Pseudepipona superba (Morawitz, 1867)

Fateryga, Alexander V. & Proshchalykin, Maxim Yu., 2022, Contribution to the taxonomy of the Pseudepipona subgenus Deuterepipona Bluethgen, 1951 (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Eumeninae) from Central Asia, with the description of four new species, Journal of Hymenoptera Research 93, pp. 101-123 : 101

Pseudepipona superba (Morawitz, 1867)

Figs 3D, I , 7A-I , 8A-D

Odynerus superbus Morawitz, 1867: 121-122, ♀ ♂; type locality: "Gouvernement von Saratow" [Russia].

Odynerus hyalinipennis André, 1884: 745-746, ♀; type locality: “Sarepta” [Russia: Volgograd Province]; synonymized by Blüthgen, 1942: 65.

Pseudepipona superba : Blüthgen, 1942: 65.

Pseudepipona tricolor Gusenleitner, 1976: 115-116, ♀ ♂; type locality: "Daghestan, Cmapomepera" [Russia: Dagestan; “Cmapomepera” is a misread word “Staroterechnoye” actually written in Cyrillic as “Старотеречное”], syn. nov.

Lectotype (designated here).

Russia. Volgograd Province: “Sarepta”, 1 ♀ [ZISP] (Fig. 7A-D ).

Distribution.

Russia,?Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan ( Dvořák and Castro 2007; Gusenleitner 2013; Fateryga et al. 2017).

Remarks.

Examination of the photos of the holotype (Fig. 8A-D ) and the paratype of P. tricolor from the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden revealed no significant differences between this species and P. superba besides the coloration. Although the lectotype of P. superba has a reddish clypeus (Fig. 7D ), the clypeus of all other specimens examined (including the ones from the type locality) is either entirely black or with basal reddish spots laterally as corresponds to P. tricolor . Pseudepipona superba is closely related to P. herzi and these two species are distributed allopatrically. The differences between them are mainly in the coloration.

Figures

Figure 3. Aedeagi of Pseudepipona spp. A, F P. herzi (Morawitz, 1895) B, G P. kostylevi Fateryga, sp. nov. C, H P. popovi Fateryga, sp. nov. D, I P. superba (Morawitz, 1867) E, J P. vladimiri Fateryga, sp. nov. A-E dorsal view (me = median expansion) F-J lateral view (vl = ventral lobe). Scale bar 0.5 mm.

Figure 7. Pseudepipona superba (Morawitz, 1867) A-D ♀, lectotype (Russia: Volgograd Province) E-G, I ♂ (Russia: Crimea) H ♀ (Russia: Volgograd Province) A, F habitus in dorsal view B, G habitus in lateral view C labels D, E head in frontal view H metasoma in ventral view (lf = longitudinal furrow) I apex of antenna. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.

Figure 8. Pseudepipona superba (Morawitz, 1867), ♀, holotype of P. tricolor Gusenleitner, 1976 (Russia: Dagestan) A habitus in dorsal view B habitus in lateral view C head in frontal view D labels. Scale bars 0.5 mm. Photos by Frederique Bakker.