Physetopoda nuptura ( Mercet, 1905 )

Parejo-Pulido, Daniel & Romano, Marcello, 2024, Notes on Iberian Mutillidae (Hymenoptera) part I: a new species, new records and some taxonomic and faunistic remarks, Zootaxa 5477 (5), pp. 501-536 : 516-518

Physetopoda nuptura ( Mercet, 1905)

( Fig. 9 )

Mutilla nuptura Mercet, 1905: 490 , ♂.

Mutilla nuptura var. bofilli Mercet, 1905: 492 , ♂. Syn. nov.

Smicromyrme balianii Invrea, 1932: 144 , ♂, syn. Pagliano & Strumia 2007

Smicromyrme nuptura : Giner Marí 1944: 87–88; Suárez 1954a: 6; Arnone & Romano 1998: 22; Lelej 2002: 77.

Smicromyrme nuptura var. bofilli : Giner Marí 1944: 88; Erlandsson 1974: 31.

Smicromyrme nuptura bofilli : Lelej 2002: 77.

Physetopoda nuptura : Pagliano & Strumia 2007: 77,79; Pagliano 2009: 182; Lo Cascio 2015: 555; Pagliano & Agnoli 2018: 133; Baldock et al. 2020a: 21; Pagliano et al. 2020: 180; Pagliano 2021: 56; Matias 2023b: 204; Parejo-Pulido et al. 2023: 15.

Physetopoda nuptura bofilli : Pagliano et al. 2020: 180.

Diagnosis. Male ( Fig. 9 ). Body black except for the apical part of mandibles, which are red, and tibiae and tarsi, which are brownish. Colouration of mesosoma is highly variable, ranging from entirely red except propodeum ( Fig. 9A, D ) to completely black ( Fig. 9F, I ). Mandibles tridentate at the apex, with an external tooth beneath. Clypeus with a medial longitudinal carina that widens distally to form an inverted Y-shaped elevated in the middle, with two distinct tubercles to the anterior border of the clypeus ( Fig. 9C, H ). Head with parallel sides, well developed behind the eyes. Small-sized ocelli ( Fig. 9B, G ); POL/OOL range = 0.8–1, N = 11; OL:MOD:LOD = 1.0:0.7–0.9:0.6–0.8, N = 12. Tegulae big and densely punctate, with black setae covering dorsally. Wings darkened. Mesosoma with a robust, square appearance; anterior margin of pronotum straight and angled at the corners ( Fig. 9A, F ). Propodeum truncated ( Fig. 9A, D, F ). S1 with a longitudinal carina. T2 1.2–1.6 times wider than long (N = 10), densely punctate. Felt lines on lateral sides of T2. T2 with a distal, narrow band of white-silvery pubescence. T3 completely covered by white-silvery pubescence. The rest of tergites with only black pubescence. Genitalia is shown in Fig. 9E, L . Body length: 7.0–9.0 mm. (N = 14).

For a more detailed description see Giner Marí (1944).

Female. Unknown.

