Dasymutilla sleipniri 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 : 90

Dasymutilla sleipniri Manley & Pitts , new species

Holotype male, Panama CZ, Barro Colorado Is., VIII-10-79, L. S. Kimsey [ UCDC].

Diagnosis of Male (Plate C8F). This species is characterized by a long pit on sternum II densely filled with pale setae, and slightly anterior in position, and a scutellum with long lateral arms and a short median process that form a “W” -shaped structure and that is coarsely punctate. It also has the integument entirely black except for tergum II, which is yellow, and the pygidium has an apical fringe of setae.

Description. Male: Length, 10–15 mm. Head. Black; mandible tridentate; clypeus flat, triangular, anterior margin broadly emarginate; scape bicarinate; flagellomere I slightly shorter than remaining segments; antennal scrobe carinate; head with coarse contiguous punctures; sculpture concealed by setae; head with dense appressed silver setae, and sparse erect black setae.

Mesosoma. Black; anterior margin slightly convex, not emarginate medially; mesosoma with coarse contiguous punctures, except metapleuron smooth; tegula black, with shallow scattered punctures throughout; scutellum with long lateral arms and short median process to form “ W” -shaped structure, coarsely punctate; pronotum and scutellum with dense appressed silver setae and scattered erect black setae; mesonotum with dense appressed black setae; remainder with silver setae.

Legs black, clothed with pale setae.

Forewing banded, basal quarter transparent, followed by narrow fuscous band, then narrow transparent band, with apical third fuscous; hindwing uniformly transparent.

Metasoma. Black, except tergum II yellow; tergum I with coarse contiguous punctures; tergum II with shallow well-separated punctures; pygidium glabrous, with apical fringe of black setae; sternum I with long carina, produced anteriorly into blunt tooth; sternum II with long narrow pit densely filled with pale setae (contrasting black integument), pit slightly anterior in position; last sternite broadly rounded medially, neither truncate nor with median tooth; terga I to II with sparse erect yellow setae; apical fringe of sterna II to III with dense pale setae; remainder of metasoma with dense black setae.

Genitalia ( Plate 3E ). Paramere with apex dorsally curved, ventral margin of basal 0.3 densely pubescent, remainder with short sparse setae; cuspis with basal 0.3 cylindrical, curving dorsally, ventral and internal surface lacking thick long setae basally, setae present on apical 0.2 ventrally and along internal margin, length about 0.8X free length of paramere, densely pubescent basal lobe present; digitus linear, tapering towards apex, slightly knob-like apically, length about 0.5X free length of paramere; penial valve bidentate, teeth separate and roughly equal in size.

Female. Unknown.

Paratypes. 8♂, COSTA RICA, Guanacaste, 3 km SE R. Naranjo, VII-22/24-92, F.D. Parker (1♂, EMUS) ; BCI, VI-4/11-97 (1♂, EMUS) ; XII-3/17-97 (1♂, EMUS) ; La Selva, III-20-IV-3-97 (1♂, DGMC) ; PANAMA, Barro Colorado Is., V-31-39, W. Kemp (1♂, CISC) ; IV-30-67, Roger D. Akre (1♂, DGMC) ; V-5-67, Roger D. Akre (1♂, DGMC) ; Cerro Azul N. of Tocumen, VI-7-58, W. J. Hanson (1♂, EMUS) .

Distribution. Costa Rica (Guanacaste); Panama.

Etymology. From Norse mythology, Sleipnir, which is Odin’s horse; also means smooth, an allusion to the appearance and punctation density of tergum II.

Remarks. This species is known only from the male. It is characterized by the scutellum, which has long lateral arms and a short median process to form a “W” - shaped structure. It is distinguished from D. guanacaste by the presence of a pit on sternum II, and from D. naranjo by absence of a blunt tubercle and lateral carinae on the last sternite.

Figures

PLATE 3. Male genitalia of Dasymutilla. A. D. nocticaro. B. D. sinaloa. C. D. spiniscapula. D. D. truxali. E. D. sleipniri. F. D. veracruz. G. D. wasbaueri.