Sphex modestus F. Smith, 1856

Doerfel, Thorleif H. & Ohl, Michael, 2015, A revision of the Australian digger wasps in the genus Sphex (Hymenoptera, Sphecidae), ZooKeys 521, pp. 1-104 : 21-22

Taxon classification Animalia Hymenoptera Sphecidae

Sphex modestus F. Smith, 1856

Sphex modestus F. Smith, 1856: 248, ♀ (as modesta , incorrect original termination). Holotype or syntypes: ♀, Australia: no specific locality (BMNH). Not examined.

Sphex bannitus Kohl, 1890: 62, ♀. Holotype: ♀, New Holland, now Australia: no specific locality (ZMB). Synonymized with Sphex modestus by Turner (1910: 346). Holotype examined.

Material examined.

Holotype (of Sphex bannitus ). ♀, AUSTRALIA:[state unknown]: [no specific locality] (ZMB).

Other material.

AUSTRALIA:[state unknown]: [no specific locality], 3♀, 2♂ (ZMB); "NW Australia, Carlshalton", 2♀, E. Clement (ZMB); NSW: 56 miles W of Cobar, Baznatos Tank, 1♀, 01.01.1966, O. W. Richards (BMNH); Haystack Ridge near Mount Tomah, 1♀, 29.11.1977, N. W. Rodd (AMS); 35 km N of Menindee, 1♂, 26.11.1988, N. W. Rodd (AMS); 35 km WNW Menindee, 32°12.4'S, 142°10.8'E, 2♂, 18.12.2011, V. Ahrens & W. J. Pulawski (CAS); Mount York, Blue Mountains, 1♀, 29.01.1982, N. W. Rodd (AMS); Pooncarie, 1♂, 26.11.1991, N. W. Rodd (AMS), 1♂, 27.11.1991, N. W. Rodd (AMS); Round Hill Nature Reserve, 1♀, 27.12.1976, G. Daniels (AMS); 112 km N of Wentworth, 1♂, 28.11.1991, N. W. Rodd (AMS); NT: 20 km W of Barkly Homestead, 1♀, 18.06.1989, N. W. Rodd (AMS); Dick Creek, 73 km WSW Timber Creek, 15°50'7"S, 129°54'5"E, 1♂, 12.04.2008, G. Williams & W. Pulawski (AMS); Hermannsburg, 1♂, Leonhardi (ZMB); Keep River National Park, 15°54'1"S, 129°04'4"E, 1♀, 11.04.2008, G. Williams & W. Pulawski (AMS); Port Darwin, 2♂ (BMNH); 131 km N Tennant Creek, 18°28.8'S, 133°52.1'E, 1♀, 01.04.2008, W. J. Pulawski & G. A. Williams (CAS); QLD: "Mid Queensland", 1♀, 1♂ (BMNH); Mission Beach, 1♀, 16.08.1975, G. O’Reilly (AMS); SA: 20 km S Adelaide, 1♀, 01.01.1999, B. N. Danforth (CAS); Adelaide, 1♂ (ZMB); Cocata Conservation Park, 33°17.0'S, 135°19.7'E, 1♂, 03.01.2011, V. Ahrens & W. J. Pulawski (CAS); Port Augusta Botanic Garden, 32°27.6'S, 137°45.1'E, 1♂, 25.01.2011, V. Ahrens & W. J. Pulawski (CAS); 27 km WSW Whyalla, 33°06.5'S, 137°19.0'E, 1♂, 28.12.2010, V. Ahrens & W. J. Pulawski (CAS); Wilpena Pound Resort, 1♀, 18.01.1976, M. S. Moulds (AMS); WA: Bullsbrook, 2♀, 12.12.1951, H. F. Broadbent (BMNH), 1♀, 12.01.1966, O. W. Richards (BMNH), 1♀, 3♂, 13.01.1966, O. W. Richards (BMNH), 1♀, 13.02.1966, O. W. Richards (BMNH); 11 km S Geraldton, 28°51.6'S, 114°38.8'E, 1♀, 02.11.2008, V. Ahrens & W. J. Pulawski (CAS); 10 km S Jurien Bay, 30°22.8'S, 115°04.5'E, 4♀, 31.10.2008, V. Ahrens & W. J. Pulawski (CAS); 15 km S Kalbarri, 27°50.4'S, 114°09.0'E, 3♀, 04.11.2008, V. Ahrens & W. J. Pulawski (CAS); Kalbarri National Park: Ross Graham Lookout, 27°48.6'S, 114°28.3'E, 1♀, 07.11.2008, V. Ahrens & W. J. Pulawski (CAS); Marloo Station, 2♀, Mar 35, A. Goerling (ZMB); W of New Norcia, 1♂, 12.01.1966, O. W. Richards (BMNH); Shire of Dandaragan, Highway #1, 31.1 km S of Cataby, 1♂, 07.01.2010, L. Breitkreuz (ZMB); Shire of Northampton, Kalbarri National Park, 27°40'39"S, 114°16'18"E, 1♀, 09.01.2010, L. Breitkreuz (ZMB); Shire of Waroona, Yalgorup National Park, 32.880879°S, 115.676464°E, 1♂, 25.01.2010, S. Krause (ZMB); Shire of Waroona, Yalgorup National Park, 32.880160°S, 115.682545°E, 1♀, 27.01.2010, S. Krause (ZMB); Southern Cross, 1♂, 10.-22.01.1936, R. E. Turner (BMNH); Urawa Nature Reserve ca 5 km N Mullewa, 28°29.6'S, 115°29.5'E, 3♂, 11.11.2008, V. Ahrens & W. J. Pulawski (CAS); Waroona, 1♀, 26.12.1908, G. F. Berthoud (BMNH), 1♀, 11.01.1909, G. F. Berthoud (BMNH).

