Mesa ruficeps ( SMITH 1855) Boni, 2013

Boni, M., 2013, Afrotropical taxa of the genus Mesa SAUSSURE 1892 (Hymenoptera, Tiphiidae, Myzininae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 45 (2), pp. 1657-1744 : 1680-1681

Mesa ruficeps ( SMITH 1855) comb.nov.

Myzine ruficeps SMITH 1855: 75 . Lectotypus (here designated in order to ensure the name proper and consistent use): South Africa = /Port Natal – 49 29 (on the reverse)/ (rounded) / ruficeps type Sm / /Type/ (rounded wit red outer ring) BMNH!

Plesia ( Mesa ) TURNER 1908: 502.

Mesa atopogamia SAUSSURE 1892: 245 .

Elis (Mesa) ruficeps subsp. atopogamia & subsp. diapherogamia TURNER 1911: 304 .

Elis (Mesa) ruficeps: TURNER (1912: 706 &).

Elis (Mesa) ruficeps subsp atopogamia: TURNER (1912: 706 &).

Elis ( Mesa ) spinicollis TURNER 1917: 353-354. Holotypus – Zimbabwe = / Bulawayo Rhodesia 11 Feb 1912 G. Arnold/ / Elis ( Mesa ) spinicollis Turn. Type / (autographic) /Type H. T./ (rounded with red outer ring) BMNH! Syn.nov.

M a t e r i a l.. Angola = (7) / Angola (A37) 5 mls NE Negola 25.III.1972 / /Southern African Exp. B.M. 1972-1/ BMNH. Kenya = (1) /T.H.E. Jalkson Arabuko Forest Malindii 5.40/ /Pres.by Com. Inst. Ent. B.M. 1972-2/ BMNH. Malawi = (1) / Nyasaland SW Shore L. Nyassa btwn Ft. Johnston & Monkey bay 1650 ft 25 Feb-Mch 4 1910 S.A. Neave//1910-353/ / Mesa ruficeps atopogamia Saus det 1949 C.J. Guillarmod/ BMNH. Mozambique = (3) /Lour- Marquez Port. S. Afr. Enri Junod/ / Feb. 1915 Moryo Basutoland- Afr. Cornell Lot. 447 sub 137 H. Junod/ CUIC. South Africa = (1) /S. Africa Natal St. Lucia estuary 9-10.Feb 1974 AB Curnem/ USNM; (1) /S. Afr. Zululand N 21.III.1951 AL. Capener/ /D.G. Shappirio Collection 1970/ USNM; (1) / South Africa Trsvl Nooketsi 14-18.Feb.1968 Krombein & Spangler/ USNM; (2) / RSA Kwaza Zulu Natal 6.12.2002 Mbazwana lg Mrek Halada/ OLML; (1) /Pretoria Transvaal Jan 6 1922 / CUIC. Zimbabwe = (1) /S. Rhodesia H.S. Lesson B.M. 1923-122/ BMNH; (1) /N. Rhodesia Chigali 24.4.54 9932 Fitzgerald/ BMNH; (1) / Zimbabwe 30 km W Harare 29.11.1998 leg J. Halada/ OLML; (1) /W Zimbabwe 60 km N Bulawayo Maraposa Rd 1.1.1999 M. Snižek leg/ OLML.

. Mozambique = (1) / Mozambique Inhambane pr 5x29 25 km N. massing XII.2003 J. Halada lg/ OLML. Malawi = (1) / Nyasaland SW Shore L. Nyassa btwn Ft. Johnston & Monkey bay 1650 ft 25 Feb-Mch 4 1910 S.A. Neave//1910-353/ / Mesa ruficeps atopogamia Saus det 1949 C.J. Guillarmod/ BMNH; (1) / Nyasaland SW of Lake Chilwa 12 Jan 1914 S.A. Neave/ BMNH. Nigeria = (1) /654 27 K W of Lagos Nigeria 6.IV.1975 J. Riley/ BMNH. South Africa = (1) /Waterberg distr 1890/ /1915-319/ BMNH; (1) /Transvaal A.J. Cholmley 1906-225/ BMNH; (1) /Natal Weenen I-III. 1924 H.P. Thomassen/ /Pres. By Imp. Bur. Ent. Brit. Mus. 1929-407/ BMNH; (1) /S. Africa Natal St. Lucia estuary 9-10.Feb 1974 AB Curnem/ USNM; (1) / South Africa Kruger Natl Park Pretoriuskop 20-21.Feb. 1968 Krombein & Spangler/ USNM; (1) /Pretoria Transvaal Jan 22 1922 / CUIC. Zimbabwe = (1) /E. Zimbabwe Mount Selinda 12.XII.1998 lg J. Halada/ OLML.

Female: figs 29 , 62-67. Male: figs 68-71 .

It is a polymorphic taxon about female body coloration and male wings darkening, the fair variability about occurs within the same population without any clear geographical distinction. From that the plethora of names, but here any criticism about is not debated. The type of E. (M.) spinicollis has completely hyaline wings, the remainder of characters, genitalia enclosed, are identical with males with darkened apical wings.

In a general way females are well characterized by the great size, cOc wearing out near vertex, lamina along the border between discal and anterior surfaces of Es 2, absence of gradulus on 3 rd tergum, males by the absence of any light markings on the body, ferruginous fore and mid legs, lamina along fore border and acute tooth on anteroventral corner of N 1, laminated apical femur, notched 7 th tergum, big digitus on volsella.

N o t e. The present records from Kenya and Nigeria not only are a novelty like Angola, but establish also a huge expansion of its distribution range out of Austral Africa.

Figures

Figs 29-30: Mesa sp: (29) pronotum, lateral aspect; (30) Es2 ventral aspect. Figs 31-34: Mesa sp

Figs 68-71: Mesa ruficeps: (68) habitus; (69) gonosquama; (70) volsella; (71) aedeagus. Figs 72-73-= Mesa torrida: (72) habitus; (73) basal hind tarsomerus; (68, 72: scale bar: 5 mm; 69,70,71,73: scale bar: 0,5 mm).