Pison ciliatum Evans

Pulawski, Wojciech J., 2018, A Revision of the Wasp Genus Pison Jurine, 1808 of Australia and New Zealand, New Guinea, and the Pacific Islands (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae), Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 65, pp. 1-584 : 122-125

Pison ciliatum Evans

Figures 234-240 .

Pison ciliatum Evans, 1981:423 , ♀. Holotype: ♀, Australia: Queensland: Amby (QMB), examined. – Cardale , 1985:258 (in catalog of Australian Sphecidae ).

RECOGNITION. – The female of P. ciliatum shares with several other species the presence of a psammophore on the lower gena, mandibular posterior margin, and forefemoral venter, and the lower gena unsculptured and asetose between the oral fossa and the psammophore. It differs from P. amabile and P. punctatum in having a black gaster (rather than all or partly ferruginous), and from the remaining species with psammophores (except some P. pusillum ) in having the tibiae all or partly ferruginous, in many specimens also the femora (rather than black). Unlike P. pusillum , the scutal punctures of P. ciliatum are separated by linear interspaces (rather than well-defined ones) and in many specimens the tergal setae are golden (rather than silvery). A subsidiary recognition feature of P. ciliatum is a relatively wide distance between the antennal sockets, equal to about 2.5 × socket diameters.

The male is characterized by the apically rounded or insignificantly emarginate sternum VIII, without posterolateral angles. Unlike the other species with this characteristic except P. punctatum , the male of P. ciliatum has the mid- and hindfemora and all tibiae ferruginous (in P. punctatum at least terga I and II are ferruginous rather than black, and in the other species the legs are all black or only the tarsi are ferruginous). It resembles P. pseudociliatum in the coloration and the shape of sternum VIII, but differs by the following: scutal and mesopleural punctures compressed against each other (in P. pseudociliatum separated by narrow gaps), upper interocular distance equal to 0.84-0.86 × lower interocular distance (rather than to 1.00 × lower interocular distance), the ocellocular distance equal to 1.7-1.8 × hindocellar diameter (rather than 2.3 × hindocellar diameter), sterna uniformly punctate (rather than sterna III-VI unsculptured and shiny preapically), and body length 5.6-5.8 mm (rather than 10.5 mm). The scutal punctures compressed (separated by linear interspaces) are shared with P. psammophilos , from which P. ciliatum differs by the following: ocellocular distance equal to 1.7-1.8 × hindocellar diameter (rather than 0.9-1.2 × hindocellar diameter), most punctures of sterna II and III are no more than one diameter apart, some punctures up to 1-2 diameters apart (in P. psammophilos the punctures of sternum II apicomesally and of sterna III and IV mesally are several diameters apart), and legs ferruginous (rather than all black or tibiae dark ferruginous)

DESCRIPTION.– Frons dull, finely punctate, punctures compressed against each other. Occipital carina joining or not joining hypostomal carina. Labrum not emarginate. Anteromedian pronotal pit evanescent or absent in female, slightly longer than midocellar diameter in male. Scutum foveate or not foveate along flange, without longitudinal ridges adjacent to posterior margin; scutal and mesopleural punctures compressed against each other, mesopleural integument partly concealed by vestiture. Tegula enlarged. Postspiracular carina about 1.0-1.3 × as long as midocellar diameter. Metapleural sulcus costulate between dorsal and ventral metapleural pits. Propodeum with irregular, longitudinal carina separating side from dorsum and posterior surface and extending from gastral socket area toward spiracle (carina inconspicuous in some specimens); dorsum closely punctate (punctures compressed against each other) and partly irregularly ridged, partly concealed by appressed setae; side closely punctate (punctures compressed against each other), interspaces in most females merging into small ridges, in males conspicuously ridged; posterior surface ridged. Posteroventral forefemoral surface finely, closely punctate. Hindcoxal dorsum with outer margin carinate or not carinate. Punctures of tergum I minute, interspaces almost linear. Sternum II punctate throughout, punctures in female about 2-3 diameters apart apicomesally, about one to two diameters apart on apical depression, in male about 2-3 diameters apart mesally.

Setae golden, appressed on thorax and tergum I; setae of lower gena: see below; apical depressions of terga with golden setal fasciae (setae silvery in specimen from Hann River, Queensland).

