Mischocyttarus iperuae Richards, 1945

Pinheiro, Mileudiane O. & Silveira, Orlando T., 2023, Taxonomic notes on the group of Mischocyttarus heliconius Richards 1941, with description of four new species (Hymenoptera: Vespidae, Polistinae), Zootaxa 5352 (2), pp. 203-220 : 207-211

Mischocyttarus iperuae Richards, 1945

( Figs. 1, 2 , 9 , 13 , 17 , 23 )

Mischocyttarus heliconius var. iperuae Richards, 1945: 340 . Holotype: ♀, Guyana, Essequibo R., Moraballi Creek , 19.x.1929 ( NHM), examined.

Mischocyttarus heliconius morph. iperuae: Richards, 1978: 282 , 284.

Mischocyttarus undulatus: Richards, 1978: 393 , 394, 413 (misidentification).

Mischocyttarus heliconius iperuae: Silveira, 2008: 541 .

Mischocyttarus iperuae: Silveira, 2010: 55 [new status].

The redescription below is primarily based on examinination of the holotype and information from previous works ( Richards, 1945, 1978; Silveira, 2008, 2010). However, new material from Brazil and Colombia demands that a certain amount of variation must be considered in some characters, while tracing the limits of this species.

Diagnosis. Body yellow with black or dark brown marks, metasomal terga usually testaceous with yellow bands distally; occipital carina distinct, sometimes stronger with vestige of acute lamella dorsolaterally; clypeus often subquadrate and rather convex, never with conspicuous silvery or whitish bristles; posterior ocelli well separated, often by more than one ocellar diameter; pronotal carina normally raised at center, often a little inclined frontwards there; inner hind tarsal claw without a noticeable subapical narrowing, its width fairly uniform to the tip.

FEMALE DESCRIPTION. Length of fore wing 11.2–13.3 mm; head in frontal view as high or slightly higher than wide (FHH/INTOW: 1.00–1.20); clypeus often subquadrate and rather convex, sometimes higher than wide (HCLP/WCLP: 1.05–1.14), upper free portion of lateral margin relatively short and curved towards the tentorial pit, apex ventrally narrowly rounded; tentorial pit closer to the eye than to the antennal socket; malar space narrow; occipital carina distinct, sometimes stronger with vestige of acute lamella dorsolaterally; POL/OOL: 0.30–0.50; posterior ocelli often separated by a little more than one ocellar diameter; pronotum with lateral fovea; anterior margin of the pronotum medially with lamella translucent and reflexed, without a secondary margin immediately behind; pronotal carina continuous from side to side, normally raised at center, often a little inclined frontwards there; mesoscutum as long or slightly longer than wide (LMS/WMS: 1.00–1.10), lateral margin adjacent to tegula with well-developed lamella; median propodeal sulcus narrow, often with transverse striated patterns, and a weak median keel; hind leg inner tarsal claw without a noticeable subapical narrowing, its width fairly uniform to the tip; first metasomal segment rather short (LSI/HMP: 0.95–1.00), ca. 2.8 times wider at the apex than at the base. Forewing variably elongated (LDIS/HMP: ca. 2.50).

Sculpture. Body integument with granular aspect; clypeus very finely granular, apex reticulate; mandible main surface reticulate, shiny, but also with some large punctures; frons similar to clypeus; mesoscutum with close dense granulate aspect; scutellum, metanotum and propodeum with shallower dense granulation; mesopleuron with finer dense granulate pattern.

Vestiture. Body with golden hairs; eyes with very short and sparse bristles; mandible with larger scattered bristles; surface of the clypeus predominantly with short dense hairs, and some reddish longer erect bristles; apical region of the clypeus with sparse reddish elongate bristles, mainly along the distal margin; legs and metasoma with short oblique bristles; first metasomal segment with erect bristles in lateral view.

Color. Ground color yellow. antenna light brown, except for scape ventrally yellow; band across the occiput with arms directed towards the eyes, connected anteriorly to mark on the ocellar area with two narrow arms directed frontwards to the antennal sockets, transversal mark on the anterior marginal region of the pronotum, mark on the humeral region of the pronotum, mesoscutum except for two median yellow stripes and lateral posterior streaks adjoining tegulae, more than half of posterior region of the scutellum, posterior region of metanotum, paired triangular marks on anterior upper corners of the propodeum, stripe along the propodeal median sulcus, marks on the dorsal mesepisternal and scrobal sulci, mark on dorsal mesepisternal plate, metapleuron (sometimes), inner mark on mid coxa in dorsal view, hind coxa except for dorsal yellow stripe, trochanters, femora in dorsal view, tibiae except anterior and median distal portions, tarsi, variably from light to dark brown, to black; metasoma brown or (lighter) testaceous with yellow distal transverse bands. Wings hyaline, venation brown.

