Trogaspidia fuscipennis ( Fabricius, 1804 )

Williams, Kevin A., Lelej, Arkady S., Okayasu, Juriya, Borkent, Christopher J., Malee, Rufeah, Thoawan, Kodeeyah & Thaochan, Narit, 2019, The female velvet ants (aka modkhong) of southern Thailand (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae), with a key to the genera of southeast Asia, Zootaxa 4602 (1), pp. 1-69 : 44-45

30c. Trogaspidia fuscipennis ( Fabricius, 1804)

( Figs 155–157 )

Mutilla fuscipennis Fabricius 1804: 436 , ♂; Dalla Torre 1897: 42, ♂.

Timulla (Trogaspidia) fuscipennis: Mickel 1933b: 306 , ♂, ♀.

Trogaspidia fuscipennis fuscipennis: Chen 1957: 169 , ♂, ♀; Lelej 2005: 94,

Diagnosis. FEMALE. This species can be recognized by the following characters: the legs are entirely black, the scutellar scale is posteriorly rounded and ~3 punctures wide, the T1 fringe is predominantly pale golden, the felt line on T2 is simple, the T2 apex lacks a pale setal band, T3 and T4 each have a medially interrupted band of pale golden setae, and the pygidium is narrow with irregular rugae basally and indistinct microreticulations apically. Body length 8–13 mm. MALE. See Mickel (1933b).

Material examined (3 ♀). THAILAND: Chiang Mai, Mae Fa Liang Univ. near office, 4.IX.2004, P. Chen (1♀ RMNH) ; Krabi, 14 km NNE Krabi, Phnom Bencha Mountain Resort, 8.208 o N 98.937 o E, 80 m, 2.IV.2017, MKT (1♀ CSCA) ; Srisaket, Vil., Bang Maluu Kantaralak , 10.VIII.1968 (1♀ UCRC) .

Distribution. China (Anhui, Hebei, Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zheijiang), Thailand * (Chiang Mai, Krabi, Si Sa Ket), Vietnam * (Ho Chi Minh).

Remarks. In China, the pygidial sculpture of this species varies from rugose to striate, so Chen (1957) keyed them out on the basis of the transversely concave pronotal collar. This character is difficult to interpret and is often impossible to score when the specimen’s head is tilted back and covering the pronotal collar. Perhaps a better way to describe this character is that the anterior sculpted portion of the pronotal collar is raised higher than the smooth posterior portion. In other species, like T. pagdeni , the sculpted and smooth portions of the pronotal collar are disposed on the same plane. In Thailand, we have only seen specimens with a rugose pygidium, so we focused on the rugose pygidium and black legs to recognize it here.

Figures

FIGURES 155–164. Mutillinae: Trogaspidiini females V. 155–157. Trogaspidia fuscipennis; 158–160. T. pagdeni. 161–164. T. wilsoni, sp. nov.. 155, 158, 161. Habitus, dorsal view; 156, 159, 162. Habitus, lateral view; 163. Face view; 157, 160, 164. T6.