Head, thorax, propodeum, and gaster black, mandible ferruginous (dark brown basally and apically); in some females the following are ferruginous: clypeal lobe next to free margin, scape, pedicel, and basal flagellomeres ventrally. In most females examined, forefemur is black in basal half to two thirds, midfemur ferruginous or black dorsally in basal half, and hindfemur ferruginous,

but all femora black in females from Hann River, Queensland; in male forefemur black except ferruginous apically, midfemur ferruginous except black basodorsally, hindfemur ferruginous; tibiae, and tarsi ferruginous in most specimens, but tibiae partly black in female from Hann River. ♀ ( Fig. 236 ).– Upper interocular distance equal to 0.62 × of lower interocular distance; ocellocular distance equal to 0.8-1.0 × of hindocellar diameter, interocellar distance 1.1 × hindocellar diameter; eye height equal to 0.9 × distance between eye notches. Clypeal lip about as long mesally as laterally, its free margin slightly sinuous, distance between lip corners greater than that between corner and adjacent orbit ( Fig. 234 ). Distance between antennal sockets equal to about 2.5 × socket diameters. Dorsal length of flagellomere I 2.2 × apical width, of flagellomere IX 1.1 × apical width. Gena, mandibular posterior margin, propleural and forecoxal outer margins, and foretrochanteral and forefemoral venters with psammophores (longest setae of genal psammophore about 1.1 × greatest forefemoral width, of mandibular psammophore about 1.0 × greatest forefemoral width, those of forefemoral psammophore about 0.8 × greatest forefemoral width); lower gena impunctate and asetose between oral fossa and psammophore. Mandible: trimmal carina incised at about midlength. Length 6.8-7.8 mm; head width 2.2-2.5 mm.

♂.– Upper interocular distance equal to 0.84-0.86 × lower interocular distance; ocellocular distance equal to 1.7-1.8 × hindocellar diameter, distance between hindocelli equal to 1.5 × hindocellar diameter; eye height equal to 0.90-0.94 × distance between eye notches. Free margin of clypeal lamella acutely angulate ( Fig. 235 ). Dorsal length of flagellomere I 1.7-1.8 × apical width, of flagellomere X 1.0 × apical width. Setae of lower gena curved, subappressed, slightly longer than midocellar diameter. Sternum VIII rounded or insignificantly emarginate apically, without apicolateral corner ( Fig. 237 ). Genitalia: Figs. 238, 237 . Length 5.6-5.8 mm; head width 1.8-1.9 mm.

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION ( Fig. 240 ).–

New South Wales, Queensland.

RECORDS.– AUSTRALIA: New South Wales:

6 km E Campbelltown (1 ♀, ANIC), Gilgandra (2 ♂,

AMS), Gilgandra Flora Reserve at 31°39.7ʹS

148°46.3ʹE (1 ♀, CAS), 30 km E Gunnedah (1 ♀,

QMB), Warrenburg National Park (5 ♀, UCD) , Warrumbungle National Park at 31°16ʹS 148°57ʹE

(4 ♀, 3 ♂, MNKB), Warrumbungle National Park :

Camp Pincham (3 ♀, ANIC), Yuraigir Creek

Reserve 25 km SE Grafton at 25°53ʹS 153°05ʹE

(1 ♀, AMS). Queensland: Amby (4 ♀, QMB, holotype and paratypes of P ciliatum ), Carnarvon

National Park at 25°03.6ʹS 148°14.1ʹE (1 ♀, 1 ♂,

CAS) and 25°04.0ʹS 148°14.7ʹE (2 ♂, CAS), Hann FIGURE 240 . Collecting localities of Pison ciliatum River at 15º11ˈS 143º52ˈE (1 ♀, ANIC), 5 km N Evans.

Leyburn at 27°58ʹS 151°38ʹE (1 ♂, QMB), Rockhampton (1 ♀, CAS) .

Figures

FIGURES 197–299. Pison bimbi Pulawski, sp. nov., female. (197) Clypeus and mandibles; (198) Head in dorsal view; (199) Pronotum in dorsal view. FIGURE 200. Collecting localities of Pison bimbi Pulawski, sp. nov.