Meria masaica, Boni, 2009

Boni, M., 2009, Afrotropical species of the ancient genus Meria ILLIGER 1807 (Hymenoptera, Tiphiidae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 41 (2), pp. 1817-1861 : 1838

Meria masaica nov.sp.

Holotye Ƌ - Kenya = / KENYA Kilifi VI.87 Werner leg/, MZUF

Male. Holotype. Figs 111-118 . Measurements: body length = 15 mm; forewing length = 8 mm.

Black, brown, yellow, ferruginous. Wings hyaline. Brown: most of vein; dark portions of legs; some shadings on 2 nd tergum;basal palpmeri (the remainder are straw coloured). Pterostigma and apical veins are lighter. Yellow: most of clypeus and mandible; apical spot on Tsa; two lateral stripe along fore border and one large subapical stripe on N 1 disk; most of tegula; large spot on es 2; most of LaSt 2; oblong spot on coxae, ventral femurs, dorsal tibiae, tarsi; Narrow stripe on 1 st tergum,; larger stripe with roughly indented fore edge on 2 nd to 6 th terga; lateral rounded spots on 7 th tergum and 2 nd to 6 th sterna. Ferruginous: 1 st metamerus but apex of petiole; basal third of 2 nd sternum and shadows on lateroterga. Hypostoma transparent and slightly swollen not breaking cOc which is complete. Semitransparent ventral border of clypeal disk. Ssa with vertical wrinkles. N 1 disk with laminated keel just near the anterodorsal corner and with an anteroventral tooth. Gonostylus is as the same as in the group of rufinodis and volsella shows subtriangular microprotuberances above the base of the bristles on its inner surface (like in the madagascan taxa).

Female: unknown.

Ecology: unknown.

Derivatio nominis: from the name of the most famous kenian people.

Figures

Figs. 111-118: Meria masaica Ƌ. 111: head, dorsal aspect; 112: head, frontal aspect; 113: pronotal disk, dorsal aspect; 114: pronotal disk, lateral aspect; 115: 7th tergum, dorsal aspect; 116: volsella; 117: aedeagus; 118: gonostylus (111, 112, 113, 114, 115 scale bar = 1 mm) (116, 117, 118: scale bar = 0.5 mm).