Atillum bucephalum (Perty, 1833)

Marambaia, André Luiz, da Silva, Greice Cristina Conceição, Lima Ramos, Ramon, Trindade-Santos, Matheus Eduardo, Cambra, Roberto Alejandro, Williams, Kevin Andrew & de Oliveira, Favízia Freitas, 2023, Atillum André, 1903 (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) in Brazil: current and new geographic distribution records, Revista Chilena de Entomología (Rev. Chil. Entomol.) 49 (2), pp. 279-289 : 284-286

Atillum bucephalum (Perty, 1833)

Mutilla bucephala Perty, 1833 . Delect. Anim. Art. Brasil, p. 137, Tab. 27, fig. 8, female. Atillum bucephalum André, 1903 . Gen. Ins. Fasc. 11, p. 47, female.

Diagnosis. Mandible with a distinct, triangular projection on the ventral margin approximately one-third the distance from the base to the tip; body only with black and white setae, at least the hind tibiae externally, between the two rows of spines, clothed with black setae; white setae lines on vertex and frons broad, conspicuous and long, extending along inner eye margins to the antennal scrobes.

material, A. rubriceps (Schrottky, 1902) no se agregó al mapa. Atillum bucephalum (Perty, 1833) . BRAZIL. 3 females, ParaÍba, Juazeirinho , vi.1956, A.G.A. Silva leg. [ DZUP] ; 1 female, ParaÍba, Juazeirinho , vi.1956, A.G.A. Silva leg., Casal det. [ MNRJ] ; 2 females, ParaÍba, Santa Luzia, Brandão Junco , viii.1956, Cincinato leg. [ MNRJ] ; 1 female, Ceará, Aurora , 12.v.1955, A.P. Soares leg., Casal det. [ MNRJ] ; 1 female, PiauÍ, Bocaina , 22 km distante, 31.iii.1994, F.P. Benton leg. [ MPEG] ; 8 females, Bahia, Maracás , II.1965, F.M. Oliveira leg. [ MNRJ] ; 1 female, Bahia, SambaÍba , 24.viii.1993 [ MIUP] ; 1 female, Bahia, Maracás , 19.xi.2004 [ MZUEFS] ; 1 female, Bahia, Feira de Santana , 21.ix.1998, P. Alves leg. [ MZUEFS] ; 1 female, Bahia, Amélia Rodrigues, Centro de Agroecologia Rio Seco (CEARIS), 12°23’5.48”S / 38°47’51.34”W, 20.xi.2022, A.L. Marambaia leg., R.L. Ramos det. [ MHNBA] .

Atillum bucephalum occurs, predominantly, in the Caatinga morphoclimatic domain ( Tab. 2, Fig. 2 ) and shares the ‘black and white’ color pattern with some species that are also common in this environment, such as Hoplomutilla gigantea (Perty, 1833) , Traumatomutilla bifurca (Klug, 1821) , Leucospilomutilla cerbera (Klug, 1821) ( Williams et al. 2020) and Suareztilla gazagnairei (André, 1895) . Perhaps the ‘black and white’ color pattern shared by these species provides some kind of benefit to them in this environment, whether it be camouflage for protection against natural enemies, since periods of drought are usually prolonged in this type of environment and the white-black-gray color pattern dominates the landscape, or even thermal comfort related to the high temperatures and insolation observed in this region throughout the year. A similar phenomenon was observed by Wilson et al. (2020), which found that totally white mutillids that occur in the North American deserts have greater thermal comfort than those with aposematic coloration. In this context, new research aimed at understanding how the color pattern contributes to the fitness of the species are strongly recommended, especially to provide subsidies for other studies focusing on the conservation and sustainable use of fauna.

Figures

Figure 2. Geographic distribution of Atillum André, 1903 in Brazil. Due to the lack of precise data on the origin of the material, A. rubriceps (Schrottky, 1902) was not added to the map. / Distribución geográfica de Atillum André, 1903 en Brasil. Debido a la falta de datos precisos sobre el origen del