Key to species of Acropimpla Townes from China

The key below is modified from Gupta and Tikar (1976) and He et al. (1996), both based on female characters.

1. Propodeum without distinct median longitudinal carina on dorsal face, or with short stub on base, always smooth or with few sparse punctures ............................................................................................................................................ 2

-. Propodeum with distinct median longitudinal carinae on dorsal face, at least reaching to basal 0.50, smooth or densely punctate............................................................................................................................................................ 5

2(1) Fore wing with crossvein 3rs-m and areolet absent. China ........................................................ A. tricolor Kusigemati

-. Fore wing with crossvein 3rs-m and areolet present .................................................................................................... 3

3(2) Supraclypeal area wholly black; scutellum and metascutellum black on basal 0.70–0.80, yellow on apical 0.20; metasomal tergites black except for T2–4 with lateral sides yellow; tubercles on T2–5 smooth and shiny. China ....... ............................................................................................................................................ A. laevituberculata sp. nov.

-. Supraclypeal area largely yellow and with a black mark on middle; scutellum and metascutellum largely yellow; metasomal tergites red or yellow with transverse apical smooth bands black; tubercles on T2–5 punctate ............... 4

4(3) Upper margin of supraclypeal area weakly concave below antennal sockets; propodeum with short stubs on basal 0.20–0.30; propodeum and mesopleuron partly red; mesopleuron with a yellow spot on anterior; metasomal tergites reddish yellow, T2–5 with transverse apical smooth bands black. China, Myanmar, India, Nepal .............................. ..................................................................................................................................................... A. uchidai (Cushman)

-. Upper margin of supraclypeal area straight below antennal sockets; propodeum without median longitudinal carinae or grooves; propodeum and mesopleuron black; mesopleuron without yellow spot on anterior, metasomal tergites

black, and with T1 yellowish brown, T2–4 yellowish brown with basal and apical 0.20 black, apical margin of T6–7 yellow. China, Japan, India, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Vietnam ..................... A. leucostoma (Cameron) 5(1) Dorsal face of propodeum smooth, pleural area with sparse punctures, median longitudinal carinae long but weak, its apical part diverging. China ............................................................................................... A. nakula Gupta et Tikar

-. Dorsal face of propodeum with dense punctures on basal area, lateral area and pleural area, or areola smooth, median longitudinal carinae at least strong at base ...................................................................................................... 6

6(5) Supraclypeal area yellow; median longitudinal carinae of propodeum short. China, India, Myanmar ........................ ........................................................................................................................................................... A. hapaliae (Rao)

-. Supraclypeal area wholly or partly black; median longitudinal carinae of propodum strong and long (but in A. perimilis weak, only with depression) ................................................................................................................................... 7

7(6) Supraclypeal area wholly black ................................................................................................................................... 8

-. Supraclypeal area black with yellow marks ............................................................................................................... 10

8(7) Scutellum and metascutellum fiery-red; propodeum with fine and sparse punctures; punctures on metasomal tergites sparse; most part of pronotum and mesoscutum fiery-red; mesopleuron largely red with lower margin near sternum black; metapleuron black, sometimes with red dish brown parts; metasomal tergites dark brown, with T1 black. China ....................................................................................................................................... A. emmiltosa Kusigemati

-. Scutellum and metascutellum black; propodeum with dense and coarse punctures; punctures on metasomal tergites dense; pronotum, mesoscutum, mesopleuron and metapleuron wholly black; metasomal tergites wholly black ....... 9

9(8) Areolet of fore wing petiolate, receiving 2m-cu at apex, ovipositor sheath shorter than metasoma. Palaearctic Region ..................................................................................................................................... A. pictipes (Gravenhorst)

-. Areolet of fore wing sessile, receiving 2m-cu at basal 0.2 of outer corner, ovipositor sheath as long as metasoma. Eastern Palaearctic Region and Oriental Region .................................................................... A. persimilis (Ashmead)

10(7) Propodeum flat and wide dorsally, strongly punctate; metasomal tergites largely ferrugineous or reddish ........... 11

-. Propodeum with a normal curvature, rounded on sides, moderately to sparsely punctate; metasomal tergites black or yellow with black, or black with lateral sides yellow ................................................................................................ 12

11(10) Clypeus blackish and dark area joined to the triangular spot above it on supraclypeal area, supraclypeal yellow margins on supraclypeal area not extend beyond the antennal sockets. China, Philippines ......... A. punctata Baltazar

-. Clypeus yellow, supraclypeal mark rectangular, supraclypeal yellow margins extend beyond the antennal sockets. China, India, Myanmar ........................................................................................................... A. aspera Gupta et Tikar

12(10) Black mark on supraclypeal area pentagonal; metasoma with T1 dirty yellow, T2–4 yellow except for tubercles and transverse apical smooth bands black. China .................................................................... A. taishunensis sp. nov.

-. Black mark on supraclypeal area various, but not pentagonal; metasomal tergites black or with yellow lateral sides .................................................................................................................................................................................... 13

13(12) Scutellum and metascutellum yellow with a narrow black stripe medially; propodeum densely punctate. China .. .............................................................................................................................. A. nigrescens nigrescens (Cushman)

-. Scutellum and metascutellum wholly black; propodeum sparsely punctate ............................................................. 14

14(13) Upper margin of supraclypeal area straight, without dorsal median groove; metasomal tergites black. Palaearctic Region .................................................................................................................................... A. didyma (Gravenhorst)

-. Upper margin of supraclypeal area weakly raised below antennal sockets and with a faint groove between sockets; metasomal tergites blackish brown with lateral sides yellow. China ..................................... A. poorva Gupta et Tikar