Astata tropicalis Arnold, 1924

Jacobs, Hans-Joachim, 2023, Astata Latreille, 1796 (Hymenoptera, Astatidae) from Africa, south of the Sahara, Contributions to Entomology 73 (2), pp. 251-267 : 251

Astata tropicalis Arnold, 1924

Type.

♀ Holotype , Zambia, Ndola (SAM). - Description ♂ ( Arnold 1952).

Material.

No material examined.

Description male

(after Arnold 1952). Habitus. Body length 11 mm. Head. Black. Mandible black. Swollen area before front ocellus smooth and shiny. Face dull, finely and closely sculptured. Antenna. Slender, antennomere III about 3.5 × as long as apically wide, about 1.5 × as long as IV. Thorax. Black. Tegula black. Mesoscutum dull, reticulated-punctate with indistinct transverse striae. Mesoscutellum shiny with isolated punctures, closely and densely punctate laterally and posteriorly. Mesopleuron dull, strongly reticulated-punctate. Wings. Strongly darkened. Basal sclerite and veins black. Legs. Black, tarsi ferruginous. Propodeum. Black. Dorsal surface reticulate, with strong longitudinal keels and weaker transverse striae. Lateral surface strongly reticulated-punctate, dull. Metasoma. Reddish ochraceous, base of tergum I and sterna II-III black. Tergum I and base of II closely punctate, dull. Tergum VII triangular, with few longitudinal striae, apex widely rounded. Sterna with scattered long yellowish setae.

Description female

(after Arnold 1924). Habitus. Body length 11 mm. Head. Black. Mandible black with narrow reddish area in the middle. Middle clypeal lobe produced into a short extension. Face and occiput with dense white pubescence. Clypeus and face with irregular and dense punctation. Vertex shiny with coarse and scattered punctures. Occiput shiny with shallow and scattered punctures. Antenna. Black. Antennomere III about 3 × as long as II and about 1.5 × as long as IV. Thorax. Black, lateral and ventral surface with scanty whitish pubescence. Tegula black. Pronotal collar striated laterally. Mesoscutum densely and strongly punctate on anterior third; the posterior surface smooth and shiny with scattered punctures. Mesoscutellum smooth and shiny, densely punctate laterally. Mesopleuron very coarsely and irregularly puncture-wrinkled. Wings. Strongly darkened. Basal sclerite and veins black. Anterior margin of marginal cell about 3 × as long as apically wide. Legs. Coxae and trochanters black. Forefemur black and red apically, midfemur red with black dorsal stripe; hindfemur, tibiae and tarsi reddish ochraceous. Femora with long thin setae ventrally. Forebasitarsus with four rake spines. Propodeum. Black. Dorsal surface rugose-reticulate, dull. Lateral surface obliquely rugose. Posterior surface with long white setae, less rugose than dorsal surface. Metasoma. Reddish ochraceous, smooth and shiny. Terga I-II with some large and scattered punctures. Sterna I-II and hind margins of the following with few short brownish setae. Pygidial plate equilateral, dull, with at least three longitudinal carinae, the middle nearly reaching the apex, the outer ones weaker and shorter; sides with curved brown bristles (Fig. 38 ).

Figures

Figures 34 - 46. 34 - 36. A. rufoatra sp. nov. male holotype: 34. Head frontal; 35. Clypeus; 36. Antenna. 37. A. stevensoni female: Pygidial plate (after Arnold 1924). 38. A. tropicalis female: Pygidial plate (after Arnold 1924). 39 - 42. A. tropicana sp. nov. male holotype: 39. Habitus dorsal; 40. Antenna; 41. Mesoscutum; 42. Propodeum. 43 - 46. A. tropicana sp. nov. male paratype: 43. Habitus dorsal; 44. Habitus lateral; 45. Mesopleuron; 46. Propodeum.