Epirhyssa uelensis Benoit, 1951

Hopkins, Tapani, Roininen, Heikki, Noort, Simon van, Broad, Gavin R., Kaunisto, Kari & Saeaeksjaervi, Ilari E., 2019, Extensive sampling and thorough taxonomic assessment of Afrotropical Rhyssinae (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) reveals two new species and demonstrates the limitations of previous sampling efforts, ZooKeys 878, pp. 33-71 : 33

Epirhyssa uelensis Benoit, 1951 Figs 57-63 , 64-67

Epirhyssa gavinbroadi Rousse & van Noort, 2014, syn. nov.

Material examined.

Type material: CAMEROON:

• 1 ♀, holotype of E. gavinbroadi ; Nkoemvon [ Nko’emvon]; 02°48'N, 11°08'E; 16 Mar. 1980-4 May 1980; NHMUK type number HYM 3b.2832.

Non-type material: UGANDA

• 1 ♀; Kibale National Park, Kanyawara, Site K31, Malaise trap K31T4; 0.5362N, 30.3486E (WGS84); alt. 1460 m (GPS, WGS84); 16 Jul. 2015-30 Jul. 2015; Tapani Hopkins leg.; ZMUThttp://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.2292

• 1 ♀; same data as preceding; Site K30, Malaise trap K30T3; 0.5590N, 30.3617E (WGS84); alt. 1540 m (GPS, WGS84); 21 Apr. 2015-5 May 2015; ZMUThttp://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.2520

• 1 ♀; same data as preceding; Site K31, Malaise trap K31T4; 0.5362N, 30.3486E (WGS84); alt. 1460 m (GPS, WGS84); 30 Jan. 2015-13 Feb. 2015; ZMUThttp://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.2878

• 1 ♀; same data as preceding; Site K13, Malaise trap K13T1; 0.5932N, 30.3598E (WGS84); alt. 1460 m (GPS, WGS84); 13 Jul. 2015-27 Jul. 2015; ZMUThttp://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5665

• 1 ♀; same data as preceding; Site K30, Malaise trap K30T2; 0.5566N, 30.3633E (WGS84); alt. 1490 m (GPS, WGS84); 2 Dec. 2014-15 Dec. 2014; ZMUThttp://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5689

• 1 ♀; same data as preceding; Site CC, Malaise trap CCT1; 0.5497N, 30.3673E (WGS84); alt. 1450 m (GPS, WGS84); 27 Jan. 2015-10 Feb. 2015; ZMUThttp://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5732

• 1 ♀; same data as preceding; 24 Feb. 2015-10 Mar. 2015; ZMUThttp://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5739

• 1 ♀; same data as preceding; Site K30S, Malaise trap K30ST4; 0.5414N, 30.3755E (WGS84); alt. 1420 m (GPS, WGS84); 30 Jun. 2015-14 Jul. 2015; ZMUThttp://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5844

• 1 ♂; Kibale National Park, Kanyawara, Site R93, Malaise trap R93T2; 0.5654N, 30.3593E (WGS84); alt. 1510 m (GPS, WGS84); 20 May 2015-1 Jun. 2015; Tapani Hopkins leg.; ZMUThttp://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5765

• 1 ♂; same data as preceding; Site K13, Malaise trap K13T1; 0.5932N, 30.3598E (WGS84); alt. 1460 m (GPS, WGS84); 4 May 2015-20 May 2015; ZMUThttp://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5807.

Non-type material (only diagnostic characters checked): UGANDA:

• 150 ♀; Kibale National Park, Kanyawara; Tapani Hopkins leg.; ZMUThttp://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.1265, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.1266, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.1267, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.1268, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.1272, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.1334, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.1366, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.1367, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.1375, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.1499, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.1673, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.1677, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.1763, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.1764, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.1807, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.2015, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.2152, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.2162, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.2165, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.2172, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.2299, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.2317, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.2340, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.2361, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.2362, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.2364, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.2473, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.2573, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.2640, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.2642, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.2643, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.2644, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.2646, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.2648, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.2887, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.2910, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.3022, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.3090, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.3091, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.3093, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.3094, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.3096, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.3102, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.3106, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.3135, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.3225, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.3259, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.3262, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.3334, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.3438, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.3452, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.3619, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.3698, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.3743, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.3745, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.3747, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.3947, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.4424, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.4512, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.4517, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5086, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5315, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5381, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5542, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5589, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5593, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5597, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5601, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5605, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5606, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5607, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5608, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5613, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5614, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5616, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5618, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5619, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5620, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5623, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5625, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5629, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5631, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5632, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5635, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5637, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5641, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5642, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5643, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5644, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5646, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5648, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5650, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5653, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5655, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5657, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5662, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5668, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5669, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5670, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5673, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5678, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5681, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5683, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5684, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5687, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5688, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5690, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5692, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5693, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5694, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5698, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5699, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5702, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5708, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5709, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5719, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5722, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5725, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5726, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5733, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5734, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5740, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5748, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5750, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5754, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5755, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5757, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5762, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5763, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5764, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5772, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5774, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5775, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5778, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5780, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5794, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5797, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5806, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5808, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5811, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5816, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5817, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5821, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5823, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5824, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5825, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5829, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5834, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5845, http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5846.

