Dasylabris leleji Terine & Girish Kumar, 2023

Terine, Joshua B., Kumar, Girish P. & Adithya, Yogesh B., 2023, A new species of Dasylabris Radoszkowski, 1885 (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) from India, Zootaxa 5263 (1), pp. 135-140 : 136-139

Dasylabris leleji Terine & Girish Kumar , sp. nov.

( Figs 1–7 )

Diagnosis. T1 with sparse black setae dorsally and fringe of white sparse setae posteriorly. T2 with one basal medial and three apical white spots. T2–5 with black setae. Head, mesosoma and legs dark reddish-brown.

Description. FEMALE. Body length 7.87 mm. Coloration and setation. Head, mesosoma and legs dark reddish-brown. Head and mesosoma predominantly covered with pale golden setae. Gena, antenna, clypeus and legs ferruginous. Mandible ferruginous apically black. Metasoma black except T1, T1 dark reddish-brown; T2 laterally with brown tint. S1–6 ferruginous, towards lateral edges black. Frons and vertex completely covered with dense pale golden pubescence, with sparse black setae on frons. Gena with sparse pale golden setae. Antenna and clypeus with sparse short white and black setae. Mesosoma with dorsum covered with dense appressed pale-golden sericeous pubescence, except for propodeum covered. Mesopleuron and metapleuron with white setae. T1 with sparse black setae as in propodeum. T2–6 with dense black setae. T2 with basomedial white spot and three apical white spots. T2–6 laterally with long sparse black and white setae. S1–6 with sparse white setae throughout. S2 and S3 with apical fringe of white setae, S2 with tuft of white setae towards postero-lateral edges. S4 with apical fringe of intermixed black and white setae. S5 with black apical fringe. Legs with intermixed black and white setae, the tarsi with denser black setae.

Structure and sculpture. Head. Oval in frontal view, not elongated behind eyes, longitudinal eye diameter 0.70 × minimal distance between eyes; eye not emarginated on the inner margin. Hypostomal carina developed. Gena alveolate. Mandible apically acuminated. Clypeus medially weakly emarginated with two weak denticles. Ratios of pedicel length and F1–3 0.52:0.60:0.67:0.65.

Mesosoma. Maximal mesosomal width 1.13 × head width behind eye. Scutellar scale well developed. Posterior propodeal face alveolate as in gena. Mesopleuron and metapleuron sparsely alveolate and micro-punctate.

Legs. Mid tibia with two rows of spines, four in each row, hind tibia with two rows of spines, three in each row.

Metasoma. T1 petiolate, punctate-alveolate. T2 maximal width 2.27 × T1 maximal width. T2 with black lateral felt line. T6 with long subovate pygidial plate, widest at middle with lateral carina, circularly striated. S2 towards base and laterally slightly elevated forming concavity in middle. S2–3 with densely punctate, S4–6 with sparse punctate.

Male. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype ♀, INDIA, Madhya Pradesh, Burhanpur district, Mohad , 21.174591°N, 76.253703°E, 307 m, 16.II.2022, Adithya Yogesh Bari, ZSI/ WGRC /IR/INV. 21931 [ ZSIK].

Distribution. India (Madhya Pradesh).

Etymology. The name is dedicated to Arkady S. Lelej for his contribution to the taxonomy of Mutillidae .

Remarks. By the shape of the pygidial plate and pale design of T2, this new species is related to Dasylabris optima ( Smith, 1855) but differs by having head, mesosoma and legs dark reddish-brown (ferruginous in D. optima ), by lacking medial spot of white setae on T3 (with such spot in D. optima ), by denser pale setae of head and mesosomal dorsum (in D. optima the sculpture of head and mesosomal dorsum is still visible).

Key to the species of Indian Dasylabris (Females only)

- T1 setae black with a silver mesal spot.............................................. D. argentipes ( Smith, 1855)

3. T1 and T3 each with a white mesal setal spot; head and mesosoma with sparse dull orange setae dorsally................................................................................................. D. optima ( Smith, 1855)

- T1 and T3 without any spots, T1 with sparse and T3 with dense black setae mesally; head and mesosoma with dense golden setae dorsally........................................................................... D. leleji sp. nov.

Figures

FIGURES 1–7. Dasylabris leleji sp. nov., holotype, ♀. 1. Habitus, dorsal view; 2. Head and mesosoma, dorsal view; 3. Metasoma, dorsal view; 4. Metasoma, ventral view; 5. Head, frontal view; 6. Clypeus and mandible, frontal view; 7. Pygidial plate.