Pepsis rubra ( Drury, 1773 )

Waichert, Cecilia, Rodriguez, Juanita, Von Dohlen, Carol D. & Pitts, James P., 2012, Spider wasps (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) of the Dominican Republic, Zootaxa 3353 (1), pp. 1-47 : 18-19

Pepsis rubra ( Drury, 1773)

( Figs 3A, 3D )

Sphex rubra Drury, 1773 , Illustrations of Natural History , vol. 2, p. 75 [Holotype: ♀, WEST INDIES (lost)].

Sphex sanguigutta Christ, 1791 , Naturgeschichte, Klassification und Nomenclatur der Insekten, p. 293 [Holotype: ♂, no locality (lost)].

Sphex papiliopennis Christ, 1791 , Naturgeschichte, Klassification und Nomenclatur der Insekten, p. 297, pl. 29, f. 7 [Holotype: ♂, “AMERICA” (lost)].

Sphex speciosa Fabricius, 1793 , Entomologia Systematica Emendata et Aucta, p. 217, no. 83 (not Smith, 1855) [Lectotype: ♀, no locality (ZMUC)].

Sphex stellata Fabricius, 1793 , Entomologia Systematica Emendata et Aucta, p. 219, no. 91 [Lectotype: ♂, “AMERICA MERIDIONAL” (ZMUC)].

Pepsis quadrata Lepeletier, 1845 , Histoire Naturelle des Insectes Hymenopteres III, p. 478 [Holotype: ♂, WEST INDIES, Saint Domingue (lost)].

Diagnosis. This species can be separated from other Pepsis species in the Dominican Republic by having the integument black and greenish-blue-purple reflections in males ( Fig. 3A ), while the integument has bluish-purple reflections in females ( Fig. 3D ). Additionally, the pubescence on the body is long and black, abundant on propodeum; the pronotum has the collar differentiated from the disc; the front basitarsus is weakly spined, the spines are in two rows; the fore wing has the extreme apex clear or whitish; the edge of the first radial 2 cell is rounded. The female has the antenna black; the dorsal face of the hind tibia is serrate; the fore and hind wings are yellow with dark margins. The male has the antenna gray, the flagellomeres are wide; the dorsal face of the hind tibia is not spinose; the fore wing is orange medially, with blackened areas basally and apically.

Material examined. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Peravia, 2 km E Los Ranchitos , 10 km SSE , San Jose de Ocoa, 700 m, 18–28N, 70–28W, semiarid woodland, R. Davidson et al., 4.X.1991, 1 ♀ , CMNH –370,168, 2 ♂ , CMNH –370,396/ 369,773; 1 ♀ , Distrito Nacional, Santo Domingo, Parque Paseo de los Indios , 18–26–53N, 69–56–39W, 60 m, urban park near ocean, hand collected, sample 50449, CMNH –369,956 ; La Altagracia, 2 km N Bayahibe , 18–23N, 68–51W, 10 m, dry seasonal forest, on limestone, C. Young et al., 3.VII.1992, 10 ♂ , CMNH –369,434/ 370,386/ 370,550/ 370,440/ 370,606/ 370,647/ 369,433/ 369,458/ 370,349/ 370,646; 1 ♂ , Pedernales, Cabo Rojo in swimming pool, 10 m, J. Rawlins and R. Davidson col., 19.VII.1987; 1 ♂ , Pedernales, 11.3 km S Los Arroyos , 18–10N, 71–46W, 310 m, J. Rawlins et al., 19.VII.1990, CMNH –370,265 .

Distribution. Caribbean ( Vardy 2000).

Host. Vardy (2000) proposed that females possibly prey only on small individuals of spiders, because they seem to avoid tarantula burrows. Snelling and Torres (2004) supposed they prey on Cyrtopholis bartholmei (Latreille) (Theraphosidae) .

Remarks. Pepsis rubra can be separated from the other Dominican Republic species by having the apex of the fore wing white. This species has a remarkable sexual dimorphism ( Alayo 1969) as displayed by the differences in wing color pattern. Males have the fore wing more darkened than the females. Females are commonly seen searching in the forest leaf litter and males are abundant on blossoms of Coccoloba uvifera (Linnaeus) (Polygonaceae) ( Snelling & Torres 2004). The males form sleeping aggregations ( Snelling & Torres 2004).

Figures

FIGURE 3. A, D. Pepsis rubra: habitus, dorsal view: A. ♂; D. ♀. B–C. Pepsis ruficornis: habitus, dorsal view: B. ♂; C. ♀. E. Pepsis marginata: habitus, dorsal view, ♀.