Ancistrocerus trifasciatus ( Müller, 1776 )

Fateryga, Alexander V. & Proshchalykin, Maxim Yu., 2024, Ancistrocerus shibuyai (Yasumatsu, 1938), stat. restit. (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae), an overlooked trans-Palaearctic species, Zootaxa 5537 (4), pp. 527-540 : 532-534

Ancistrocerus trifasciatus ( Müller, 1776)

( Figs 1C, D, F, H ; 2C, D, G, H )

Vespa trifasciata Müller, 1776: 163 (type locality: “Daniae et Norvegiae” [ Denmark and Norway]); type depository unknown.

? Vespa trifasciata Fabricius, 1787: 290 (type locality: “Habitat Hafniae” [ Denmark]), nom. praeocc., nec V. trifasciata Müller, 1776 ; syntype (s), ♀, Natural History Museum Denmark, Uniersity of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Odynerus trimarginatus Zetterstedt, 1838: 456 , ♀ ♂ (type locality: “Lapponia … (Lappon.-Uplandia; Gotlandia pass.)” [ Finland]); syntypes, Lund University , Sweden.

Odynerus tricinctus Herrich-Schäffer, 1839: 20 , [♀] (type locality not indicated, probably Germany), 1841: pl. 10; type material destroyed.

Differential diagnosis. Females of this species can be distinguished from the closely related A. shibuyai by S 2 in lateral view weakly convex to nearly flat ( Fig. 1F ; vs. distinctly convex in A. shibuyai , Fig. 1E ). Males can be distinguished by ventral lobe of the aedeagus apically rather triangularly pointed ( Fig. 1H ; vs. rounded in A. shibuyai , Fig. 1G ). An additional character is the coloration of the hind tibia: usually with extensive brown and yellow pattern in the female ( Fig. 2C ) (very rarely completely or near completely black, Fig. 2D ) and usually almost entirely yellow in the male ( Fig. 2G ) (very rarely black dorsally, particularly in specimens from Kamchatka, Fig. 2H ). Other characters mentioned in the key by Budrys et al. (2023, Supplement 3) can be also applied but they are also variable and therefore less diagnostic.

Remarks. We follow the traditional treatment of A. trifasciatus ( Blüthgen 1961; Budrys et al. 2023) and its synonymy ( Blüthgen 1938, 1961; van der Vecht & Fischer 1972), except that A. trifasciatus moeschleri is treated here as a synonym of A. shibuyai (see above). It is, however, unclear from the original description of Vespa trifasciata Müller, 1776 if it was the same species as commonly known at present as A. trifasciatus , or the species known at present as A. shibuyai . Since the type depository of V. trifasciata Müller, 1776 is unknown ( van der Vecht & Fischer 1972), the type material can be actually lost and we cannot clarify its diagnostic characters. In our opinion, a neotype should be designated to keep nomenclature stability (Art. 75.3 of ICZN 1999) but we do not have examined any specimen from the type locality (either Denmark or Norway). Such a specimen should be corresponding to the traditional treatment of A. trifasciatus ( Blüthgen 1961; Budrys et al. 2023; present paper) and, since A. trifasciatus and A. shibuyai can be easily distinguished by DNA barcoding ( Budrys et al. 2023), the COI-5P gene of a possible neotype should be barcoded prior to its designation (cf. Selis et al. 2023).

The name V. trifasciata Fabricius, 1787 is also doubtful due to a lack of the description of important characters in the original publication. However, this name is anyway permanently invalid due to the homonymy with V. trifasciata Müller, 1776 (Art. 57.2 of ICZN 1999). As for the names Odynerus trimarginatus and O. tricinctus , their descriptions are enough to clarify their conspecificity with A. trifasciatus (in its traditional treatment) due to the leg color specified ( Zetterstedt 1838) or even illustrated ( Herrich-Schäffer 1841).

It is also to be noted that in Gusenleitner’s (1995) paper, fig. 4 labeled as A. trifasciatus actually depicts A. oviventris ( Wesmael, 1836) , while fig. 5 labeled as A. oviventris depicts rather A. shibuyai than A. trifasciatus .

