Acanthophotopsis falciformis Schuster, 1958

Boehme, Nicole F., Tanner, David A., Williams, Kevin A. & Pitts, James P., 2012, Faunal study of velvet ants (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) and their activity patterns and habitat preference at Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Nye County, Nevada, USA, Zootaxa 3587, pp. 1-45 : 8-9

Acanthophotopsis falciformis Schuster, 1958

Acanthophotopsis falciformis falciformis Schuster, 1958: 108 ,

3. Holotype: California, Palm Springs (UMIC).

Acanthophotopsis falciformis furcisterna Schuster, 1958: 111 ,

3. Holotype: Arizona, Tucson (UMIC).

Diagnosis. MALE. This species is easily distinguished from other nocturnal velvet ants by the presence of a fourth mandibular tooth, which is found along the internal margin and projects posteriorly over the apex of the clypeus (see Tanner et al. 2009: Fig. 6 ). This species also has 1) the dorsal carina of the mandible extending from the base of the mandible to the innermost tooth; 2) the base of the clypeus slightly raised, although it is neither carinate nor tuberculate and is not horizontally produced; 3) the frons coarsely punctate while the vertex moderately punctate; 4) the length of flagellomere 1 is 2 × its width; 5) the head behind the eyes strongly convergent; 6) the length of the stigma slightly shorter (~0.8 ×) than the length of the marginal cell along the costa; and 7) the paramere in lateral view equally broad throughout its length except for the apex, which narrows to an acute angle, and the paramere is as broad as the cuspis medially (see Pitts et al. 2009: Fig. 1 ). FEMALE. Unknown.

Material examined. Type material. Holotypes: A. falciformis falciformis : California, Palm Springs, fall 1932, T. Zschokke ( UMIC) ; A. falciformis furcisterna : Arizona, Tucson, 5 October 1935, O. Bryant ( UMIC) . Other material. Nevada, Nye Co., AMNWR: Non-dune site 2: 1 ♂, LT, 12–14.V.2009, NFB ; Non-dune site 5: 8 ♂, LT, 12–14.V.2009, NFB.

Distribution. USA (Arizona, California and Nevada), northern Mexico.

Activity. Males were active in mid-spring (May 09).

Remarks. Acanthophotopsis falciformis were too rarely encountered to determine their habitat preference. Nine A. falciformis males were collected on the same night in May at light traps. Eight specimens of A. falciformis were found at the NTS from June through August via hand collecting at incandescent and UV lights, as well as two specimens in pitfall traps ( Ferguson 1967, Allred 1973). This species seems to be rare throughout its range.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Species accumulation curve (dotted-line) and the estimated species accumulation via the first order jackknife estimator (solid-line), with standard deviation (gray area), for velvet ants of Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge.

FIGURES 2 – 11. Male genitalia. 2. Odontophotopsis acmaea: dorsal view (left) and internal view (right); 3. O. armata: dorsal view and lateral view of cuspis (inset); 4. O. bellona: dorsal view; 5. O. mamata: dorsal view and lateral view of cuspis (inset); 6. O. microdonta: dorsal view (right) and ventral view (left); 7. O. piute: dorsal view; 8. O. serca: dorsal view and lateral view of cuspis (inset); 9. Sphaeropthalma nana: internal view; 10. S. orestes: dorsal view (left) and ventral view (right); and 11. S. parkeri: dorsal view (left) and ventral view (right).