Lamprowara leucothorax Boni Bartalucci, 2004

Christian Schmid-Egger, 2017, Order Hymenoptera, families Scoliidae and Thynnidae, Arthropod fauna of the UAE 6, pp. 336-340 : 8

Lamprowara leucothorax Boni Bartalucci, 2004

Lamprowara gorbatowskyi Boni Bartalucci, 2004. New synonym.

Lamprowara convexus van Achterberg & van Harten, 2009 . New synonym.

Specimens examined: Khor al-Khwair, 4♂, 5.viii.2009, leg. AvH. Sharjah Desert Park, 1♂, 25.v.2008, leg. AvH. Wadi Wurayah, 6♂, 16.vii.2009, leg. AvH.

Discussion: The genus Lamprowara Boni Bartalucci, 2004 , includes three described male taxa from northeast Arabia: Lamprowara gorbatowskyi Boni Bartalucci, 2004, described from a single male from the UAE (location not indicated), Lamprowara leucothorax Boni Bartalucci, 2004, described from two males from Dhofar, southern Oman, and Lamprowara convexus van Achterberg & van Harten, 2009 , described from a single male from Wadi Safad, UAE. The characters used for distinguishing the species were mainly related to wing venation, body colour, form of tergite VII, and some minor differences in the genitalia. In the present material, I examined 11 male specimens of the genus from three locations in the UAE. The variation found in the examined series encompasses all three listed taxa, including some additional variation in colour and wing venation. The submarginal cell III (last recurrent vein) is lacking in some specimens, and the form of submarginal cell III (petiolate, closed, open) in the remaining specimens varies markedly. The colour pattern is highly variable, and the form of tergum VII (laterally convex or not) is depending on body size (more convex in large specimens). This variability can also be observed among specimens from one location. I am now convinced that all specimens belong to one variable species, and therefore, I synonymise L. gorbatowskyi and L. convexus with L. leucothorax. I take L. leucothorax as the valid species name, because Boni Bartalucci (2004) designated it as the nominate species for his new genus Lamprowara . Lamprowara gorbatowskyi was described in the same publication as L. leucothorax.