Material examined. 233 ♀, 239 ♂. AUSTRIA: Hausbach bei Innerbreitenau; Vicinity of Linz; Zeissberg bei Freistadt. GERMANY: Vicinity of Dresden. SWEDEN: Stokholm. FINLAND: Rajala; Rajala, Saimaa Canal; Raucharanta, Saimaa Canal. CZECH REPUBLIC: Čelákovice. SLOVAKIA: Zádiel. POLAND: Danzig [Gdańsk]; Silesia, Caralath [Siedlisko]. ESTONIA: Hapsal [Haapsalu]; Narva; Verro. BELARUS: Brest Province, vicinity of Pinsk; Minsk Province, Loshnitsa; Pinsk; Vitebsk Province, Ambrosovichi; Vitebsk Province, Lepel District, Postrezhye; Vitebsk Uezd [Vitebsk Province without details]. UKRAINE: Bila Tserkva, Alexandria Dendropark; Kharkov; Kiev; Mirgorod Uezd, Yereski; Poltava Province, Gadyach; Vinnytsia Province, Yanov [Ivaniv]; Zhitomir Province, Berdichev. MOLDOVA: Bendery, Kitskany. RUSSIA. EUROPEAN PART, NORTH-WEST. Novgorod Province: Borovichi; Valday Uezd. Pskov Province: Gdov Uezd, Glebova Gorka; Novorzhev Uezd, [Bezhanitsi District] Aparino; Novorzhev Uezd, [Bezhanitsi District] Kalinino; Sushchevo Station. Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Province: Baltic Port; Chernaya Lakhta; Duderhof Heights; Gatchina; Kolomäggi [Kolomyagi]; Levashovo; Luga; Martyshkino; Pargola [Pargolovo]; Peterhof; Popovka; Primorskaya Railroad, Borskaya [Borovaya] Station; Saint Petersburg; Saint Petersburg, Chernaya River; Saint Petersburg, Moscow Highway; Saint Petersburg, Smolenskoye Cemetery; Siverskiy, Mezhino; Terijoki [Zelenogorsk]; Tolmachevo; Udelnaya Station; Volkovo; Zamanilovka. EUROPEAN PART, NORTH. Arkhangelsk Province: Arkhangelsk; Mudyugskiy Beacon; Solovki [Solovetskiye Ostrova]. Karelia: Petrozavodsk; Povenets. Murmansk Province: Kola, Kola River bank; Vicinity of Murmansk. Vologda Province: Gryazovets; Vologda. EUROPEAN PART, CENTRAL. Belgorod Province: Khotmyzhsk. Bryansk Province: Orlovskiye Dvoriki. Ivanovo Province: Ivanovo. Kostroma Province: Kostroma; Troitsa; Vicinity of Kostroma. Kursk Province: Vicinity of Kursk; Vicinity of Kursk, Selizovo. Mordovia: Ruzayevka District, vicinity of Boldovo. Moscow and Moscow Province: Izmailovo; Kashira Station; Kashira Uezd, Sredneye; Klyazma [Pushkino]; Krylatskoye; Leonovo; Moscow; Mytishchi; Nikolo-Peshnoshskiy Monastery; Peredelkino; Ruza; Valuyevo; Vicinity of Moscow; Zvenigorod. Nizhniy Novgorod Province: Arzamas District, vicinity of Pustyn; Arzamas District, vicinity of Staraya Pustyn; Balakhna District, Maloye Kozino; Kstovo District, vicinity of Igumnovo; Nizhniy Novgorod, Avtozavodskoy District; Nizhniy Novgorod, Priokskiy District; Nizhniy Novgorod, Striginskiy Bor Park; Tonkino District, Aleshino; Tonkino District, Tonkino; Vetluga District, Kalinino. Ryazan Province: Dankov Uezd, [Miloslavskoye District] Gremyachka. Tver Province: Bologoye; Doroshikha; Rzhev. Yaroslavl Province: Berditsino; Norskoye; Yaroslavl; Zhedenovo. EUROPEAN PART, EAST. Kirov Province: Vyatka Governorate. Samara Province: Kinel; Samara. EUROPEAN PART, SOUTH. Kherson Province: Vicinity of Kherson. Lugansk People Republic: Provalskaya Steppe. Volgograd Province: Kamyshin District, Shcherbatovka; Sarepta [Volgograd]. EUROPEAN PART, NORTH CAUCASUS. Chechnya: Gudermes District, vicinity of Islakhan-Yurt. KabardinoBalkaria: Chegem Canyon, Bashil, 2080 m. Karachay-Cherkessia: 7 km N Rozhkao, 43°53′05″N, 40°56′55″E. Stavropol Territory: Bolshoy Zelenchuk River. EUROPEAN PART, CRIMEA: Belogorsk District, Suat River valley; Krasnolesye; Mt. Aypetri; Simferopol; Simferopol, Anatra; Yalta Reserve, Mt. Aypetrinskaya Yayla; Yalta, Mt. Lapata. URALS. Bashkortostan: Birsk; Irgizly. Chelyabinsk Province: Ilmenskiy Reserve; Zlatoust, Miass. Kurgan Province: Kurtamysh District, Pesyanoye. Orenburg Province: Buzuluk Uezd; Orenburg. Perm Territory: Perm. Sverdlov Province: Yekaterinburg. WESTERN SIBERIA. Altai Republic: 14 km SE Aktash, Chuya River, 50°13.984′N, 87°45.471′E, 1450 m; Teletskoye Lake; Teletskoye Lake, Kyga River; Vicinity of Artybash; Yazula, Chulyshman River. Altai Territory: Barnaul, vicinity of Yuzhnyy; Biysk Uezd, Lugovoye. Kemerovo Province: Kemerovo, Tsentralnyy District. Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug: Yuganskiy Reserve, Yurt-Achimovy. Novosibirsk Province: Iskitim District, Yevsino; Novosibirsk District, vicinity of Komarovka; Novosibirsk, Zayeltsovskiy Forest; Ust-Tarka District, Yelanka. Omsk Province: Omsk. Tyumen Province: Tyumen. EASTERN SIBERIA. Irkutsk Province: Baikal Lake, 18 versts from Listvinichnoye [Listvyanka]; Padun [Bratsk]. Khakassia: Abakan; Konsu River, N Abakan. Krasnoyarsk Territory: Krasnoyarsk; Vicinity of Norilsk, Talnakh. Yakutia : 7 versts below Tyuktyurskaya [Tekhtyur], left bank of Lena River; Ulakhan-An River mouth, left inflow of Lena River. Zabaykalskiy Territory: Amazar; Vicinity of Chita. FAR EAST. Amur Province: Khingan Reserve, 27 km W Arkhara, vicinity of Yuzhnyy Cordon. Kamchatka Territory: 8 km S Kozyrevsk; Atlasovo; Kamchatka [without details]; Kamchatka River valley; Kichiga River; Kozyrevsk; Petropavlovsk; Yelizovo; Zhupanovo. Khabarovsk Territory: 44 km NEE Komsomolsk, Komsomolskiy Reverve, Bichi Cordon; Amur Liman; Bureinskiy Reserve, Bureya River headspring, Strelka Cordon, 51°33′N, 134°03′E; Malmyzh, right inflow of Amur. Magadan Province: Ola River. Sakhalin: Langeri River mouth; Novoaleksandrovsk; Tunaycha Lake. ABKHAZIA: Sukhum. GEORGIA: Bakuriani; Batumi, vicinity of Botanical Garden; Kutaisi Governorate; Lagodechy [Lagodekhi]. ARMENIA: Armenia [without details]. AZERBAIJAN: Aresh Uezd, Geok-Topa; Nakhchivan AR, Shakhbuz, Bichenek, 39°31′N, 45°46′E, 2000 m. KYRGYZSTAN: Fergana Province, Aslyk-Bob, 10400ʹ; Moldo-Too, Shavyr. KAZAKHSTAN. Abai Province: Semipalatinsk [Semey]. Almaty Province: Trans-Ili Alatau, Turgen Place. East Kazakhstan Province: 50 km SE Ust-Kamenogorsk, vicinity of Severnoye; Nikolayevka, 30 km SE Georgiyevka [Kolbatau]. Jambyl Province: 25 km S Merke. Karaganda Province: Balkhash. North Kazakhstan Province: Petropavlovsk.

