Mischocyttarus bertonii Ducke, 1918

Silveira, Orlando Tobias, 2006, Revision of the subgenus Kappa de Saussure of Mischocyttarus de Saussure (Hym.; Vespidae, Polistinae, Mischocyttarini), Zootaxa 1321 (1), pp. 1-108 : 98-102

Mischocyttarus bertonii Ducke, 1918

( Figs. 81, 86 )

Polybia rufidens Saussure : Fox, 1898: 450 (in part; misidentification).

Mischocyttarus injucundus bertonii Ducke, 1918: 371 .

M. metathoracicus var. picturatus: Bequaert, 1938: 135 (in part; misidentification); Richards, 1945: 347; 1978: 307 (misidentification).

M. injucundus var. bertonii: Richards, 1945: 351 .

M. bertonii: Zikán, 1949: 194 , fig. 129; Richards, 1978: 301.

LECTOTYPE: ♀ Paraguay, Alto Paraná, Puerto Bertoni (no date) (Bertoni) ( MPEG); designated by Overal (1978), examined.

FEMALE. Length of fore wing 8 – 10.5 mm; MWH/DLH reaching 2.4, FHH/intOW 0.93; clypeus wider than high, H/WClp 0.83, median angle moderately projecting below, apex narrowly truncate; malar space narrow, not more than 1/3 of the height of an antennal socket; tentorial pit about as close to the eye as to antennal socket; mandible anterior surface without a prominent border; antennal scape very short and wide, L/Wesc 2.14; occeli widely separated, POL a little more than two diameters, POL/OOL more than 2/3; occiput with margin distinct but not very salient at the center; foraminal area shaped ventrally as a shelf; hypostomal lamella narrow; pronotum with lateral fovea, pronotal anterior margin medially with the lamella wide, not reflexed, region just behind raised into secondary margin that projects over the lamella, humeral region angular and moderately prominent laterally, often forming modest lateral lobe ( Fig. 81 ), carina always very elevated at sides, as seen from above with profile nearly always distinctly concave forwards, total width slightly larger than that of mesoscutum, this only a fraction longer than wide, L/WMsc 1.02; fore wing short, LDis/HMpl 2, pterostigma about 3.18 times longer than wide; metanotum oblique, moderately convex; inner claw of hind tarsus with apex narrowly round; propodeum inflated, with median furrow variably deep, triangular, propodeal valve not very wide, triangular, posterior margin of propodeum adjacent to valves strongly oblique as seen from behind, nearly vertical, forming an acute border whose profile is distinctly curve in lateral view, and most often looks as if strongly compressed against the propodeal valve, this sometimes poorly visible from the side, limit between propodeum and lower metapleuron quite distinct, sulcate and shining; first segment of metasoma well elongated ( Fig. 86 ), LSI/HMpl 1.23, region just behind the spiracles nearly always parallel sided and narrower than the basal petiole, spiracles usually prominent, apex of the segment 2.23 times wider than the base, with sides straight, basal petiole often rather flat above making it roughly quadrangular in cross­section, sternum flattened, its limit with the tergum proximally marked by a prominent shining edge.

Sculpture: disk of clypeus with dense small punctures, and with more sparse large ones, interstices shining, area close to ventral margin reticulate and moderately shining with a few large punctures; upper part of interantennal area and frons dull with very dense comb­like small to medium sized punctures; mesopleuron with moderately dense small sized punctures, and with more sparse large ones, often distributed in a fairly regular pattern, interstices only moderately shining, reticulate aspect of cuticle almost always well apparent; propodeum mostly with moderately dense medium sized punctures, rarely coalescent, normally arranged into a regular pattern.

Vestiture: eyes with hairs inconspicuous.

