segment of the labial palpus ( Fig. 3 ), and the male midbasitarsus, looking emarginate in profile ( Fig. 4 ). Tachytes argyropis differs from T. admirabilis and T. danae in having well-defined silvery fasciae on the preapical depressions of terga I-IV (the setae on the remaining parts of terga appear dark from most angles, but silvery from some angles). In the other two species the gastral setae are uniformly golden; also, in T. admirabilis the forewing is markedly infumate (yellowish in T. argyropis ). T. argyropis differs from T. marshalli by a number of characters: the wing membrane is yellowish, darkened along the apical margin, in the female the postocellar area is longer than wide and the setae of tergum V are the same color as on the preceding terga, and in the male the basal emargination on the venter of midbasitarsus is about twice as long as the nonemarginate apical part, which is less prominent, and the venter of flagellomeres II and III has no erect setae (in T. marshalli the wing membrane is conspicuously infumate, in the female the postocellar area is about as wide as long and the setae of tergum V are black, clearly contrasting with the setae on the preceding terga; in the male the basal emargination on the venter of midbasitarsus is about as long as the nonemarginate apical part, which is more prominent, and the venter of flagellomeres II and III has silvery, erect setae whose length is up to about 0.5 of midocellar diameter).

The elongate galea (longer than the scape) and the markedly elongate basal segment of the labial palpus are also found in T. galeatus and in the Saharan species T. basilicus Guérin Méneville and its Afrotropical relatives. The palpal formula of these species, however, is 6 + 4.

RECORDS ..— (Fig. 6; M: from Madl, 2014).—

Antananarivo Province: Ambatoloana (M), Ampe-

fy at Lac Kavitaha (M), Analavory (M), Antananarivo (1 ♀, 2 ♂, CAS), Imerina ( Kohl, 1909) . Antsir-

anana (= Diego Suarez) Province: Montagne des

Français at 12º19’22’’S 49º20’17’’E (1 ♀, CAS) ,

Parc National Montagne d’Ambre at 12º30’52’’S

49º10’53’’E (1 ♀, CAS). Fianarantsoa Province :

Ambalavao (M), Ambositra (M), Ampitavananima

Forest 50 km S Farafangana at 23º7.79’S

47º43.02’E (15 ♀, 9 ♂, CAS), Fianarantsoa (Leclercq, 1990), Ifaty : coastal dunes at 23º10.78’S

43º37.01’E (1 ♂, CAS), Ihosy (M), 40 road km W

Ihosy at 22º28’S 45º49’E (13 ♀, CAS), 22 km SW

Ilakaka at 22º46.75’S 45º1.50’E (16 ♀, 12 ♂, CAS) ,

Isalo National Park at 22º36’S 45º10’E (1 ♀, 2 ♂,

CAS), near Isalo National Park at 22º37.60’S

45º21.49’E (3 ♀, 13 ♂, CAS), Italaviana 35 km SSE

Antsirabe at 20º10.40’S 47º05.16’E (1 ♀, 5 ♂,

CAS), Mananjary (M), Ranohira (M), Ranomafana

National Park at 21º15’05’’S 47º24’43’’E (6 ♀, 3 ♂,

CAS), 21º15.99’S 47º25.21’E (1 ♀, CAS), and

21.25537ºS 47.45515ºE (1 ♀, CAS), 7 km W

Sendrisoa at 21º57.96’S 46º55.95’E (3 ♀, 1 ♂,

CAS). Toamasina Province: Andasibe National

Park (1 ♀, CAS), Fampanambo (M), Toamasina

( Kohl, 1909), 20 road km SW Toamasina at 18º15’S

49º16’E (1 ♀, 1 ♂, CAS). Toliara Province: Ambo-

himahavelona village 33 km NE Toliara at

23º26.45’S 43º53.98’E (1 ♀, 1 ♂, CAS) ,

Ambovombe (M), Andohahela National Park at

24º56.21’S 46º37.60’E (2 ♀, CAS), Antanimora FIGURE 6. Collecting localities of Tachytes argyreus de Saussure .

( Arnold, 1945), Behara ( Arnold, 1945), Bekily

( Arnold, 1945), Betroka (M), Beza Mahafaly Réserve at 23º41.19’S 44º35.46’E (1 ♀, CAS), Cap Sainte Marie Special Reserve at 25º35.26’S 45º09.78’E (1 ♀, CAS), Lake Ranobe at 23º02.468’S 43º36.607’E (1 ♀, CAS), Réserve Privée Berenty at 25º00.40’S 46º18.20’E (2 ♀, 3 ♂, CAS), Sakaraha (M), Taolagnaro ( Leclercq, 1960, as Fort Dauphin), Toliara ( Kohl, 1909), Tsiamanampetsotsa National Park at 23º59’32’’S 43º52’50’’E (2 ♂, CAS). Locality unknown ([F.] Sikora collector): 2 ♀, 1 ♂, CAS, determined by F. Kohl; 2 ♀, 2 ♂, Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle, Genève, Switzerland, determined by H. de Saussure, including female lectotype of T. argyropis .

Figures

FIGURES 1–5. Tachytes argyreus de Saussure. (1) Galea of female in front view; (2) Galea of female in lateral view; (3) Labial palpus of female; (4) Male midbasitarsus; (5) male hindfemur showing length of erect setae.