Material examined. FRANCE. 1♂, St. Antonin d Var / 30.9.2005 / D. W. Baldock leg. / D. W. Baldock coll. ITALY. 1♂, M. Nebrodi, Biviere di Cesaró, Sicilia / 30.VII / 1250 –1320m. / Colección J. Suárez [ MNCN _Ent 350833]. PORTUGAL. 2♂, Rezende (Port. N) / 27-8-1951 / N F d’Andrade leg. / as Smicromyrme nuptura var. bofilli / Colección J. Suárez [ MNCN _Ent 350840, 350843]; 1♂, labelled “ Homotipo ” / Portugal-Douro, Resende / 16-19-VII-1953 / P. M. F. Verhoeff leg. / as Smicromyrme nuptura var. bofilli J. Suárez det. 1954 / Colección J. Suárez [ MNCN _Ent 97006]; 1♂, labelled “Comparado al tipo” / Portugal-Douro, Resende / 16-19-VII-1953 / P. M. F. Verhoeff leg. / Colección J. Suárez / J. Suárez det. 1957 [ MNCN _Ent 350831]; 3♂, Portugal-Douro, Resende / 16-19-VII-1953 / P. M. F. Verhoeff leg. / as Smicromyrme nuptura var. bofilli J. Suárez det. 1954 / Colección J. Suárez [ MNCN _Ent 350842, 350844-45]. SPAIN. 1♂, labelled “Tipo” / Escorial, Madrid / VIII-1904 / Arias leg. / García Mercet det. [ MNCN _Ent 104213]; 1♂, labelled “Cotipo” / Escorial, Madrid / 7-1905 / García Mercet leg. [ MNCN _Ent 95155]; 1♂, Madrid / 25-7-1910 / G. Mercet leg. / Colección García Mercet [ MNCN _Ent 91223]; 1♂, Sequeros, Salamanca / 24.VIII.1959 / F. Verges / Colección J. Suárez [ MNCN _Ent 350832]; 1♂, Toledo, Toledo / 10-VII-1969 / P. M. F. Verhoeff / Colección J. Suárez [ MNCN _Ent 350834]; 3♂, Tres Cantos, Madrid / 12-X-1996, 3-X-1998 and 17-X-1998 / F. Fresno leg. / ex. Colección F. Fresno [ MNCN _Ent 339643; 339645, 339648]; 1♂, Arganda, Madrid / 22-IX-2010 / F. Fresno leg. / ex. Colección F. Fresno [ MNCN _Ent 339646]; 3♂, Mijas Costa, Málaga / 10.09.2016 and (15-17). IX.2017 / F. Fresno leg. / 70m. / Platos / ex. Colección F. Fresno [ MNCN _Ent 339644; 339647, 339649]; 5♂, Retuerta del Bullaque, Ciudad Real / (1-21)- VI-2019, (2-11)- VIII-2019 and (11-17)- VIII-2019 / C. Rey leg. / 720m. / Malaise trap [ MNCN _Ent 339626, 339633,339650-52]; 3♂, Saelices El Chico, Salamanca / (4-11)- IX-2019 and (18-25)- IX-2019 / C. Rey leg. / 659m. / Malaise trap / colour variety corresponding to Physetopoda nuptura var. bofilli [ MNCN _Ent 339617; 339622-23].

Distribution. France, Italy (incl. Sicily), Morocco, Portugal, Spain ( Arnone & Romano 1998; Pagliano et al. 2020; this study).

Iberian distribution. Barcelona, Cádiz, Ciudad Real, Madrid, Málaga, Salamanca, Toledo, Viseu ( García Mercet 1905; Erlandsson 1974; Parejo-Pulido et al. 2023; this study).

Remarks. García Mercet (1905) described Ph. nuptura from El Escorial (Madrid) and a colour variety of the same species from La Garriga (Barcelona), which only differs in the colour pattern of mesosoma: red except propodeum in the typical form and completely black in bofilli. Ph. nuptura is a very distinctive species among Iberian Physetopoda , being the only species within the genus to feature bands of white-silvery pubescence completely covering certain tergites. This characteristic is shared by both the typical form and the colour variety bofilli (T3 covered, Fig. 9A, F ). In addition, they exhibit a robust appearance with angulate pronotum ( Fig. 9A, F ), small-sized ocelli ( Figs 9B, 9G ) and a clypeus structure featuring two distinct tubercles on its anterior border. Genitalia of both taxa are also similar: the volsella in lateral view appears short and rounded, with a pointed, apical tuft of pilosity, and ventrally with setae of nearly equal length to the volsella, concentrated in the basal part and curved at the apical end ( Fig. 9E, L ). Genitalia appearance, coupled with the white pubescence band on T3, appear uncommon features within the Physetopoda species (see Parejo-Pulido et al. 2023 for comments on the position of this and other species in the genus Physetopoda ). Moreover, both colour forms can coexist (e.g. specimens from Salamanca), with intermediate forms also present (e.g. Fig. 9F ; Parejo-Pulido et al. 2023: 17, Fig. 58). Therefore, we conclude that Ph. nuptura bofilli is simply a colour variety and should be synonymised with Ph. nuptura .

We also confirm the presence of Ph. nuptura in France with the specimen from St. Antonin du Var. Although Arnone & Romano (1998) initially reported this species from Marseille ( France), this finding has been overlooked in Lelej (2002) and Pagliano et al. (2020).

Figures

FIGURE 9. Physetopoda nuptura (Mercet), males. A–D Spain, Montarco, Madrid [MNCN_Ent 95155]. E France, St. Antonin d Var. F–G, I Portugal, Resende [MNCN_Ent 97006]. H Spain, Saelices El Chico, Salamanca [MNCN_Ent 339622]. L Spain, Saelices El Chico, Salamanca [MNCN_Ent 339617, 339622-23]. A, F habitus, dorsal view; B, G head, dorsal view; C, H head, frontal view; D, I habitus, lateral view; E, L genitalia.