Megascolia (Regiscolia) azurea ( Christ, 1791 )

Taylor, Christopher & Barthélémy, Christophe, 2021, A review of the digger wasps (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Scoliidae) of Hong Kong, with description of one new species and a key to known species, European Journal of Taxonomy 786 (1), pp. 1-92 : 28-30

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.5852/ejt.2021.786.1607
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:B9A13F3D-9383-4319-90B2-F59A66071601
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/F41087BA-7458-FF8F-6E03-FDCDFC5DFAC2
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Megascolia (Regiscolia) azurea ( Christ, 1791 )
status

Treatment

Megascolia (Regiscolia) azurea ( Christ, 1791)

Figs 4A–B View Fig , 7H View Fig , 10C View Fig , 11H View Fig , 14C View Fig , 15H View Fig , 18C View Fig , 19H View Fig , 22C View Fig , 23H View Fig , 26C View Fig , 27H View Fig , 30C View Fig , 31H View Fig , 34C View Fig , 35H View Fig , 38C View Fig , 39J View Fig , 40J View Fig , 41J View Fig , 42J View Fig

Sphex azurea Christ, 1791: 256 (holotype lost, ♀, type locality unknown).

Scolia rubiginosa Fabricius, 1793: 230 (holotype ♂, type locality = “in India orientali).

Scolia ornata Lepeletier, 1845: 517 (holotype ♀, type locality = Java).

Scolia magnifica de Saussure, 1859: 175 (holotype ♀, type locality = Java).

Scolia (Triscolia) rubiginosa var. intermedia Betrem, 1928: 231 (unavailable infrasubspecific name).

Scolia azurea christiana Guiglia & Betrem, 1958: 96 (holotype ♀, type locality = “monti dei Catein Cauri”, Myanmar?).

Scolia (Triscolia) rubiginosa – Magretti 1892: 236.

Triscolia azurea – Micha 1927: 117.

Scolia (Triscolia) azurea – Betrem 1928: 230.

Scolia (Triscolia) azurea rubiginosa – Betrem 1928: 231.

Scolia (Triscolia) azurea rubiginosa var. magnifica – Betrem 1928: 232.

Megascolia (Regiscolia) azurea christiana – Betrem & Bradley 1964: 443.

Material examined

CHINA – Hong Kong • 2 ♀♀; Mai Po Nature Reserve ; 22°29′14″ N, 114°02′00″ E; alt. 1 m; 13 Apr. 2014; C. Barthélémy leg.; hand net, ref.: 0514.G.Hy.4 ; CBC GoogleMaps • 1 ♂; same collection data as for preceding; C. Barthélémy leg.; hand net, ref.: 0514.G.Hy.5 ; CBC GoogleMaps • 1 ♂; same collection data as for preceding; 22°29′44″ N, 114°02′35″ E; alt. 1 m; C. Barthélémy leg.; hand net, ref.: 0514.G.Hy.2 ; CBC GoogleMaps • 1 ♀; Mang Kung Wo ; 22°22′06″ N, 114°15′12″ E; alt. 60 m; 17 Apr. 2016; C. Barthélémy leg.; hand net, ref.: 0578.C.Hy.3 ; CBC GoogleMaps • 1 ♂; same collection data as for preceding; 31 Mar.–14 Apr. 2018; C. Barthélémy leg.; Malaise trap, ref.: M339.C.Hy.3 ; CBC GoogleMaps • 1 ♀; same collection data as for preceding; 12–26 May 2012; C. Barthélémy leg.; Malaise trap, ref.: M348.C.Hy7 ; CBC GoogleMaps • 1 ♀; same collection data as for preceding; 29 Sep.–12 Oct. 2018; C. Barthélémy leg.; Malaise trap, ref.: M371.C.Hy.2 ; CBC GoogleMaps • 4 ♀♀, 4 ♂♂; same collection data as for preceding; TLFES GoogleMaps .

Description

Female

STANDARD RATIOS (n = 3). L = 22.5–36.0 mm (mean = 29.8 mm); CR = 0.83–1.07 (mean = 0.99); OOR = 0.48–0.62 (mean = 0.57); CLR: 0.35–0.36 (mean = 0.36); MER: 1.23–1.50 (mean = 1.34); OMR: 0.99– 1.14 (mean = 1.07); FRR: 1.47–1.61 (mean = 1.53); MSR: 0.73–0.76 (mean = 0.75); TER: 1.60–1.70 (mean = 1.66).

HEAD. Largely sparsely punctate to impunctate except laterally on frontal spatium and clypeus and on scrobe ( Fig. 15H View Fig ); frontal spatium not defined posteriorly; frontal fissura weakly present from anterior of frontal spatium to anterior ocellus, may be obsolete ( Fig. 15H View Fig ).

MESOSOMA. Dorsum of pronotum densely and finely punctate medially, becoming sparsely punctate on scapula ( Fig. 23H View Fig ); mesoscutum densely punctate near anterior margin, moderately punctate near lateral and posterior margins, broadly impunctate on disc ( Fig. 23H View Fig ); scutellum moderately punctate laterally, sparsely punctate medially ( Fig. 27H View Fig ); metanotum and dorsum of propodeum densely and finely punctate ( Fig. 27H View Fig ). Mesopleuron densely and finely punctate; metapleuron mostly more moderately punctate except for impunctate area in lower half of upper panel and uppermost part of lower panel; lateral panel of propodeum moderately and finely punctate. Scutellum with shallow median longitudinal groove, metanotum without median longitudinal carina ( Fig. 27H View Fig ). Dorso-median area of propodeum without distinct tubercule medially ( Fig. 27H View Fig ).

