Rasnitsynitilla Lelej

Lelej, Arkady S. & Williams, Kevin A., 2023, Review of the tribe Smicromyrmini Bischoff, 1920 (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae), Zootaxa 5231 (2), pp. 101-140 : 125

21. Rasnitsynitilla Lelej in Lelej & van Harten, 2006

( Figs 67–73 )

Rasnitsynitilla Lelej in Lelej & van Harten, 2006: 127, ♁; Lelej & Brothers 2008: 52; Brothers & Lelej 2017: 96, ♁; Pagliano et al. 2020: 185.

Type species. Rasnitsynitilla brachyptera Lelej in Lelej & van Harten, 2006, ♁, by original designation.

Diagnosis. MALE. In the tribe Smicromyrmini it is related to Sulcotilla Bischoff 1920 , Nemka Lelej 1985 , and Skorikovia Ovchinnikov 2002 by having the mandible tridentate and by very long narrow volsellar cuspis. The male of Rasnitsynitilla differs from all of them by having shortened wings with very small sclerotized stigmatic cell, by much longer lateral felt line on S2. The male of Rasnitsynitilla differs from that of genera Sulcotilla and Nemka by having the mesopleuron without precoxal tubercle or carina. FEMALE is related to that of Skorikovia but differs by having pygidial plate distinctly angulate apically with lateral carina widened apically also, by clypeus without median basal tubercle.

Description. FEMALE (hitherto unknown). Head not widened posterad. Clypeus without median basal tubercle. Minimal distance between eyes 1.6–1.8 × longitudinal eye diameter. Pronotum without protruding humeral part, usually narrower or at most scarcely wider than propodeum. Scutellar scale usually slightly wider than its length. T1 posterodorsally at most with fringe of pale setae. T2 with one basal medial spot of pale setae and apical band or fringe of pale setae. Basal medial spot of pale setae on T2 enlarged, distance between spot and band of tergum equal to spot diameter or less than it. Pygidial plate basally widened, apically distinctly angulate, lateral carina distinctly widened apically.

Diversity and distribution. Four species: three are recognized from Yemen, Oman, and United Arab Emirates and one from Israel, Rasnitsynitilla bartolozzii ( Lo Cascio & Grita, 2014) , comb. nov. (from Smicromyrme ). One is known from both sexes, two are known from males only, and one is known from females only.

Remarks. The hitherto unknown female of Rasnitsynitilla is combined with the males based on a long series of R. schmideggeri Lelej in Lelej & van Harten, 2006 from United Arab Emirates: 97 ♁, 14 ♀, including several cases when the both sexes were collected in water traps at the same time. The mentioned undescribed male species of Rasnitsynitilla from Hazeva, Southern Israel ( Lelej & van Harten 2006) possibly belongs to R. bartolozzii ( Lo Cascio et Grita, 2014) described from Eilat, Israel.

Figures

FIGURES 67–73. 67–72. Rasnitsynitilla schmideggeri Lelej in Lelej et van Harten, 2006: 67. ♁, dorsal habitus; 68. ♁, lateral habitus; 69. ♁, head, face view; 70. ♀, T6 (pygidial plate); 71. ♀, dorsal habitus; 72. ♀, lateral habitus; 73. R. brachyptera Lelej in Lelej et van Harten, 2006, ♁, paratype, lateral habitus. (Photographs by A. Lelej and V. Loktionov (73)).