Ceropales helvetica, Tournier, 1889

Anju, K., Thejass, P., Binoy, C. & Kumar, P. Girish, 2023, Taxonomic study on the spider wasp genus Ceropales Latreille, 1796 (Pompilidae: Ceropalinae) with description of two new species from India, Zootaxa 5264 (1), pp. 119-128 : 121

helvetica species-group

The helvetica group is the largest species-group in Ceropales , with more than 20 species worldwide ( Móczár 1989). It can be segregated from others mainly by the sculpturing on the head and mesosoma and features of the tarsal claws. In general, the head is slightly broader than long and its surface is finely sculptured, usually mat, hardly shiny, in some species more or less punctured; the surface of the propodeum uniformly very finely and transversely rugulose or rarely, rugosity coarser and partly granulate medially and either with a long or short medial sulcus; the last metasomal segments are strongly compressed transversely and pointed apically; and colour of the body is mostly black, rarely ferruginous, with white or yellowish spots and the metasoma usually has interrupted bands apically ( Móczár 1989).

Note. The species-group is distributed worldwide including all zoogeographical regions ( Móczár 1989). Three species ( Ceropales indica Móczár, 1989 , C. judicatrix Nurse, 1902 , and C. legea Bingham, 1903 ) are represented from India from this species-group. Two new species C. anaghae Anju, Girish Kumar & Thejass , sp. nov., and C. keralaensis Anju, Binoy & Thejass , sp. nov., are also newly described here.