Protopolybia acutiscutis ( Cameron, 1906 )

Dos Santos Junior, José N. A., Silveira, Orlando T. & Carpenter, James M., 2018, Taxonomic revision of the Protopolybia sedula species-group (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Polistinae), with an new identification key to species, Zootaxa 4403 (1), pp. 87-98 : 89-90

Protopolybia acutiscutis ( Cameron, 1906)

( Figs. 1, 2, 3 , 21 , 25 )

Polybia acutiscutis Cameron, 1906: 385 . (holotype: ♀, Honduras (BMNH), examined).

Polybia acutiscutis Cameron 1907: 183 ; Ducke 1910: 539;

Protopolybia pumila var. acutiscutis: Bequaert 1944a: 123 , 125; 1949: 131.

Protopolybia acutiscutis: Richards 1978: 140 , 150; Carpenter & Wenzel 1990: 182, 184; Almeida & Castro 1991: 47; Sarmiento 1994: 359; West-Eberhard et al. 1995: 586; Rasmussen & Asenjo 2009: 49; Santos et al 2015: 43.

Diagnosis. Pronotal fovea distinct, but shallow; metanotal lobe with apex slightly rounded ( Fig. 1 ); wing-like processes on petiole of T1 reduced and not very sharp ( Fig. 3 ); color black richly marked with yellow spots; front with a extensive Y-shaped mark ( Fig. 2 ).

Redescription. FEMALE. Length of fore wing 4.86 mm; clypeus relatively wide, approximately as long as wide (HClp=0.73; MxWClp=0.78;TeW= 0.56; MiWClp= 0.69 mm), with ventral margin pointed; tentorial pit closer to antennal socket than to eye margin; interantennal area relatively wide, approximately two times diameter of antennal socket; mandibles relatively short with length 0.9 × distance between eyes at vertex; occipital carina distinct, fading very close to insertion of mandible; humerus normal, pronotal carina blunt, non-lamellate, distinctly extending downwards at side; pronotal fovea distinct, pronotal prominence extending above and close to pronotal carina, nearly collinear with fovea; length of mesoscutum 1.15 × its width; mesepisternal groove absent; scutellum with short but well-marked median line; metanotum triangular, length of median axis 0.82 × width of central disk; propodeum with wide and shallow cavity; first metasomal segment with petiole very short, distal margin wider and nearly straight, cup-like; T1 notably narrower than T2.

Front, mesoscutum, scutellum and metanotum with moderate micropuntation and shallow mesopunctation ( Fig. 25 ); ventral region of mesopleuron with distinct punctures; clypeus with short golden bristles, on apical margin, which has elongated bristles; eyes with minute and sparse bristles; body almost completely covered by short bristles; propodeum with long and sparse bristles.

Coloration: species black, richly marked with yellow spots; antennae ventrally testaceous or brown, dorsally black; mandibles, clypeus almost entirely, inner and outer orbit with wide bands that extend to the vertex and occiput, front with a extensive Y-shaped mark ( Fig. 2 ), two wide marks on vertex, extensive mark on the pronotal carina and fovea, two stripes on mesoscutum, tegulae partially, large spot on mesepisternum extending to area below scrobe, one spot on metapleuron, scutellum and metanotum partially, propodeum with paired dorsal marks, distal band on T1, basal band and distal band on T2, T3 to T5 with distal band, yellow. Coxae yellow, femora black to brown, tibiae brown to black; tarsi brown; wings hyaline, venation brown.