Distribution. Based on the studied material, the species is confirmed to Austria, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Estonia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Russia (European part, Urals, Western Siberia, Eastern Siberia, Far East), * Abkhazia, * Georgia, * Armenia, * Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan ( Fig. 3 ). This species is known to be widely distributed through Western, Northern, and Eastern Europe (e.g., von Schulthess 1887 –1897; Berland 1928; Benno 1957; Blüthgen 1961; Scobiola-Palade 1989; Pekkarinen & Huldén 1991; Schljachtenok & Gusenleitner 1996; Schneider 1997; Gusenleitner 2008; Amolin 2009; Archer 2011; Budrys et al. 2023), although some of its records may actually refer to A. shibuyai . Also known from Italy ( Bonelli 1970; Selis 2023) and Turkey ( Giordani Soika 1970; Yildirim & Gusenleitner 2012).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Ancistrocerus shibuyai (Yasumatsu) (A, B, E, G) and A. trifasciatus (Müller) (C, D, F, H). A, E, ♀, Primorskiy Territory; B, ♂, Nizhniy Novgorod Province; C, F, ♀, Nizhniy Novgorod Province; D, H, ♂, Kabardino-Balkaria; G, ♂, Novosibirsk Province. A–D, habitus in dorsal view; E, F, antero-ventral part of metasoma in lateral view; G, H, aedeagus in lateral view (vl, ventral lobe). Scale bars: 1 mm.

FIGURE 2. Left hind tibia of Ancistrocerus shibuyai (Yasumatsu) (A, B, E, F) and A. trifasciatus (Müller) (C, D, G, H) in dorso-lateral view. A–C, ♀, Nizhniy Novgorod Province; D, ♀, Kamchatka Territory; E, G, ♂♂, Nizhniy Novgorod Province; F, ♂, Novosibirsk Province; H, ♂, Kamchatka Territory. Scale bars: 1 mm.

FIGURE 3. Distribution of Ancistrocerus shibuyai (Yasumatsu) (white triangles) and A. trifasciatus (Müller) (black inverse triangles) (based on the studied material only).