Meria erythraea, Boni, 2009

Boni, M., 2009, Afrotropical species of the ancient genus Meria ILLIGER 1807 (Hymenoptera, Tiphiidae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 41 (2), pp. 1817-1861 : 1833-1834

Meria erythraea nov.sp.

Holotype Ƌ - Erythraea = / Eritrea (Asmara) 30.VI.1950 leg. S.Mochi /, MZUF Paratype ♀ - Erythraea = (2) /Eritrea (Asmara) 30. VI.1950 leg. S.Mochi /, MZUF Paratype Ƌ - Erythraea = (2) /Asmara ETHIOPIA 7600’ 18-20.I.62 S.M.Clark /, MZUF; (2) /Eritrea

(Asmara) 30.VI.1950 leg. S.Mochi /, MZUF; (1) / Eritrea Asmara Bet Gerghis 29.IV.1950 /,

MZUF

Male. Holotype. Figs 56-61 . Measurements: body length = 15 mm; forewing length = 10 mm.

Black, brown, yellow. Wings hyaline. Brown: tip of mandible; veins; legs but light areas. Yellow: irregular spots on clypeal disk; base of mandible; two lateral spots along the fore border and one preapical stripe on N 1 disk; subtriangular spot on Es 2; humeral plate, basal coastal vein, most of tegula; small spots on X 2 and X 3, ventral and apical femurs, upper tibiae, tarsi; apical stripe with irregular fore edge enclosing laterally a small dark brown area on 1 st to 4 th terga and with simply indented fore edge on 5 th, 6 th terga, 3 rd to 6 th sterna; two lateral and one central spots on 7 th tergum; three apical spots on 2 nd sternum. cOc not broken by hypostomal basis. PoG short but clearly expressed. Hypostomal basis and PoG area swollen. Secu stripe covering half the thickness of flagellomeri. X 3 with a longitudinal laminated keel along inner edge. 3 rd to 6 th sterna with a median transversal deep groove, severing an almost flat anterior and a swollen less impunctate posterior surfaces. 7 th tergum with lobes not complanar, strongly bent both in lateral and back aspect. Quite dense white hair on lower frons, clypeus, genae, lateral N 1, Sc 2, Es 2; P, lateral 1 st sternum, 1 st tergum. Sparse hair elsewhere. Digitus without any bristles.

Female. Figs 62-64. Measurements: body length = 11 mm; forewing length = 5 mm.

Dark brown, brown and light brown, ivory white. Wings darkened, hindwing lighter.

Head and mesosoma more or less dark brown. Ventral mesosoma, legs and partially metasoma brown. Light brown are antennae, mandibles, Tsa, apical 4 th, all 5 th and 6 th terga. Ivory white: two large lateral spots on 2 nd and 3 rd terga. c Oc broken by the swollen semi transparent base of hypostoma. Lamella of clypeus strongly arched in ventral aspect with forewarding sides. Propodeal disk with median furrow and only few p along its lateral edges, without any wrinkle. 2 nd petiolated CSM present.

Note. The specimens have been kindly given by W. Borsato (Venezia).

Ecology: unknown.

Derivatio nominis. From the area of provenance.

Figures

Figs. 56-61: Meria erythraea Ƌ. 56: head and pronotal disk, dorsal aspect; 57: head, frontal aspect; 58: 7th tergum, dorsal aspect; 59: 7th tergum, lateral aspect; 60: 7th tergum, back aspect; 61: gonostylus, volsella and aedeagus. Figs. 62-64: Meria erythraea ♀. 62: head, dorsal aspect; 63: head, frontal aspect; 64: mesosoma, dorsal aspect (56, 57, 62, 64: scale bar = 2 mm) (58, 59, 60, 63: scale bar = 1 mm) (61: scale bar = 0.5 mm).