Specimens from Brazil, Pará, and from the western limits of the distribution, both females and males, often present more extensive dark areas.

MALE DESCRIPTION. Length of fore wing 10.3–13.6 mm; clypeus with apical region shortened, margin rounded, with numerous fine elongated silvery hairs; mandible with three distal teeth; first flagellomere 1.3 times longer than the scape; antennal article 13 thin, laterally compressed and curved; malar space obsolete; gena very narrow; color similar to female, spot on ocellar area with two broad arms directed to the antennal sockets, or forming a larger continuous spot enclosing the whole area just above the antennal sockets, or as a continuous spot enclosing a small evanescent drop-like yellow mark just below the median ocellus; occipital band with short arms connecting to compound eyes; metapleuron yellow or testaceous; propodeum testaceous with paired elongate yellow spots; metasomal terga with yellow distal bands (sometimes indistinct).

Digitus of genitalia with a roughly triangular shape; parameral spine almost glabrous, with few bristles near the apex; aedegus moderately elongate, curved in lateral view, apical region rounded (see Silveira, 2008).

NEST. Architecture similar to that of M. heliconius nest. Comb small, with symmetrical development; cartoon brown, made of irregular wood particles; pedicel elongated, centric, finely varnished (Richards, unpublished manuscript; and examined photography). Richards (unpublished) mentions nests of “ M. undulatus ” from Colombia (Mocoa, nests 16, 158 and 159) as being “ attached to rock face and projecting horizontally ”, with “ very little camouglage ”, or “ some camouflage ”; or “ attached to overhanging rock face ”.

Distribution. Bolivia; Colombia; Guyana; Suriname; Brazil: Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Pará ( Fig. 27 ).

Examined material. BRAZIL: Acre, P. N. da Serra do Divisor , 8º16’51”S, 73º15’13”W, 1 ♁ 09.iii.1997 (E. F. Morato) ( MPEG) ; Amapá, Serra do Navio, Serra da Canga, 00:55:443S, 51:54:435W, 3 ♀ 05.vi.2002, M. P. B. do Amapari , 2 ♀ 28.viii.2003, 2 ♀ 02.ix.2003 (J. Chaves) ( IEPA) ; Laranjal do Jari, 00:34:14S, 52:10:29W, 1 ♀ 20.v.2001 (Silveira, Chaves e Carmo), 2 ♀ 20.v.2001 (O. T. Silveira), Cajari , 00:35:35S, 52:19:21W, 1 ♀ 19.v.2001 (O. T. Silveira) ( MPEG) ; Amazonas, Manaus, Reserva F. A. Ducke , Grade PPBIO L08 ( NS4 /NS5), 1 ♁ 04–11.x.2010 (A. Somavilla et al.), Reserva F. A. Ducke 1 ♁ 17.viii.1981 (J. A. Rafael) ( INPA) ; Pará, Aveiro, Catueré , Rio Mamuru , 2 ♁ 03º24’30.4”S, 56º24’16.5”W (O. T. Silveira, S. S. Silva, J. Pena) ; Belém, J. B. Bosque Rodrigues Alves , 1º25’50’S, 48º27’23”W, 1 ♀ 14.ii.2014 (S. Cardoso) ; Juruti, Capiranga, 8 ♀ 14.vi.2009 (S. S. Silva e equipe), Mauari , 2º33’8.4”S, 56º14’2”W, 1 ♀ 06.xii.2008 (S. S. Silva e J. Dias), Barroso, 2º29’48.96”S, 55º56’21.96”W, 1 ♀ 01.xi.2007 (S. S. Silva e equipe), 2º29’30.96”S, 56º1’39.78”W, 1 ♁ 28.x.2007 (S. S. Silva e equipe) ; Melgaço, Caxiuanã , 1 ♀ 28.vi.1998 (without collector) ; Serra Norte ( Manganês ), 1 ♀ 1–3.vii.1985 (Márcio Zanuto) ; Vitória do Xingu, Ig. de Maria , 3º22’9”S, 51º54’53”W, 1 ♀ 08.ii.2008 (S. Silva) ( MPEG) ; SURINAME: Coppename River , 1 ♀ 12.vii.1963 (J. v. d. Vecht), 1 ♀ 14.vii.1963 (J. W. Broekhuizen) ( RMNH) ; BOLIVIA: Beni, Rurrenabaque , 1 ♀ 26.iv.1979 ; Cochabamba, Villa Tunari , 1 ♀ 21.xi.1989 (photo) ; COLOMBIA: Putumayo, Mocoa , 3 ♀ 1–10.i.1977, 1 ♀ 5.i.1977, 1 ♀ 24.viii.1978, 3 ♀ 25.viii.1978 ; Alto Afan 700m, 1 ♀ 27.iv.1989 (photo), 1 ♀ 22.iii.1993 (photo) ; Villa Garzon 400–600m, 1 ♁ 8.x.1989 (photo), 1 ♁ 12.x.1989 (photo) (M. Cooper) ( NHM) .

