Enicospilus nigropectus Cameron, 1905

Shimizu, So, Broad, Gavin R. & Maeto, Kaoru, 2020, Integrative taxonomy and analysis of species richness patterns of nocturnal Darwin wasps of the genus Enicospilus Stephens (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Ophioninae) in Japan, ZooKeys 990, pp. 1-144 : 1

Enicospilus nigropectus Cameron, 1905 Figure 33

Enicospilus nigropectus Cameron, 1905b: 123; HT ♀ from Sarawak, NHMUK, examined.

Henicospilus hariolus Morley, 1912: 44; LCT ♀ from Sri Lanka, designated by Gauld and Mitchell (1981: 220), NHMUK, examined; synonymised by Gauld and Mitchell (1981: 220).

Amesospilus nigrostemmaticus Enderlein, 1921: 19; LCT ♀ from Sumatra, designated by Townes et al. (1961: 288), IZPAN, not examined; synonymised by Gauld and Mitchell (1981: 220).

Henicospilus fuscomaculatus Uchida, 1928: 216; LCT ♀ from Korea, designated by Townes et al. (1965: 328), SEHU, examined; synonymised by Gauld and Mitchell (1981: 220).

Henicospilus fuscomaculatus yakushimensis Yasumatsu, 1934: 67; HT ♀ from Japan, KUEC, examined; synonymised by Watanabe and Yamauchi (2014: 86).

Specimens examined.

Total of 225 specimens (123♀♀100♂♂ and 2 unsexed): Brunei (3♀♀2♂♂), China (1♀1♂), Indonesia (1♀), Japan (99♀♀81♂♂ and 2 unsexed), Korea (1♀), Malaysia (1♀2♂♂), Sri Lanka (1♀), Taiwan (15♀♀13♂♂), Thailand (1♀), unknown (1♂).

Type series: HT ♀ of Enicospilus nigropectus Cameron, 1905, Kuching, Sarawak, MALAYSIA, V.1903, P. Cameron leg. (NHMUK, Type 3b.1238); LCT ♀ of Henicospilus hariolus Morley, 1912, Kandy, SRI LANKA, V.1910, Green leg. (NHMUK, Type 3b.1264); LCT ♀ of Henicospilus fuscomaculatus Uchida, 1928, Shakôji, KOREA, VII.1927, Takano leg. (SEHU); HT ♀ of Henicospilus fuscomaculatus yakushimensis Yasumatsu, 1934, Yakushima, Kagoshima Pref., Ryûkyûs, JAPAN, 21.VII.1931 (KUEC).

Distribution.

Australasian, Eastern Palaearctic, and Oriental regions ( Yu et al. 2016).

JAPAN: [ Tôhoku] Aomori ( Uchida 1928; Ichita 1994; present study) and Yamagata*; [Hokuriku] Niigata*, Ishikawa*, and Fukui*; [ Kantô-Kôshin] Tôkyô ( Konishi et al. 2014; present study) and Kanagawa ( Watanabe et al. 2016; present study); [ Tôkai] Shizuoka ( Watanabe and Makanai 2011; present study) and Mie ( Uchida 1928; present study); [Kinki] Hyôgô ( Iwata 1958; present study), Nara*, and Wakayama*; [ Chûgoku] Okayama* and Hiroshima ( Maeto and Shimizu 2019; present study); [Shikoku] Ehime* and Kôchi ( Uchida 1928; present study); [ Kyûshû] Fukuoka ( Uchida 1928; present study), Kumamoto*, Miyazaki* and Kagoshima ( Yasumatsu 1934; Watanabe and Yamauchi 2014; present study); [ Ryûkyûs] Kagoshima ( Uchida 1956; Watanabe 2018; present study) and Okinawa*. *New records. Ichita (1994) recorded this species under the incorrect spelling, ' nigripectus '.

This is one of the most frequently encountered wasps in Japan as well as in southeast Asia, especially Sundaland.

Bionomics.

Unknown.

Differential diagnosis.

This species is very easily distinguished from all other Japanese Enicospilus by the black interocellar area (Fig. 33B, C ), characteristic bullet-shaped proximal sclerite (Fig. 33F ), and the absence of the central sclerite (Fig. 33F ). Morphological characters indicate that E. nigropectus is very closely related to E. montaguei (Turner, 1919), but can be distinguished by the longer fore wing fenestra and irregularly rugose scutellum of E. nigropectus . Moreover, this species has been confused with E. abdominalis by many authors but is very easily separated from it (cf. Differential diagnosis of E. abdominalis ).

Remarks.

This species exhibits a wide range of colour variation, but the Japanese specimens are morphologically stable. Japanese specimens have a slightly wider mandible than specimens from other regions, as mentioned by Gauld and Mitchell (1981); however, we have not found any other characters to separate the Japanese population.

Figures

Figure 33. Enicospilus nigropectus Cameron, 1905 ♀ from Japan A habitus B head, frontal view C head, dorsal view D head, lateral view E mesosoma, lateral view F central part of fore wing.