Poecilotiphia nitens, Boni, 2011

Boni, M., 2011, Hymenoptera Tiphiidae from Arabian peninsula, Linzer biologische Beiträge 43 (1), pp. 337-361 : 341

Poecilotiphia nitens nov.sp.

Holotype: Yemen = / Yemen (8222) 12 km NW Manakhah mal. Trap. 22.X-3.XII.2003 A. v. Harten RMNH03 /, RMNH.

Female. Holotype. Figs 18-21 . Measurements: body length = 10 mm; forewing length = 5 mm.

General aspect shining. Head (but clypeus), forecoxa and mesosoma (but LaSt 2) black. Tip of Tsa, clypeus, scape and flagellum, mandible, mid and hind legs, tegulae, pterostigma and veins are light brown. Fore leg, most of 1 st metamerus but narrow apical stripe on tergum, basal half of 2 nd tergum are brown. The remainder of metasoma is bright ferruginous. Yellowish hair on the scape, whitish elsewhere. Pal 3– and Pam 4– segmented. N 1 disk wider than high (ratio LA/A about 1.4). Dorsal P with a distinct long median longitudinal groove, somewhat irregular, shaped initially by three elongated p followed by a narrow stripe of very small p groove.

N o t e. Well distinct species by the enamelled aspect, shape of the head, large basal Pal, large pterostigma, long propodeal groove. All the Poecilotiphia males in so far recorded from Arabian peninsula, P. lacteipennis E.SAUNDERS 1901, P. scorteccii GUIGLIA 1968, P. collarinata BONI BARTALUCCI 1997, P. oasicola BONI BARTALUCCI 2001 and P. dhofarensis BONI BARTALUCCI 2004 belong to the P. albomaculata group ( BONI BARTALUCCI 2004a), whose hitherto known females (about 15) show a longer than wide pronotal disk. Excluding lacteipennis, whose female is known, and oasicola (which otherwise is very common in Yemen) since on records from Saharian oasis its female appears to be different, it is impossible to couple it with no one of these taxa and at the same time to exclude the existence of further undescribed male belonging to the nigripes group whose the hitherto known four females show the pronotum larger than high in dorsal aspect like the present specimen. Future data could clear the situation.

Male. Unknown.

E c o l o g y. Unknown.

D e r i v a t i o n n o m i n i s. From Latin nitens = shining.

Figures

Figs 18-27: Poecilotiphia nitens. (Holotype): (18) head, frontal aspect; (19) head, ventral aspect; (20) palpi; (21) wings. Tiphia elachia (Holotype): (22) head, dorsal aspect (23) head, frontal aspect; (24) labrum, frontal aspect; (25) pronotum and Sc1 dorsal aspect; (26) forewing; (27) hind tibia and basal tarsomerus.