Known material: 167 specimens (160 Ugandan, 7 other):

158 ♀, 2 ♂; Ugandan specimens, data above and also in supplementary material ( Hopkins et al. 2019c).

1 ♀, holotype of E. gavinbroadi ; see Rousse and van Noort (2014), data above in material examined.

1 ♀, holotype of E. uelensis ; see Rousse and van Noort (2014); Democratic Republic of Congo, Haut-Uele, Paulis [Isiro, 03°28'N 25°43'E]; Dec. 1947; "P.L.G. Benoit"; MRAC.

1 ♂, paratype of E. uelensis ; see Rousse and van Noort (2014); Democratic Republic of Congo, Bambesa; Jul. 1933; "H.J. Bredo"; MRAC.

1 ♀; see Rousse and van Noort (2014); Cameroon, Nkoemvon; 30 Mar. 1980-19 Apr. 1980; "Ms. D. Jackson"; NHMUK.

2 ♀; see Rousse and van Noort (2014), same data as previous except 13 Jul. 1980-4 Aug. 1980.

1 ♀; see Rousse and van Noort (2014), same data as previous except Oct. 1980-Nov. 1980.

Diagnosis.

This species can be distinguished from other Afrotropical Rhyssinae by its subalar prominence having a lateral flange. Epirhyssa tombeaodiba is also predominantly yellow with black spots but lacks the flange.

Head: frons with median carinae converging before continuing towards median ocellus, with lateral carinae curving towards lateral ocelli; hypostomal carina raised into an elevated flange, its height greater than the maximum width of the second maxillary palp segment.

Mesosoma: subalar prominence with a lateral flange; mesopleuron with a raised flange along the dorsal margin; epicnemial carina reaches the approximate height of the mesopleural pit.

Metasoma: tip of apical horn elliptical in posterior view; tergite 3 mostly smooth.

Additional or updated characters.

Apart from the diagnosis, we provide the following additional or updated character traits to the description in Rousse and van Noort (2014).

Female. Body length 9.8 mm– 15.7 mm (15.7 mm E. gavinbroadi holotype, 9.8 mm– 15.1 mm other specimens). Frons with more or less distinct rugae parallel to the lateral carinae, often as distinct as the lateral carinae. Clypeus sparsely punctate or smooth. Antenna with 30-35+ flagellar segments (30-33 in Ugandan specimens, at least 35 in E. gavinbroadi type, 30-34 in other specimens). Fore wing with 2m-cu varying from clearly distal to only just distal to rs-m. Tip of apical horn with an extra dorsal projection in one aberrant female (http://mus.utu.fi/ZMUT.5844). Tergites mostly smooth, except with varied amount of punctation on tergites 3-7 (anteriorly punctate 3-6 in many Ugandan specimens, punctate 3-6 in most non-Ugandan specimens, punctate apex of 5 and 6-7 in E. gavinbroadi holotype), anterior margins of 3-5 or 3-6 often striate, tergite 1 1.2-1.7 times as long as apically wide (1.7 in E. gavinbroadi holotype, 1.2-1.5 in other specimens). The Ugandan specimens have black posterior margins of tergites 2-7 (sometimes faint or patchy, especially on anterior tergites) and median stripes on 4-7 (strongest on 5-6). Non-Ugandan specimens sometimes have black median stripes on 5-7, or 3-6 in the E. gavinbroadi holotype.

Male. Body length 8.5 mm– 8.7 mm. Antenna with 30 flagellar segments. Tergites 4-7 faintly pubescent, tergite anterior margins smooth, or lightly striate and punctate, tergite 1 1.5-2.0 times as long as apically wide. The two Ugandan males are smaller than females on average.

Distribution.

Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon. New record: Uganda.

Biology.

In Uganda, this species was most abundantly caught in primary forest near decaying wood, during the dry season ( Hopkins et al. 2019b). It has not been caught outside the forest.

Remarks.

This species is quite variable, but we are unable to find morphological characters that would reliably split it into more than one species. We propose that Epirhyssa gavinbroadi (of which there is only one specimen) is a synonym of E. uelensis . It was mainly distinguished from E. uelensis by the punctate clypeus and slender tergite 1, but the Ugandan specimens generally have a punctate clypeus and a stout tergite 1. These two characters also vary considerably in the Ugandan specimens and seem to represent intraspecific variation. The Ugandan material has a very skewed sex ratio with 158 female specimens collected and only two males.

Figures

Figures 57 - 63. Epirhyssa uelensis female (http: // mus. utu. fi / ZMUT. 2520), a species found in Uganda. 57 Habitus 58 face and clypeus 59 frons 60 hypostomal flange 61 mesopleuron dorsal margin 62 apical horn of metasoma 63 tergites 1 - 7. Scale bars: 0.5 mm (58 - 63), 1 mm (57).

Figures 64 - 67. Epirhyssa gavinbroadi female (holotype). We treat this species as a synonym of E. uelensis in this work. 64 Habitus 65 hypostomal flange 66 mesopleuron dorsal margin 67 apical horn of metasoma. Figure 64 is from van Noort (2019).