Trogaspidia acidalia ( Cameron, 1897 )

Okayasu, Juriya, Lelej, Arkady S. & Williams, Kevin A., 2021, Review of Eotrogaspidia Lelej (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae: Trogaspidiini), Zootaxa 4920 (1), pp. 56-90 : 81-82

Trogaspidia acidalia ( Cameron, 1897) , stat. resurr.

( Fig. 14 )

Mutilla acidalia Cameron, 1897: 56 , ♂ ♀, lectotype ♀ ( Ceylon [= Sri Lanka], specifically Trincomali [= Trincomalee] according to Cameron 1903) [BMNH], designated here; André 1902: 38, ♂; Cameron 1903: 331; André 1907: 256, ♀.

Mutilla hexaops var. acidalia: André 1899: 34 , ♀.

Trogaspidia acidalia: Hammer 1962: 9 , ♀.

Trogaspidia villosa: Lelej 2005: 105 , ♀, in part.

Diagnosis. MALE (adapted from Cameron, 1897). Head black, frons covered with thick long white setae; mesosoma black, pronotum thickly covered with long white setae; flagellum ventrally covered with sparse white setae, F2 nearly twice as long as F3; Metasoma ferruginous, except apical segment. FEMALE. Mesosoma brownish-red, dorsally ferruginous-red ( Fig. 14B ). T2 pale setal spots small, distance between spots 2.0 × spot diameter ( Fig. 14D ); T3–4 with a pair of lateral pale setal spots ( Fig. 14D ); pygidial plate flattened, longitudinally striate ( Fig. 14D ).

Material examined. 11♀. Lectotype, M. acidalia , ♀, Sri Lanka: TRINCOMALEE: Type / Cameron Coll. 1902- 289 / Mutilla acidalia Cam. Type Ceylon / B.M.TYPE HYM. 15-52 [ BMNH]. India: KARNATAKA: 4♀, 15 km SE Bangalore, KT, 23–24.VII.1996, K. Werner & L. Lorenz leg. [ IBSS, MSNF]; TAMIL NADU: 1♀, Pondicherry, 10 km N Auroville, 14.I.2007, F. Burger leg. [ IBSS]; 1♀, same place, 2.II–2.III.2011, F. Burger leg. [ IBSS]; 1♀, Pudukkottai District , 29 km N Pudukkottai. 20.X.1997, A. Sforzi & L. Bartalozzi leg. [ MSNF]; 1♀, near Vellore , 30.X.1997, TN [ MSNF]; Sri Lanka: AMPARAI DISTRICT: 1♀, Dehiattekandiya , 7°38′N 81°04′E, 23–24.VII.1993, K.V. Krombein et al. [ IBSS]; HAMBANTOTA DISTRICT: 1♀, Palatupana, 6°55′N 81°24′E, 27–29.IV.1997, K.V. Krombein et al. [ USNM].

Distribution. India: Karnataka *, Tamil Nadu *, West Bengal ( Hammer 1962). Sri Lanka: Amparai*, Hambantota*, Trincomalee ( André 1907).

Remarks. Lelej (2005) treated Mutilla acidalia Cameron, 1897 as a synonym of M. villosa Fabricius, 1775 , since the former was considered a variety of M. hexaops de Saussure, 1867 based on André (1899), which was synonymized with M. villosa by Lelej (2005). The late B. Petersen studied the type material of P. Cameron’s species described from the Oriental region, including syntypes of M. acidalia (pers. comm. to ASL), and regarded this species as a distinct species in the genus Trogaspidia . However, the male and female of T. acidalia sensu Petersen actually belongs to a new species, E. buddha sp. nov. We found among the specimens from Sri Lanka two females which correspond to the original description of M. acidalia . Thanks to Gavin Broad (BMNH), ASL studied the photos of the female lectotype, especially the pygidial plate ( Fig. 14 ) and found it to be identical to said specimens. The male of M. acidalia associated by Cameron (1897) (not found in BMNH) with unmodified mesoscutellum probably belongs to the genus Krombeinidia Lelej, 1996 or Petersenidia Lelej, 1992 .

Figures

FIGURE 14. Trogaspidia acidalia (Cameron), ♀, lectotype. A. habitus, dorsal view; B. habitus, lateral view; C. head, dorsal view; D. metasoma, posterior view; E. labels. (Photos by G. Broad).