Belonogaster maculata Richards, 1982

Selis, Marco & Longair, Robert W., 2025, New data on the genus Belonogaster de Saussure, with establishment of the atrata species-group (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Polistinae), Zootaxa 5692 (2), pp. 353-368 : 363

Belonogaster maculata Richards, 1982

( Fig. 6 )

Belonogaster maculata Richards, 1982: 36 (key), 71, ♀ – “ Uganda: eastern Mbale district, S. of Mt Elgon , 2700-3000 ft [ 820- 915m]” (OUMNH).

Material examined. CAMEROON: E of Big Babanki , 6.11666N 10.26666E, 1200 m, 10.III.2008, leg. J. Horak, 1♂ 1♀ ( MSVI, OLML) . CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Lobaye, 20 km NNE of Mbaiki , 400 m, 3–4. V.2010, leg. A. Kudrna jr., 1♀ ( MSVI) ; Ombella-Mpoko, 75 km NNE of Bangui , 26–29.IV.2010, leg. A. Kudrna jr., 1♀ ( MSVI) . GABON: Ogouuè Ivindo, P.N. Ivindo, Ipassa , 0.512333 12.802556, 3–14.XII.2013, leg. Carlo Massarone, 1♀ ( MSVI) ; Ogouuè Ivindo, P.N. Ivindo, Ipassa , 0.512333 12.802556, 10.XII.2014, leg. Maurizio Pavesi, 1♂ ( MSVI) .

Description of male (hitherto unknown). Habitus in Figs 6A–B . Body length 18.0 mm; fore wing length 17.5 mm. Differing from female as follows: head ( Fig. 6C ) as long as wide in frontal view; inner eye margins less converging below, subparallel; clypeus similar in shape but less convex and with shorter free apical part, apical margin sharply pointed apically and largely exceeding lateral lobes, covered with short silvery pubescence on lateral and basal thirds and very short scattered black setae arising from fine punctures; antennal toruli much closer to inner eye margin than to clypeal margin; gena slightly wider ventrally, 0.75× as wide as eye; scape slightly enlarged apically, 3.7× as long as apically wide; F1 nearly parallel-sided, 4× as long as wide, 1.8× as long as F2, about as long as F2+F3; F2–F9 longer than wide, becoming progressively shorter; F10 longer than F9, slightly concave on outer face, evenly curved and slightly expanded apically, apex rounded; tyloids on F3–F9, barely visible tubercles on F3, dull ridges increasing in height on F4–F6, basally low and apically high ridges on F7–F9 ( Fig. 6D ); T1 proportionally narrower and more parallel-sided, 6.8× as long as maximum width; basal petiole of T2 longer, 2.8× as long as wide; T7 subtriangular with rounded apex; posterior margin of S6 emarginated in the middle; S7 trapezoidal with subtruncate apical margin, surface flattened in the middle. Genitalia in Fig. 6E . Black; following parts red: median third of face, mandibles, most of gena and hypostoma, anterior margin of pronotum, extreme sides of scutellum and metanotum, mesosternum, ventral margin of metaepisternum, T1 and basal petiole of T2, most of femora and fore tibia; following parts pale yellow: longitudinal bands covering lateral thirds of face up to ocular sinus and meeting on apical margin of clypeus, interantennal spot, median half of mandible, ventral face of scape; flagellum orange, darkened on upper face of F1–F7, with intensity of black decreasing on apical flagellomeres, F8–F10 entirely orange.

Distribution. Cameroon *, Gabon *, Central African Republic *, Uganda, Kenya.

Notes. The examined females differ from the original description ( Richards 1982) in having variably developed suffused red markings along the anterior margin of the pronotum and on the scutellum and the metanotum, the fore and the mid femora red, denser black setae on the propodeum, the femora with black setae on lower surface.

Figures

FIGURE 6. Belonogaster maculata Richards, male. A, habitus, dorsal view. B, habitus, lateral view. C, head, anterior view. D, flagellum, lateral view. E, male genitalia (aedeagus in ventral view, aedeagus in lateral view, digitus+volsella).