Pseudomethoca contumax ( Cresson, 1865 )

Williams, Kevin A., 2023, Taxonomic updates for diurnal velvet ants (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) in the United States of America, Zootaxa 5301 (1), pp. 105-123 : 114-115

Pseudomethoca contumax ( Cresson, 1865)

Mutilla contumax Cresson, 1865: 437 , ♀.

Mutilla microphthalma Gerstaecker, 1874: 64 , ♁.

Pseudomethoca oculissima Mickel, 1924: 14 , ♀. New synonym.

Pseudomethoca albicoma Mickel, 1924: 29 , ♁. New synonym.

Pseudomethoca manca Mickel, 1924: 45 , ♁. New synonym.

Pseudomethoca contumeliosa Mickel, 1935: 393 , ♀. New synonym.

Material examined. I examined 8 males of P. albicoma (CASC, CSCA, FSCA) , 45 females of P. contumax (CASC, CNCI, CSCA, CSUC, FSCA, UCDC, UMSP) , 41 females of P. contumeliosa (CASC, CSCA, FSCA, NVDA, UCDC, UMSP) and 14 males of P. manca (CSCA, FSCA, OSUC, UMSP) .

Distribution. Mexico (Sonora), USA (Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah).

Remarks. In the most recent key to species of Pseudomethoca in the USA ( Mickel 1935), females of P. contumax and P. contumeliosa share an apparently unique coloration, with an inverted pi “π” shaped marking of silvery setae on T2 and dense golden setae on the head. These two forms were separated by head and eye size ( Mickel 1935). Upon examining large series, these features are found to vary along a continuum within a given locality, allowing us to synonymize these forms. After this synonymy, P. contumax is recognized as one of the most widespread species of Pseudomethoca in the Western USA, ranging from Washington state and northeastern California East to Iowa and South to Texas. Females of P. contumax are also recognized as close relatives of P. praeclara ( Blake, 1886) , which is known from both sexes. In the northwestern portion of their range, P. contumax has been collected concurrently with P. manca , which was separated from P. praeclara males only by antennal tubercle sculpture. In the southeastern portion of their range, P. contumax females have been collected concurrently with P. albicoma , which was separated from P. praeclara only in antennal tubercle sculpture and from P. manca only in T2 sculpture. The T2 sculpture separating P. manca from P. albicoma is subtle and varies within populations, suggesting these two forms are conspecific. Based on similarity to P. praeclara in both sexes and overlapping distributions with females of P. contumax , both P. manca and P. albicoma are recognized as males and junior synonyms, of P. contumax . Males of P. praeclara and P. contumax can be separated by antennal tubercle sculpture: entirely micropunctate in P. praeclara and smooth in P. contumax and by paramere shape: nearly straight in P. contumax and weakly sigmoidal in P. praeclara . They can also be relatively easily separated by distribution, P. contumax occurs in temperate regions from Washington state to Texas and P. praeclara occurs in the hot Sonoran Desert and Madrean Archipelago of California and Arizona; they apparently overlap only in the Madrean Archipelago of southern Arizona.

The rare and poorly understood species, P. oculissima , was diagnosed in keys ( Mickel 1924, 1935) by having small body length, from 3–5 mm. In the description of this species ( Mickel 1924), however, the body length was listed at 6 mm. Photographs of the holotype (USNMENT01570603 at https://collections.nmnh.si.edu/) reveal that the actual body length is closer to 7.5 mm. The description of this species mentions that the T2 coloration has “a large triangular spot on each side”. Examination of the type photographs, however, reveals that T2 has the same inverted pi “π” shaped marking of silvery setae that is seen in P. contumax . In this specimen, the setae are worn down (apparently because of specimen age) and the marking is somewhat interrupted mesally. This is not different from other worn specimens of P. contumax . While smaller than other known P. contumax specimens, this is not outside the range of size variation seen in other velvet ants (e.g. Williams et al. 2010). The unique type of P. oculissima occurs within the geographic range of P. contumax and no other diagnostic structural differences were found. Pseudomethoca oculissima is therefore recognized as a junior synonym of P. contumax .