Ancistrocerus capra capra (de Saussure, 1857 )

Fateryga, Alexander V., Carpenter, James M. & Fateryga, Valentina V., 2023, Ancistrocerus capra (de Saussure, 1857), a Valid Species, Not a Synonym of A. antilope (Panzer, 1798) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae), American Museum Novitates 2023 (4002), pp. 1-16 : 6

Ancistrocerus capra capra (de Saussure, 1857) , species restituted

Figures 1B, 1D , 2C, 2D, 2G, 2H

Odynerus capra de Saussure, 1857: 273 (type locality: “États-Unis et Canada ” [ USA and Canada]; type material in the Museum of Natural History , Geneva, Switzerland).

Ancistrocerus lecontei Cameron, 1908: 218–219 (♀ 3; type locality: “Golden, Colorado ” [ USA]; lectotype, 3 [Museum of Natural History, London, UK], designation by Bohart, 1965: 110). Synonymized with A. antilope by Bequaert, 1944: 274.

Ancistrocerus navajo Bequaert, 1925: 92–94 (♀ 3; type locality: “ Post Creek Canyon , Pinaleño Mountains , Fort Grant, Arizona ” [ USA]; holotype, ♀ [Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]). New synonymy.

Ancistrocerus antilope var. (or subsp.) allegrus Bequaert, 1944: 276 (♀ 3; type locality: “ Oregon: Corvallis” [ USA]; holotype, ♀ [ Museum of Comparative Zoology , Harvard University , Cambridge, Massachusetts]). New synonymy .

DIAGNOSIS: The species is closely related to A. antilope and shares with it the following combination of characters: anterior angles of the pronotum obtuse in dorsal view; metapleuron and lateral surface of the propodeum shining, impunctate, without rugosity; inferior ridge of the propodeum well developed; sternum 2 in lateral view evenly convex, in ventral view without a longitudinal furrow at base; aedeagus in dorsal view with a bifurcate apex. Ancistrocerus capra , however, strongly differs from A. antilope by the following combination of characters: female clypeus less broad, about 1.05× as wide as long in frontal view, its apical margin truncate, without distinct emargination (fig. 1B); male clypeus much narrower, about as wide as long in frontal view (fig. 1D); cuspis below the base of the digitus with an additional lobe directed medially, digitus much smaller (fig. 2C, D); aedeagus in dorsal view with apex narrower (fig. 2G), in lateral view more curved (fig. 2H); ventral lobe of the aedeagus in lateral view without a sclerotized angle at base (fig. 2H).

DISTRIBUTION: United States (most continental states except Alaska, Alabama, and Florida; needs confirmation from Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas), Canada (all provinces) .

REMARKS: Three subspecies of A. antilope were described from North America by J. Bequaert: A. antilope navajo , A. antilope allegrus , and A. antilope spenceri . The first one had been initially described as a species ( Bequaert, 1925) but it was later reduced to subspecies ( Bequaert, 1944). All three subspecies were claimed to be different from the typical A. antilope (i.e., A. capra ) by coloration only ( Bequaert, 1925, 1944). Transitional forms between A. antilope allegrus and the typical A. capra were reported by Bequaert (1944) from Colorado and we found such forms among the material examined from this state. In Arizona, transitional forms between A. antilope allegrus and A. antilope navajo are known ( Bequaert, 1944). We do not support subspecies based solely on different coloration within species (see Carpenter, 1987; and Fateryga et al., 2021), and thus two subspecies are here synonymized with A. capra . The status of the third subspecies, A. capra spenceri , remains unclear; a further investigation is required to ascertain its taxonomic independence since it has no intermediate forms to A. capra capra .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Heads of Ancistrocerus species in frontal view. A, C. Ancistrocerus antilope (Panzer, 1798) from Crimea. B, D. Ancistrocerus capra (de Saussure, 1857) from New York State. A, B. Females. C, D. Males. Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURE 2. Male genitalia of Ancistrocerus species. A, B, E, F. Ancistrocerus antilope (Panzer, 1798) from Crimea. C, D, G, H. Ancistrocerus capra (de Saussure, 1857) from Colorado. A, C. Left paramere and volsella, dorsal view. B, D. Left paramere and volsella, medial view. E, G. Aedeagus, dorsal view. F, H. Aedeagus, lateral view. Scale bar = 0.5 mm. Abbreviations: aa = aedeagus apex; cl = cuspis lobe; d = digitus; vl = ventral lobe.