Enicospilus javanus ( Szepligeti , 1910)

Shimizu, So, Broad, Gavin R. & Maeto, Kaoru, 2020, Integrative taxonomy and analysis of species richness patterns of nocturnal Darwin wasps of the genus Enicospilus Stephens (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Ophioninae) in Japan, ZooKeys 990, pp. 1-144 : 1

Enicospilus javanus ( Szepligeti, 1910) Figure 20

Henicospilus javanus Szépligeti, 1910: 93; HT ♀ from Java, TM, not examined.

Enicospilus fulacorensis Brues, 1918: 117; HT ♀ from Solomon Island, MCZ, not examined; synonymised by Gauld and Mitchell (1981: 260).

Enicospilus gephyrus Chiu, 1954: 32; HT ♀ from Japan, TARI, examined; synonymised by Gauld and Mitchell (1981: 260).

Enicospilus (Bicorniata) diurnus Nikam, 1975: 193, 194; HT ♀ from India, MUC, not examined; synonymised by Gauld and Mitchell (1981: 260).

Specimens examined.

Total of 122 specimens (103♀♀19♂♂): Brunei (30♀♀2♂♂), India (2♀♀), Japan (64♀♀16♂♂), Papua New Guinea (4♀♀), Singapore (1♀), Sri Lanka (2♀♀), Taiwan (1♂).

Type series: HT ♀ of Enicospilus gephyrus Chiu, 1954, Tokusa, Yamaguchi Pref., Chûgoku, JAPAN, 1.VIII.1922, T. Shiraki leg. (TARI).

Distribution.

Australasian, Eastern Palaearctic, and Oriental regions ( Yu et al. 2016).

JAPAN: [ Kantô-Kôshin] Kanagawa ( Watanabe et al. 2016); [ Tôkai] Shizuoka* and Mie*; [Kinki] Kyôto *, Ōsaka *, and Hyôgo *; [ Chûgoku] Hiroshima* and Yamaguchi ( Chiu 1954; present study); [Shikoku] Tokushima*, Ehime ( Konishi and Yamamoto 2000; present study), and Kôchi *; [ Kyûshû] Fukuoka* and Kumamoto*; [ Ryûkyûs] Kagoshima*. *New records. It is restricted to the warmer Pacific coast in Japan.

Bionomics.

Unknown.

Differential diagnosis.

This species is very easily distinguishable from any other Japanese Enicospilus by its characteristic fenestra and sclerites of fore wing (i.e., fenestra widened proximally, and proximal and distal sclerites confluent and shaped like a letter ‘P’, as in Fig. 20F ).

Remarks.

Enicospilus javanus exhibits a very wide range of variation in the shape of fore wing sclerites, body size, and colour, as mentioned by Gauld and Mitchell (1981: 262). We examined 24 female specimens from the same locality and date collected by I. D. Gauld in Brunei, and these specimens indeed show an extremely wide range of morphological variation. However, the variation is more or less continuous. This variation suggests that this species includes some cryptic species and integrative approaches are needed to reveal species boundaries. Regarding the Japanese population, it is very stable, suggesting that there are no cryptic species included.

Figures

Figure 20. Enicospilus javanus (Szepligeti, 1910) ♀ from Japan A habitus B head, frontal view C head, dorsal view D head, lateral view E mesosoma, lateral view F central part of fore wing.