Aulacus scitulus Jennings & Parslow, sp. nov.

Figs 43, 65.

Material examined. Holotype. ♀, “ ex Malaise trap, 16km Davies Ck Rd Mareeba NEQ, 6Nov -2Dec 1984, Storey & Halfpapp (ASCU). Right flagellomeres 9 to tip, right hind tarsus, and right ovipositor sheath missing.

Description. FEMALE. Length. 7.5 mm, excluding ovipositor.

Colour. Meso- and metasoma orange, head black, scape, pedicel and flagellomeres 1-3 and 8-12 black, 4-7 cream, hind femora and tibia darker orange, ovipositor sheaths brown (Figs 43A, B). Wings hyaline.

Head. 1.1× wider than long when viewed dorsally (Fig. 43C); face punctate-rugose, pubescence long; subantennal groove present; frons with distinct lateral medial carina above toruli (Fig. 43F), rugulose-reticulate, with scattered punctures, with scattered short setae; vertex and gena rugulose-reticulate with scattered short setae; posterior margin of head concave and more or less sinuate in dorsal view; occipital carina absent; malar space 0.3× height eye; clypeus 3.8× as wide as high, margin sinuate, with medial process; distance from lateral ocellus to eye margin 1.47× distance between lateral ocelli; scape 2.7× length pedicel; first flagellomere 1.0× as long as scape, 0.52× as long as second flagellomere.

Mesosoma. Propleuron rugose, pubescence long, ventro-lateral carina present; pronotum dorsal part of pronotum raised, rugose-carinate, ventro-laterally with deep, smooth depression, ventrally smooth with a few scattered punctures; mesoscutum in lateral view angular antero-dorsally, medial and lateral lobes strigate (Figs 43C, D), with scattered short setae, admedial lines indistinct; notauli distinct, carinate, narrow and deep; scutellum and axillae strigate, scutellum with a single shallow depression; metapostnotum broad, scrobiculate, posterior margin convex; mesopleuron rugose, long pubescence; mesepimeron broad, carinate; metapleuron rugose, with short pubescence, smooth patch on anterior margin of spiracle; propodeum areolate, posterior margin smooth, with a few carinae; hind coxa rugose dorsally, strigate-rugose laterally, pubescence longer laterally, ovipositor guide absent (Fig. 43E); hind trochanter imbricate, long pubescence; prefemur on hind leg present; hind femur imbricate, short pubescence; hind tibia imbricate, pubescence short, with scattered stout emergent setae; hind femur 0.86× length hind tibia; hind tibia with ventro-apical pecten of short robust spines; hind tarsomeres 1–4 with ventroapical pecten of short robust spines, tarsomere 1, 3.38× length tarsomere 2; tarsomere 2, 1.48× length tarsomere 3; tarsomere 3, 2.1× length tarsomere 4; tarsomere 4, 0.48× length tarsomere 5; hind tarsal claw 0.3× length tarsomere 5; fore wing veins 2r-m and 3r-m largely spectral; hind wing venation complete, M+Cu, Cu, r-m and 2-M spectral, with 3 hamuli, first hamulus separate from other 2.

Metasoma. Ovate, 1.3× length of mesosoma (Fig. 43B); T1 and T2 narrow, glabrous, smooth tending to imbricate with scattered, small punctures posteriorly, T3–T8 imbricate, with scattered small punctures, short setae progressively denser on each tergite; ovipositor 7.5 mm.

MALE. Unknown.

Etymology. This species is named from the Latin scitulus, beautiful, handsome, pretty, elegant, neat.

Distribution. This species is known only from the type locality, Mareeba, Queensland (Fig. 65).

Biology. Nothing is known of the biology of this species.

Comments. Aulacus scitulus keys out with A. obcordellus . Although very similar in appearance, they can be separated by the sculpturing on the face, which is punctate-rugose in A. scitulus and punctate-reticulate in A. obcordellus . See additional comments under A. obcordellus (above).