METASOMA. Metasoma with moderately strong angle between anterior and ventral faces in lateral view; T1 mostly densely and finely punctate with prominent impunctate tubercle at angle between anterior and dorsal faces ( Fig. 35H View Fig ); T2–T5 finely and densely punctate near posterior margins (and near anterior margin on T2) with disc largely impunctate ( Fig. 35H View Fig ), apical bands of punctures and their associated vestiture narrowing medially on T3–T5; T6 densely and strongly punctate. T2 with basal elevation weekly developed (gradulus) ( Fig. 35H View Fig ).

WINGS. Fore wing with three submarginal cells and one recurrent vein. Fore wing galbrous except along the costal vein being dense setae.

COLOUR AND VESTITURE. Head red on frons, vertex and behind eye ( Fig. 15H View Fig ); broad transverse, medially interrupted red band on T3 ( Fig. 35H View Fig ), sometimes also on T4 and T5; remainder of body black. Vestiture black except mostly red on apical segments of metasoma (interspersed with black hairs on sternites) ( Fig. 7H View Fig ); vestiture relatively long and semi-decumbent on posterior half of mesosoma and on metasoma ( Fig. 7H View Fig ). Wings dark brown with purple reflections.

Male STANDARD RATIOS (n = 4). L: 23.8–26.5 mm (mean = 24.9 mm); CR: 1.07–1.13 (mean = 1.09); OOR:

1.43–1.76 (mean = 1.60); CLR: 0.54–0.63 (mean = 0.59); MER: 0.96–1.37 (mean = 1.21); OMR: 0.95– 1.05 (mean = 1); FRR: 1.38–1.79 (mean = 1.54); MSR: 0.76–0.81 (mean = 0.78); TER: 1.53–1.76 (mean = 1.63).

HEAD. Mostly densely punctate except small impunctate area on frons immediately in front of anterior ocellus ( Fig. 18C View Fig ).

MESOSOMA. Dorsum of mesosoma mostly densely punctate ( Fig. 26C View Fig ), scutum with small impunctate medioapical area ( Fig. 26C View Fig ). Lateral panels of mesosoma as for female. Scutellum without shallow median longitudinal groove ( Fig. 30C View Fig ).

METASOMA. Metasoma with weak angle between anterior and ventral faces of S 2 in lateral view ( Fig. 33C View Fig ); tergites mostly densely and finely punctate except T2–T4 with sparsely punctate to impunctate areas in centre of disc (may be absent on T2) ( Fig. 38C View Fig ); T1 with anterior tubercle as in female.

WINGS. Same as female.

COLOUR AND VESTITURE. Coloration as in female except head entirely black ( Figs 10C View Fig , 14C View Fig ); red bands may not be interrupted on T4 and T5.

GENITALIA. Ventral side of paramere mostly glabrous, a few setae on the lateral side ( Fig. 40J View Fig ), dorsal side with sparse long setae on most of its surface ( Figs 39J View Fig , 41J View Fig ); volsella and cuspis volsellaris with sparse setae on entire surfaces ( Figs 40J View Fig , 42J View Fig ); volsella bearing sparse sensory cones on most of its external margin ( Fig. 42J View Fig ) and with a narrow lamella on the inner margin ( Fig. 39J View Fig ). External margin of paramere not angled medially (lateral side parallel), subrounded apically ( Figs 39J View Fig , 40J View Fig ); aedeagus with 10 teeth, the first two apical teeth much reduced, apical margin serrated with minute teeth ( Fig. 41J View Fig ), serrated margin straight, flattened apically ( Fig. 42J View Fig ).

Distribution ( Fig. 4A–B View Fig )

China (Fujian, Guangdong, Hong Kong, Anhui, Hainan, Hunan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan); Indonesia (Java, Sumatra, Krakatau); Malaysia (Selangor); Bangladesh ( Chittagong); Thailand; India (Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Uttarankhand, West Bengal, Mizoram, Odisha, Andaman and Nicobar, Nagaland); Vietnam (North and South Vietnam); Myanmar; Laos; Nepal; Bhutan. [ Betrem 1928, 1941; Dover 1926; Wang 1992; Gupta & Jonathan 2003; Kumar 2009; Kumar & Pham 2015; Nidup et al. 2017; Liu et al. 2021b].

Notes

By far the largest and most impressive scoliid species in Hong Kong. While it is common and widely distributed in the territory, it is seasonal and rarely seen after June, but also has a short activity period in September, the taxon being probably bivoltine in Hong Kong (pers. obs.) Betrem (1928: 42) reports both Xylotrupes gideon (Linnaeus, 1767) and Oryctes rhinoceros (Linnaeus, 1758) ( Coleoptera ) as hosts of this taxon. Betrem (1941) assigned specimens of this species from southern China to the subspecies Scolia azurea rubiginosa Fabricius, 1793 but Guiglia & Betrem (1958) later synonymised this name with the type subspecies while providing the new name Scolia azurea christiana for the form previously known as rubiginosa . Fabricius (1793) described his Scolia rubiginosa on the basis of a male of uncertain origin (type locality “in India Orientali”), describing its coloration as “Abdominis segmentum primum secundumque atra, tertium atrum maculis duabus, dorsalibus, fulvis, reliquis omnibus ferrugineo hirtis” (“abdominal segments 1 and 2 black, 3 black with two dorsal yellow spots, remainder with entirely red hairs”). Guiglia & Betrem (1958) interpreted this to mean that the apical fringe of T3 was entirely black in Fabricius’ specimen (as in specimens from Indonesia) whereas specimens from northern India and southern China more typically have a mostly red fringe on T3. However, it might be questioned whether Fabricius’ description should be seen as more ambiguous in this regard. No type material is currently available for Scolia rubiginosa ( Guiglia & Betrem 1958) and until its identity can be more confidently determined we eschew the use of subspecies names in M. azurea .