Color: black; tegula, legs, metasomal segments 2–6, dark brown; pronotum laterally near humeral angle, scutellum, lower metapleuron, dark reddish brown; clypeus, mandible, antenna below, dorsal spot on gena, back of the head ventrally, sometimes large parts of frons and vertex, or nearly all the head, lower lateral angle of pronotum, sometimes anterior aspect of humeral angle, spot on inner face of fore tibia, reddish orange; inner orbit to lower border of ocular sinus, posterior margin of pronotum, spot on dorsal mesepisternal plate (rarely dark), all or nearly all the metanotum, large and variably elongated paired spots on propodeum, valves, articular processes on meso and metapleuron, inner distal margin of trochanters, one streak on mid coxa, two streaks on hind coxa, apex of femora, apex of tibiae, relatively wide distal bands on metasomal terga 1 and 2 and sternum 2 (sometimes narrow or inconspicuous), narrower or inconspicuous bands on metasomal terga 3–5 (or 4–5) and sterna 3–4, spot on dorsum of the fifth segment of fore tarsus, spurs of mid and hind tibiae, yellow; wings hyaline or nearly so, marginal cell infuscate, veins dark brown.

Variation. Specimens from Bolivia and the extreme west of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul have the head more extensively reddish. Specimens from the state of São Paulo are usually darker, with less yellow on the metasoma, and in some cases with most of the head black or dark brown including the clypeus. One female from the state of Rio Grande do Sul lacking the metasoma has the propodeal spots smaller, and correspondingly less yellow on the metanotum, thus showing a pattern similar to that observed in M. injucundus . Remarkably, the fore wing is also proximally tinged with light yellowish brown.

MALE. Head in frontal view very low and wide, FHH/intOW 0.87; clypeus very wide, H/WClp 0.78, median angle obtuse, apex narrowly round; tentorial pit closer to the eye than to antennal socket; antennal scape exceedingly short and wide, L/Wesc 2.10, ventral surface of antennomeres with distinct shining tyloids, third antennomere about 2.9 times longer than wide, apex of the antenna moderately elongated, with distinct potential to be spirally rolled, antennomeres 11–13 rarely very flattened below, 12 about 1.61 times longer than wide, 13 with apex acuminate, or round in smaller specimens, about 2.93 times longer than wide, 1.42 times longer than 12; anterior face of fore coxa not noticeably flattened; wings very short, LDis/HMpl 1.97; clypeus with dense fine punctation, and with rare less conspicuous medium sized punctures; clypeus and frons with dense silvery shining pubescence, frons with longer fine hairs.

Color: similar to female, but head and pronotum usually darker; apex of antenna laterally, yellow; clypeus often black, sometimes with a diffuse orange or yellow spot; back of the head dark, not reddish; mandible usually black, or not extensively tinged with reddish orange, normally only the apical teeth paler, rarely crossed by an oblique yellow spot; pronotum with the lower lateral angle sometimes reddish, humeral region always black, never extensively reddish; carina always black, never yellow or pale; ventral region of mesepisternum always black; metasomal bands usually wider and conspicuous in a larger number of segments than in female.

NEST. Two relatively large nests from Paraguay, Naranjo (B. Garcete; INBP), have the comb triangular, with the eccentric peduncle localized near the vertex comprising the oldest cells. Nest 254 is almost perfectly triangular, the comb with 56 cells measuring 4 X 3.5 X 3.5 cm along its sides. Nest 252 is a little larger with more than 60 cells, having one side curve. Both nests were attached to buildings (see Garcete­Barret, 1999).

Remarks

Richards (unpublished manuscript) gives information on 4 females and 1 male of two nests collected by M. Cooper in Bolivia, Rurrenabaque (BMNH). The nests were under a small leaf of a vine on the underside of a fallen trunk. Richards’ text gives the impression that the two nests with the five specimens were collected at once, so that information on colony composition has been lost. All specimens are identified as M. bertonii , but the reported occurrence of variation in color and structure is sufficient to raise doubts regarding the conspecificity of the two colonies. The author describes in detail only the male, but also says that two of the females have the clypeus and most of the face red, in perfect agreement with other M. bertonii from Bolivia and western Brazil (Corumbá, MS). Of the other females, however, he says they show the disk and sides of the clypeus black, an unusual pattern only found in a few females from the Brazilian state of São Paulo, and unexpected in Bolivia. He also says of the females in general that the fore wings have the proximal part of the costal region “ usually” yellowish brown. In spite of some known exceptions (2 males from Bolivia, Carpenter & Wenzel, AMNH; 1 female from Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, MZSP; see also Garcete­Barret, 1999), this pattern of color on the wings does not correspond to the condition typical in M. bertonii , which normally has the wings hyaline with brown veins. The male specimen from Rurrenabaque has been available for examination, and the occurrence of gross striae on the propodeum described by Richards is here confirmed. This feature was not observed in any other M. bertonii but only in some specimens of M. injucundus as already discussed above. Some other observed color features, such as yellow marks on the pronotal carina and on the mesepisternum ventrally also have been found exclusively in specimens of M. injucundus from the Brazilian states of Amazonas and Pará.

