Meriodes picea, Bartalucci, M. Boni, 2007

Bartalucci, M. Boni, 2007, The Afrotropical genera of the subtribe Meriina (Hymenoptera, Tiphiidae, Myzininae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 39 (2), pp. 1257-1305 : 1280-1281

Meriodes picea nov.sp.

H o l o t y p e - South Africa = / South Africa W. Cape. cape Town. Above Tokai Forest Constantiaberge Above Donkerboskloof 34°02’S 18° 22’E 460m / / 3-10 March 1995 S. Van Noort Mesic Mtn Fynbos Protea coronata dominated. Malaise trap site 1/, SAM!

P a r a t y p e - South Africa = / South Africa W. Cape. cape Town. Above Tokai Forest Constantiaberge Above Donkerboskloof 34°02’S 18° 22’E 460m / / 10-17 March 1995 S. Van Noort Mesic Mtn Fynbos Protea coronata dominated. Malaise trap site 1/, SAM!

P a r a t y p e s - South Africa = / South Africa W. Cape. cape Town. Above Tokai Forest Constantiaberge Above Donkerboskloof 34°02’S 18° 22’E 460m /: (2) / 9-15 February 1994 5 S. Van Noort Mesic Mtn Fynbos Protea coronata dominated. Malaise trap site 1/, (3) / 15-23 February 1994 5 S. Van Noort Mesic Mtn Fynbos Protea coronata dominated. Malaise trap site 1/, (2) / 6-13 december 1994 5 S. Van Noort Mesic Mtn Fynbos Protea coronata dominated. Malaise trap site 1/, (1) / 3-10 March 1995 S. Van Noort Mesic Mtn Fynbos Protea coronata dominated. Malaise trap site 1/, (1) / 10-17 March 1995 S. Van Noort Mesic Mtn Fynbos Protea coronata dominated. Malaise trap site 1/, SAM!

Female. Figs 60-63 (paratype). Measurements: body length = 9 mm, forewing = 5 mm

Pitch-black with brown shadows on mandibles, flagelli, clypeal disk, palpi, LaSt 2, legs and apical borders of metameri. Wings darkened, the hindwing a bit lighter. Hair brownish. Microreticulation subpentagonal on the head and mesosoma, transversal on metameri.

Head – Base of hypostoma and PoG area darkened and moderately swollen. PoG well expressed with a prominent suture. Stripe of dense p. bearing short black bristles on the scape getting its apex like in Poecilotiphia . Head almost completely punctureless. Just few (4-5) p. on the lower frons above the tentorial pit,on Tsa and vertex, very sparse p.on temple and genae.

1281

Mesosoma – N 1 disc, Sc 1, Sc 2 and postscutellar area completely devoid of p.; lateral N 1, Es 1 and Es 2 sparsely p. throughout; propodeal disk more densely p. with a well impressed and long median furrow. Lateral propodeal area with subhorizontal very fine wrinkles just on its upper surface, smooth downward. LaSt 2 and Em 3 smooth and shining. No detectable Es3. Forewing as similar as to M. ceresensis .

Metasoma – Preapical row of p. like in ceresensis, very rare p. elsewhere. 1 st sternum with very fine p. and rugules throughout. Gradulus on 2 nd and 3 rd tergum, sul on 1 st to 4 th terga.

N o t e. Known from the female of M. ceresensis mainly by the shape of the head and clypeal lamella in frontal aspect, pronotal disk in dorsal aspect, lateral P, greater size, darker coloration.

Male. Figs 64-71 (Paratype / 10-17 March 1995 /). Measurements: body length 14,5 mm =, forewing length = 7.5 mm

Black, brown and pale yellow.

Brown – Apical half mandible. Dark portion of the tibiae. Nervulations and pterostigma. Apical tarsomeri

Pale yellow – Median spot on clypeus. Basal mandible. Two lateral stripes either along fore border either apical border of the N 1 Tegula, humeral plate and basal veins. Small spot on LaSt 2. Apical small spot on hindcoxa and all the femurs, upper surface of tibiae, tarsomeri but apical one. Continuous preapical narrow stripe on 1 st tergum. Three preapical spots on 2 nd to 6 th tergum and (smaller) on 2 nd to 6 th sternum. Small lateral spot at the base of 7 th tergum.

Dense p. on clypeus and most of the head and mesosoma, more scattered on genae, N1 disk, Sc 1, LaSt 2. Densely packed p. without no space among them on the P. disk. Rare p. on most of terga, more densely packed on 1 st and 2 nd tergum and along the median constriction of 2 nd to 6 th sterna. Whitish hair throughout, denser on the head and mesosoma.

Head – PoG well produced, its length 1/5 the width of FoO with prominent intergenal suture.

Mesosoma – Em 3 mostly smooth. su 3 defined by the ends of the strong subhorizontal wrinkles of the lateral P.

N o t e. Well distinct from the other taxa of the genus by the disposition of placoids on the flagellomeri, shape of N 1 disk in dorsal aspect, 7 th tergum and genitalia.

V a r i a b i l i t y The female paratype is a little smaller, about 8,5 mm. The male paratypes show very shallow differences on size and colour.

D e r i v a t i o n o m i n i s. From the coloration of the female.

Figures

Figs 54-63. Meriodes ceresensis (TURNER 1926) lectotypus: (54) head, frontal aspect, (55) mandible, apex; (56) labrum, ventrala aspect; (57: labrum, frontal aspect; (58) mesosoma, dorsal aspect; (59) wings. Meriodes picea nov.sp. paratypus: (60) head, frontal aspect; (61) clypeus, ventral outline in frontal aspect; (62) mandible, frontal aspect; (63) foretibial spur. (scale bar "a": 54, 58,59 = 1 mm; 55, 56, 57 = 0,5 mm) (scale bar "b": 60 = 2 mm; 61, 62 = 1 mm; 63 = 0,5 mm).

Figs 64-71. Meriodes picea nov.sp. paratypus. (64) head, frontal aspect; (65) flagellum; (66) labium, ventral aspect; (67) pronotum, dorsal aspect; (68) foretibial spur; (69) 7th tergum, dorsal spect; (70) gonostylus and volsella; (71) aedeagus, dorsal and lateral aspect. (64, 65, 67: scale bar = 2 mm) (69: scale bar = 1 mm) (66, 68, 70, 71: scale bar = 0,5 mm).