Material examined. BELIZE: 5387, 1♀, (P. Cameron) , 4♀, Blancaneaux, Goldman-Salvin collection ( BMNH); BOLIVIA : La Paz, Chulumani , 1♀, 26.iii.1979 , 1♀, 25.iii.1979, 1♀, 3.iv.1979 (M. Cooper) ( BMNH); BRAZIL : Mato Grosso, 2♀, Barra dos Bugres, R. E. Serra das Araras, Arm. Susp. 1.6m, 24.i.1986 (M. Zanuto) , 1♀, Serra Roncador, R.S. Base Camp, 13.vii.1968 (without collector) ( BMNH); Maranhão , 1♀, Aldeia Araçu, Igarapé Gurupi-Una, 50km E de Canindé , ii.1966, (Malkin) ( MZUSP) ; 1♀, Santo Amaro, Urbano Santos, SMVESP42, 03°14`S, 43°25`W, 16.v.2004 (Azevedo, G.G. & Amorim, L.R.) ( UFMA); Pará , 25♀, Belterra, 12.xii.1999 (G.C. Venturieri); 2♀, Capitão Poço, 01.iii.1978 (P. Tadeu); 3♀, Bragança, 01.ii.1978 (W. França); 2♀, Conceição do Araguaia , 17–21.xi.1979 ; 1♂ Benevides, viii.1911 (Ducke); 1♀, Serra Norte, Serraria, 28.i.1985; 1♀, N1 Serraria, 18.i.1985 (M. Zanuto) (MPEG); 2♀, Cachimbo, x.1955 (Pe. Pereira) ( MZUSP); Amazonas , 1♀, Teffé, 02.x.1904 (Ducke) (MPEG), 1♀, vi.2011 (Somavilla) ( INPA); Maturaca, Alto Rio Cauaburi , 12–17.xii.1962 (J. Bechyné); COLOMBIA: Magdalena , 13♀, Pueblo Bello, 45km W. Valledupar, Sierra Nevada de S. Marta, 15.vii.1968 (B. Malkin) ( AMNH) ; 5♀, San Lorenzo, 27.ii.1972, 1200m (without collector), 1♀ S. Pedro de La Sierra, 1300m, 12.ii.1974 (M. Cooper), 1♀, Nariño, Barbacoas, 21.iii.1974, 1♀, Putumayo, Mocoa, 4.vii.1978, 1♀, N. de Sant Maracaibo basin, Tibu, 15–16.vi.1976; 1♀, Caquetá, Yuruyaco, Florencia, 26.i.1979 (M. Cooper) ( BMNH) ; 1♀, Valle, Via Cali-Anchicayá, 705m, Vda El Engaño, 23.iii.1995 (C. Sarmiento) ( ICN); ECUADOR : Napo, 1♀, Anangu, 25–30.xi.1987 (Huybensz, M.) ( AMNH) , 1♀, Napo, Limoncocha, 20.vi.1977 (C.W. Rettemeyer & R. Chadab) ( BMNH); GUATEMALA : Moca, 2♀, Such., 3000ft, 25.vi.1947 (Donor, F.J. & P. Vaurie) ; 1♀, 500ft, 30.viii.1947 ( AMNH); GUYANA: Mabaruna , 1♀, vii.1929 (L.D. Cleare) ( BMNH); PANAMA: Canal Zone , 2♀, Barro Colorado, 11.ii.1976 (R. Chadab) (BMNH); PERU: Madre de Dios, 1♀, 156km from Puerto Maldonado, 10–30.ix.1962 (L.E. Pena) (AMNH), 3♀, Valle Chanchamayo, 800m, 1939 (W. Weyrauchi) (BMNH).

Distribution. Belize, Bolivia: La Paz; Brazil: * Amazonas, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Pará, * Rondonia; Colombia: Antioquia, * Caquetá, Cauca, Magdalena, Meta, Nariño, Putumayo; Costa Rica, Ecuador: Napo; Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Peru: Junin, Loreto; Venezuela: Caracas, D. F., Mérida;

Figures

FIGURES 1–6. 1, 2, 3. Protopolybia acutiscutis. wp, wing-like processes; 4, 5, 6. Protopolybia amarella.

FIGURES 21–24. 21.Protopolybia acutiscutis, pronotum, lateral view; 22.P.amarella; 23. P.sedula; 24. P.weyrauchi.

FIGURES25–28.25.Protopolybiaacutiscutis, mososcutum, dorsalview;26.P.amarella; 27. P.sedula; 28.P.weyrauchi. Red arrows, micropunctation and mesopunctation.