Mischocyttarus injucundus (in the present sense) is the species with the widest distribution in this group, occurring from Northeastern Brazil through Amazonia to Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Extension of its range to include northern Bolivia is a normal fact given the Amazonian character of the region drained by the Beni River. On the other hand, M. bertonii is recorded with certainty more to the southeast in the region of Santa Cruz, well within the Chaco domain, but it must be admitted here as possible that its distribution extends north into the Beni region, sympatrically with M. injucundus .

Distribution SOUTH AMERICA: Brazil (MS, SP, RS), Paraguay, Bolivia.

Examined material

BOLIVIA: Santa Cruz, 1♀ 1♂ Puerto Suarez , 150m, xii/1908 (J. Steinbach) ( UCDC) , 1♀ 2♂ Buena Vista , 9/i/1991 (Carpenter & Wenzel) ( AMNH) ; BRAZIL: Mato Grosso do Sul, 1♀ Corumbá (1874–1886) (H. Smith) ( CMNH) ; Rio Grande do Sul, 1♀ E streito, 2/vi/66 (anonymous) ( MZSP) ; São Paulo, 6♀ 1♂ Sta. Rita do Passa Quatro , 4/ix/ 75 ( R. Zucchi) ( BMNH) , 1♀ Rio Claro , 5/iv/88 (E. Giannotti) ( MZSP) , 2♀ Águas de S. Pedro, 31/i/1988 (F.D. Bennett) ( FSCA) ; PARAGUAY: Alto Paraná, 1♂ ( PARALE CTOTYPE) Pto. Bertoni , (no date) (Bertoni) , 1♀ (no date) (anonymous) ( MPEG) ; 1♀ Caroyeny Viejo , v/1938 (Schade) ( IOC) ; Canindeyú, 2♀ Res. Nat. Bos. Mbaracayú, Jejui­

mi, 8/ix/1995 (B. Garcete), 3♀ 1♂ Res. Nat. Bos. Mbaracayú, Lagunita, 9/ix/1995 (B. Garcete); Cordillera, Caacupê 1♀ i/1993, 1♀ vii/1993, 1♀ 1/i/1994, 28♀ 11♂ 16/i/1994, 1♂ 1♀ 29/x/1994 (B. Garcete); 3♀ 1♂ Caacupê, Camp. J. Norment, 27/i/1995 (B. Garcete); Paraguarí, P. N. Ybicuí 3♀ 20/i/1995, 17♀ 3♂ 18–21/ii/1995, 4♀ 1–4/v/1996 (B. Garcete); 2♀ Compañía Naranjo, 3–8/ii/1996 (B. Garcete), 20♀ Cordillera Piribebuy, Naranjo , 14/iv/1995 (B. Garcete) ( INBP) .

Figures

FIGURES 81–96. M. bertonii: 81, mesosoma part dorsal, 86, T1; M. mysticus sp. n.: 82, mesosoma part dorsal, 83, T1; M. schunkei: 84, T1, 92, male antenna; M. injucundus: 85, mesosoma part dorsal, 87, T1; M. pertinax sp. n.: 88, T1, 89, mesosoma part dorsal; M. timbira sp. n.: 90, male antenna, 93, mesosoma part dorsal, 95, T1; M. porantin sp. n.: 91, male antenna, 94, mesosoma part dorsal, 96, T1.