Photographs of the holotype can be examined through the following internet link (site of the NHM; accessed in september 27, 2022): https://data.nhm.ac.uk/dataset/56e711e6-c847-4f99-915a-6894bb5c5dea/resource/05ff2255- c38a-40c9-b657-4ccb55ab2feb/record/9133989

Remarks. The holotype was previously examined by O. T. S., and recently with photographs. Mischocyttarus iperuae was treated by Richards (1945, 1978) as a variety of M.heliconius . However, besides distinct color differences, in M. iperuae the clypeus is wider and without silvery bristles, the posterior ocelli are further distant apart, and the hind leg inner tarsal claw has the tip rounded, without an apparent subapical narrowing. The distribution of this species is greatly enlarged in the present work by new records from Brazil, Bolivia, and Colombia. As explained before, because of Richards’ misunderstanding on syntypes of Ducke’s species Megacanthopus undulatus , Mischocyttarus iperuae specimens from Colombia and Bolivia, in the NHM, have been determined as Mischocyttarus undulatus .

In this species, variants of some characters show some congruence and spatial structuring, e.g. specimens from Brazilian state of Amapá typically have the clypeus very wide, posterior ocelli more widely separated, occipital carina very weak, and comparatively lighter color. On the other hand, specimens from Pará, specially from areas to the west (Juruti), tend to have the clypeus narrower, posterior ocelli more closely positioned, occipital carina stronger dorsolaterally, and comparatively darker color (similar to some Colombian specimens). However, there are always specimens with intermediary character states (or incongruent combinations), making it difficult to trace limits between such groups. It seems better to use here a broad concept for a widely distributed M. iperuae , until there is more material (and molecular methods can be used) to evaluate the issue of breaking it into two or more species. Unfortunately, morphology of the male genitalia has proved of little use in this respect.

Figures

FIGURE 27. Partial map of South America with known distributions of the species of the Mischocyttarus heliconius species group.

FIGURES 1–8. Female dorsal and lateral general views. 1, 2. Mischocyttarus iperuae Richards from Amapari, AP, Brasil, 02/ix/2003, J. Chaves; IEPA 9714. 3, 4. M. ipixuna sp. nov. holotype. 5, 6. M. gorotire sp.nov. holotype. 7, 8. M. luciliae sp. nov. holotype. Scale = 0.5mm.

FIGURES 9–12. Female head, frontal view. 9. Mischocyttarus iperuae Richards from Amapari, AP, Brasil, 02/ix/2003, J. Chaves; IEPA 9712. 10. M. ipixuna sp. nov. holotype. 11. M. gorotire sp.nov. holotype. 12. M. luciliae sp. nov. holotype. Scale = 0.5mm.

FIGURES 13–16. Female head and anterior part of pronotum, dorsal view. 13. Mischocyttarus iperuae Richards from Amapari, AP, Brasil, 02/ix/2003, J. Chaves; IEPA 9712. 14. M. ipixuna sp. nov. holotype. 15. M. gorotire sp.nov. holotype. 16. M. luciliae sp. nov. holotype. Scale = 0.5mm.

FIGURES 17–22. Female hind tarsal claws (17–20), and lateral aspect of clypeus showing bristles (21, 22). 17. Mischocyttarus iperuae Richards from L. do Jari, AP, Brasil, 20/v/2001, O. Silveira; MPEG. 18, 22. M. ipixuna sp. nov. holotype. 19, 21. M. gorotire sp.nov. holotype. 20. M. luciliae sp. nov. holotype. Scale = 0.5mm.

FIGURES 23–26. Females—tip of anterior wing partially showing marginal and submarginal cells. 23. Mischocyttarus iperuae Richards from S. do Navio, AP, Brasil, 05/vi/2002, J. Chaves; IEPA 8814. 24. M. gorotire sp.nov. holotype. 25. M. luciliae sp. nov. holotype. 26. M. piger holotype (image sent from MFN—Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin); arrows point to Rs abscissa forming the anterior edge of the second submarginal cell.Scale = 0.5mm.