Pristaulacus longicornis Kieffer, 1911

Published, First, 2007, Revision of the Palaearctic species of Pristaulacus Kieffer, 1900 (Hymenoptera: Aulacidae), Zootaxa 1433, pp. 1-76 : 54-55

Pristaulacus longicornis Kieffer, 1911

( Figs. 17, 37, 57, 77, 117)

Pristaulacus longicornis Kieffer, 1911: 230 (♀).

Pristaulacus longicornis: Kieffer, 1912: 386 .

Pristaulacus longicornis: Hedicke, 1939: 12 .

Pristaulacus longicornis: Smith, 2001: 289 .

Material examined. CHINA: holotype ♀ labelled “Type/ B.M. Type Hym. 3.a.99/ Pristaulacus longicornis Kieff. / F. Sm. Coll. 79.22/China/determined by Dr. Kieffer ” ( BMNH) .

Records from literature. Kieffer (1911, 1912).

Type locality. “ Chine ” ( Kieffer 1911). Unknown if Palaearctic or Oriental .

Notes on type material. This species was described on the basis of only the female, but the number of type specimens was not stated in the original description ( Kieffer 1911). In BMNH I found only one specimen, in bad condition since several parts are lost: antennae (except A1–4 of one antenna); left hind wing; right fore tarsus; left fore tarsomeres 3–5; right mid leg (except coxa and trochanter); last tarsomeres of hind legs; last segments of metasoma and ovipositor. Some other parts are broken and glued on a label or included in a gel capsule. Moreover, the specimen is covered by sticky matter that does not permit a careful examination of pubescence. The bad condition of this specimen does not permit a complete study of the morphology so the following description is necessarily incomplete.

Redescription. ♀ (holotype). Length (excluding ovipositor): 15.0 mm ( Kieffer 1911); fore wing length: 11.0 mm.

Colour black, except: mandible extensively dark red, with base and apex blackish; maxillo-labial complex dark red; A1 with base dark red orange; occipital carina brown; tegula brown; coxae dark red or blackish; remaining parts of legs, including spurs, red orange, with mid and hind trochanters darker; wings hyaline with veins and stigma brown; fore wing slightly infuscate on apex, with a small irregular and narrow brown spot below stigma, on distal part of SM1, about 0.3x as wide as stigma length, and a small irregular brown spot on middle part of B; metasoma reddish brown with T1 and T2 extensively red orange and petiole blackish. Setae: whitish, except yellow gold on mandible.

Head ( Figs. 17, 37) from above, 1.2x wider than long, polished and shiny; occipital margin straight; temple, from above, well developed, 0.9x as long as eye length, subparallel and regularly rounded posteriorly; occipital carina wide, lamelliform, 0.5x diameter of an ocellus; POL:OOL= 1.0; ocellar area 2.0x wider than long; frons and clypeus regularly punctate, with moderately coarse, deep, and dense punctures (distance between punctures 1.5x diameter of a puncture); vertex and temple with moderately coarse, superficial, and scattered punctures (distance between punctures 2–3x diameter of a puncture); malar area extensively and deeply striolate punctate; occipital area polished; mandible polished and shiny, with coarse and deep punctures on base and in middle; A3 8.3x longer than wide; A4 14.0x longer than wide, and 1.7x longer than A3. Setae: erect, and moderately long and dense on temple; recumbent and moderately long and dense on lower half of frons, scattered on clypeus; recumbent, short, and moderately dense on malar area; recumbent, short, and moderately dense on A1; setae length of temple 0.7–0.8x diameter of an ocellus.

Mesosoma ( Fig. 57) coarsely sculptured; pronotum extensively areolate rugose to irregularly transverse carinulate, except lower surface foveolate, with a weak tooth on anterior part of each lateroventral margin; propleuron polished and shiny, with irregular, coarse, superficial, and moderately dense punctures on distal half, fine, superficial, and scattered on proximal half (distance between punctures up to 5x diameter of a puncture); prescutum triangular, deeply concave in middle, with some irregular transverse carinae; mesoscutum transverse carinate, except anterolateral corners, and half outer surface of lateral lobe of mesoscutum, areolate rugose, with anterior margin, in lateral view, regularly rounded; notaulus moderately deep and narrow; scutellum transverse carinate on median surface, areolate rugose on posterolateral corners; mesepimeron transverse carinate; mesepisternum areolate rugose, except upper third, foveolate striolate; metanotum with a few irregular carinae; dorsal surface of propodeum transverse carinate, remaining parts areolate rugose; ventral parts of mesosoma extensively transverse rugulose punctate, transverse carinate medially; fore wing with vein 2-rs+m short; fore coxa polished, shiny, with fine, superficial, and very scattered punctures; mid coxa moderately striolate punctate; hind coxa ( Fig. 77) shiny, with dorsal surface transverse carinate and ventral surface polished, except outer margin transverse carinulate, with irregular, moderately coarse, and deep punctures along inner margin and on distal part, remaining parts with a few coarse and superficial punctures; trochanters polished and shiny, with regular, fine, superficial, and scattered punctures; fore and hind femora with coarse, deep, and dense punctures on dorsal surface, with a few fine and superficial punctures on ventral surface; ventral surface of hind femur finely transverse striolate; inner spur of mid and hind tibiae longer than outer spur; hind basitarsus 14.0x longer than wide, and slightly longer than tarsomeres 2–5; claw with four well- developed teeth. Setae: erect, short, and very scattered on dorsal surface, recumbent or semierect, and moderately long and dense on anterior and lateral parts of pronotum, erect, long, and scattered on hind surface of propodeum; erect and moderately long and dense on propleuron; semierect, short, and moderately dense on fore and mid coxae; recumbent, short, and scattered on dorsal surface of hind coxa, erect and longer on ventral surface; semierect, short, and scattered on trochanters; recumbent, short, and moderately dense on dorsal surface of femora, erect, longer, and very scattered on ventral surface.

Metasoma moderately compressed laterally, pyriform in lateral view; petiole moderately elongate and slender, 2.0x longer than wide; segment 1 polished and shiny; proximal part of segment 2 polished, very finely striolate on distal part; segments 3–5 shiny and finely striolate, with regular, very fine, superficial, and moderately dense punctures. Setae: metasomal segments mainly glabrous.

ď. Unknown.

Intraspecific variation. Examined: 1♀. Not known.

Distribution. China (unknown if Palaearctic or Oriental).

Remarks. Some morphological characters reported in the original description ( Kieffer 1911: 230) are not correct. The pronotum has a small tooth on the lateroventral margin, and is not without teeth as stated in the original description; moreover, the length/width index of A3 and A4 are quite different than that reported by Kieffer (1911) (see present description). Pristaulacus longicornis is most similar to P. galitae and P. chlapowskii by the following features: moderately wide and lamelliform occipital carina, 0.5x diameter of an ocellus; presence of a tooth on each lateroventral margin of the pronotum; and presence of four teeth on the claw. It can be distinguished by the characters in the key to species.

Biology. Unknown.