Pristalaucus serendipia Smith, Cambra & Añino, 2023

Smith, David R., Cambra, Roberto A. & Añino, Yostin J., 2023, A new species of Pristaulacus Kieffer from Panama (Hymenoptera: Aulacidae), Zootaxa 5315 (1), pp. 94-96 : 94-96

Pristalaucus serendipia Smith, Cambra & Añino , sp. nov.

( Figs 1–3 )

Diagnosis. FEMALE. This species can be immediately recognized from all other Neotropical species with acute anterolateral mesonotal projections by the frons and frontal orbits distinctively rugose-reticulate ( Fig. 3 ). The following characters are also useful for diagnosis: integument of body black, ovipositor sheath black with central white band; wings hyaline with black spot at apex; anterior margin of pronotum with one forward projecting spine; notaular depression broad, meeting before reaching transscutal articulation.

Description. FEMALE (holotype). Body length 9.3 mm, fore wing 7.1 mm, ovipositor length 6.3 mm.

Color. Integument of head, antennomeres one to five (others missing), mesosoma, metasoma and legs black; wings hyaline with dark-brown spot at apex and inconspicuous small spot under stigma; ovipositor sheath black with white central band.

Head. Vertex from ocelli posteriorly shiny, impunctate ( Fig. 2 ); frons and frontal orbits coarsely rugose-reticulate ( Fig. 3 ); with fine white setae, densest on frons, supraclypeal area, clypeus, and malar area; first 5 antennomeres as 0.4:0.4:0.5:1.0:0.8; lower interocular distance 0.89× eye height; malar area 0.18× eye height; distance between lateral ocellus and eye 0.68× distance between lateral ocelli; head in dorsal view slightly narrowing behind eyes, length behind eyes about 0.6× eye length.

Mesosoma . Propleuron shiny with few small scattered punctures, ventrolateral carina distinct; pronotum with one forward projecting spine on anterior margin, mostly punctate anteriorly, reticulate posteriorly; anterolateral projections of mesonotum slightly directed laterally, separated by circular emargination ( Fig. 2 ); mesoprescutum foveo-reticulate; notaular depression broad, meeting before reaching transscutal articulation, with oblique carinae on furrow of notauli; posterior margin of mesoscutum and metapostnotum scrobiculate; axilla and anterior margin of scutellum reticulate, rest of scutellum with three transverse carinae; mesepisternum reticulate punctate; mesepimeron scrobiculate; hind coxa shiny, anteriorly with small punctures with shiny interspaces more than diameter of a puncture, dorso-laterally with many closely-set carinae in posterior half; hind coxal ovipositor guide with groove funnel shaped, transverse and placed subapically, groove without carinae or setae, apical coxal lobe stout and very short, a weak ventro-longitudinal ridge along coxa; hind basitarsus 1.18× longer of remaining tarsomeres combined; tarsal claws with three teeth and basal lobe; fore wing with long vein Rs+M separating cells 1M and 1Rs; hind wing with three hamuli, two stout and one more slender.

Metasoma. Pyriform, basal half narrow, gradually widened at center with apical half bulbous ( Fig. 1 ); shiny, impunctate; pubescence densest on segments four to apex; ovipositor length about 1.13× fore wing length.

Male. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype ♀, PANAMA, Barro Colorado Island , 9° 9’ 5’’ N, 79° 50’ 58’’ W, 27 agosto 2023 (Malaise trap) col. D. Windsor ( MIUP). The holotype is missing: last nine antennomeres; femur, tibia, tarsus of left fore leg; right middle leg except coxa; tarsus of left middle leg; tarsus of left hind leg.

Distribution. Known only from the type locality in Panama.

Etymology. Spanish word adapted from the English term serendipity; circumstance of finding by chance something that was not sought. Due to the accidental or casual discovery of this rare specimen during the search for aculeate wasps sampled in three years (2003-2005) with 10 malaise traps in BCI.

Comments. In the key to Pristaulacus of Central America ( Smith 2008), P. serendipia will run to couplet 3 which includes P. argutus Smith and P. tria Smith. With the ovipositor sheath with a white band and the presence of one anteriorly projecting tooth on the pronotum, it is closest to P. argutus . However, P. argutus has a smooth, shiny frons and frontal orbits with only widely scattered fine punctures and orange fore and midlegs. In Smith’s (2018) key to Neotropical Pristaulacus species with acute anterolateral mesonotal projections, P. serendipia goes to couplet 22 which includes P. argutus and P. omnis Smith. Both species have a smooth, shiny frons and orbits with only small, widely separated punctures.

Pristaulacus serendipia is the third Aulacidae species recorded for Panama. Twelve specimens of Aulacidae have previously been collected in Panama ( Smith 2008, 2018; Añino et al. 2018). Most Pristaulacus species with projections on the mesonotum are infrequently collected for the Neotropical Region; eight of the twenty-two species are known only from the holotype and most other species from a few specimens. The three species of Aulacidae present in Panama are sympatric in BCI.

Figures

FIGURES 1–3. Pristaulacus serendipia, holotype. 1, Lateral habitus. 2, Mesosoma, dorsal view. 3, Head in frontal view.