Protopolybia potiguara Santos, Silveira & Carpenter

Dos Santos Junior, José N. A., Silveira, Orlando T. & Carpenter, James M., 2015, Phylogeny of Protopolybia Ducke, 1905 and taxonomic revision of the Protopolybia exigua species-group (Hymenoptera: Vespidae, Polistinae), with description of four new species, Zootaxa 3956 (2), pp. 151-182 : 163

Protopolybia potiguara Santos, Silveira & Carpenter , sp. nov.

( Figs 48, 50, 52 )

Diagnosis. Length of fore wing 4.3 mm; coloration testaceous, richly marked with yellow ( Fig. 50 ); clypeus with ventral margin narrowly subtruncated ( Fig. 48 ); metanotum narrow and very elongated, strongly produced backwards and largely enclosed by propodeum; metanotal lobe with apex pointed ( Fig. 52 ); T1 petiolate and almost as long as wide.

Description. FEMALE. Length of fore wing 4.3 mm; clypeus relatively wide (HClp=1.06; MxWClp=0.59; TeW=0.44; MiWClp = 0.53 mm), ventral margin narrowly subtruncated ( Fig. 48 ); interantennal area narrow, its width approximately equal to diameter of antennal socket; mandibles relatively short, with length 0.57 × distance between eyes on vertex; occipital carina distinct, extending for approximately half of gena; pronotal carina obtuse, visible laterally; pronotal fovea distinct, preceded by short linear prominence; mesoscutum as long as wide; mesepisternal groove absent; scrobal groove abbreviated; scutellum with marked median line; metanotum narrow and very elongated, strongly produced backwards and largely enclosed by propodeum, length of median axis 1.1 × width of central disk; metanotal lobe with apex pointed ( Fig. 52 ); propodeum gently convex around narrow median groove; T1 petiolate, posteriorly triangular; T1 notably narrower than T2.

Frons reticulated; mesoscutum reticulated with fine punctures; scutellum and metanotum with punctures fine and sparse; mesopleuron punctate; metasomal segments with distal margin punctate; eyes glabrous; propodeum, metasomal petiole, apical margin of clypeus and last metasomal segment with short bristles.

Testaceous, richly marked with yellow ( Fig. 50 ); first and second antennal articles and scape partially brown; mandibles and clypeus yellow; frons and vertex, pronotum, mesopleuron and metapleuron, almost entirely yellow; mesoscutum orange with two stripes and small yellow spots at sides; tegulae yellow; scutellum almost entirely yellow except for brown median spot; metanotum partially and propodeum almost entirely, yellow; distal band on T1, broad basal and distal bands on T2, yellow, connected at sides by lateral longitudinal stripe; T3–T5 with distal yellow band; wings hyaline, venation brown.

MALE. Unknown.

Type material. Holotype, ♀, BRASIL, Paraíba, João Pessoa, Reserva do Buraquinho, 29.i–1.ii.1989 (F.F. Ramos) (Malaise) ( MPEG). Paratypes: 1 ♀ (I.S. Gorayeb), 1 ♀ (F.F. Ramos), 1 ♀ ( Y. Okada), 3 ♀, 25–29.i.1989 (Arm. Susp. 15 m) (J. Dias), 1 ♀ (I.S. Gorayeb), 1 ♀ (F.F. Ramos), 1 ♀ (Arm. Susp. 1,6 m) ( Y. Okada) ( MPEG). Other material. BRAZIL: 2 ♀ (Smith Coll., Press. By Mrs. Farden White) ( BMNH), 1 ♀, 27.i.1989 (Machado, V.L.L.) ( MZUSP), 1 ♀, v.1941 (Sauer) (UFRJ-MN).

Distribution. Brazil: PB

Remarks. Richards (1978) treated Protopolybia potiguara sp. nov. as variant of P. exigua , highlighting the need to study mores specimens to establish its true status. Despite the lack of males in our sample, P. potiguara can be distinguished from P.exigua by its size considerably smaller (wing length ca. 4.3 mm), by the yellow color and the metanotum considerably elongated, narrow, with a pointed apex.

Etymology. The specific name alludes to the Potiguara ethnic group who inhabited the coast of the states of Maranhão, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte and Paraíba.

Figures

FIGURES 47 – 52. 47, 49, 51. Protopolybia similis sp. nov.; 48, 50, 52. P. potiguara sp. nov. Oc, occipital carina; Prp, propodeum.