Diagnosis.

Sphex modestus is unique among the Australian Sphex in the combination of the following characteristics: claw teeth obliquely oriented to inner claw margin, wing membrane with a yellow tinge towards their base, appressed pubescence on clypeus silvery-white interspersed with erect black setae, legs and metasoma entirely black or dark brown, and propodeal enclosure not concealing sculpture. Sphex pretiosus is superficially similar, but, among other things, the color of its erect setae on the clypeus matches that of the silvery and silvery-golden appressed pubescence, whereas the erect setae on the clypeus of Sphex modestus are black.

Description.

Body black. Forewing membrane dark at the very base (Fig. 13B), with yellow tinge in basal half, remainder hyaline and with fuscous band at apex. Wing veins orange, dark brown near very base and around marginal cell of forewing. Clypeus with medial glabrous stripe. Appressed pubescence on clypeus and frons silvery, erect setae on clypeus black and on frons silvery. Pubescence on collar, scutum, scutellum and metanotum silvery, on scutum denser laterally and posteriorly. Scutellum convex, with medial impression. Tubercles on metanotum indistinct. Pubescence on propodeal enclosure silvery-white to dirty beige, not completely concealing sculpture. Length of petiole 1.8 × length of flagellomere II.

Female: Body length 19.6-24.6 mm. Forebasitarsal rake with 10 long spines. Free clypeal margin with two faint lobes medially, distance between them less than 1/8 length of flagellomere II. Distance between hind- ocelli 1.25 × their shortest distance to compound eyes. Tomentum sparse on metasomal tergum I, absent on tergum II.

Male: Body length 20.6-26.2 mm. Free clypeal margin truncate, slightly concave towards center. Distance between hind- ocelli 1.4 × their shortest distance to compound eyes. Tomentum dense on metasomal tergum I, moderately dense on tergum II. Metasomal terga V and VI covered with black bristles. Metasomal sterna II–VII with increasingly dense silvery pubescence, forming dense fringes laterally on sterna V–VII (Fig. 13C). Metasomal sternum VIII entire, with rather sparse silvery pubescence, its lateral margin straight.

Notes on type material.

The type of Sphex modestus F. Smith, 1856 was not examined, but we did study the type of Sphex bannitus Kohl, 1890, which was synonymized with Sphex modestus by R. Turner (1910).