Dasymutilla rufipilis Manley & Pitts, 2007

MANLEY, DONALD G. & PITTS, JAMES P., 2007, Tropical and Subtropical Velvet Ants of the Genus Dasymutilla Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) with Descriptions of 45 New Species, Zootaxa 1487 (1), pp. 1-128 : 84-85

Dasymutilla rufipilis Manley & Pitts , new species

Holotype female, Mexico, Puebla, Cacaloapan , VIII-20-1968, F. D. Parker and L. A. Stange [ UCDC].

Diagnosis of Female (Plate C8A). This species has the mesosoma as broad as long, with the head quadrate, and almost as broad as the mesosoma. It lacks a scutellar scale and genal carina, but has the antennal scrobe carinate. The pygidium is rugose. The head and posterior half of the mesosoma have white setae; the anterior half of the mesosoma has black setae. Tergum II has a bilobed pattern of black setae anteriorly, with the remainder of the segment having primarily red setae.

Description. Female: Length, 9–12 mm. Head. Black, quadrate, clothed entirely with dense white recumbent setae, except posterior margin with scattered long black erect setae; mandible acute at apex, with inconspicuous inner tooth about 0.25X distance from apex; clypeus evenly convex on anterior margin, but concealed by long white setae; scape weakly carinate, smooth and shining, clothed with white setae; flagellomere I long, about length of II and III united, remaining flagellomeres subequal in length; antennal scrobe distinctly carinate; front and vertex coarsely punctate, but with dense white setae concealing sculpture; gena smooth and shining, with shallow well-separated punctures, lacking genal carina, and concealed with white setae; head width about 2.8–3.0 mm; relative width of head to mesosoma about 0.95:1.

Mesosoma. Reddish, broader than long (2.4–3.3 mm wide X 2.3–3.2 mm long); scutellar scale absent; anterior margin of mesosoma evenly transverse, not emarginate medially; anterior half of dorsum with semicircular pattern of black setae, remainder of mesosoma with white setae; propodeum with large contiguous punctures, remainder of sculpture concealed by dense setae.

Legs reddish, clothed with white setae, except apices of femora with black setae.

Metasoma. Reddish, first and last segments darker; tergum I with coarse contiguous punctures; anterior and lateral portions of tergum II smooth and shining, with shallow well-separated punctures, remainder of sculpture concealed by setae; pygidium rugose, somewhat longitudinally rugose; sternum I with blunt carina nearly entire length of segment; tergum I with long erect white setae and posterior fringe of dense white setae; tergum II with bilobed pattern of dense recumbent and scattered erect black setae anteriorly, remainder of segment with dense recumbent red setae and scattered erect white setae, except subapical fringe of white setae and apical fringe of black setae bordered by white; terga III to IV with black setae bordered by white; terga V to VI with white setae; sternum entirely with white setae, except last sternum with black setae.

Male. Unknown.

Paratypes. 3♀, MEXICO, Puebla, Tehuacan , VII-1955, N. L. H. Krauss (1♀, CISC) ; Tejupilco, Temescaltepec , VI-25-1933, H.E.Hinton and R.L. Usinger (1♀, CISC) ; 1♀ with label only Mexico, Wm. Brodie ( DGMC) .

Distribution. Mexico (Puebla).

Etymology. From the Latin rufus “red” and Greek pilis “hair,” in reference to the red setae on tergum II.

Remarks. This species is known only from the female. It resembles D. dugesii , but can be distinguished by a bilobed pattern of black setae on tergum II anteriorly.