Anoplius marginalis (Banks 1910)

Anoplius (Arachnophroctonus) marginalis (Banks)
Sphex tropica Fabricius, 1775, Syst. Ent., p. 350 (nee Linnaeus, 1758). Pompilus tropicus Fabricius, 1798, Suppl. Ent. Syst., p. 250. — Cresson, 1867,
Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc, 1 : 98. Arachnophroctonus tropicus Howard, 1901, The Insect Book, pi. VII, fig. 11. Psammochares marginalis Banks, 1910, Jour. N. Y. Ent. Soc, 18: 118 [Type:
2, North Carolina: Southern Pines, 23 May (A. H. Manee) (MCZ,
no. 13, 685)]. Psammochares castella Banks, 1910, Psyche, 17: 248 [Type: S, Texas: Fedor,
Lee Co., 3 May 1909 (Birkman) (MCZ, no. 13, 689)]. Synonym
by Evans, 1951. Psammochares fabricii Banks, 1933, Psyche, 40: 6 (new name for tropica
Fabricius, preoccupied) . Synonym by Evans, 1951. Anoplius {Arachnophroctonus) marginalis Evans, 1951, Trans. Amer. Ent.
Soc, 76: 255-258.
A more complete list of references for this common North American species is given by Evans, 1951. The species has not previously been recorded from Mexico and in fact apparently occurs only in the extreme northern part.
Female. — Length 11-20 mm. Black, T2 with a broad band of orange, emarginate behind; rarely the orange extends to the adjacent tergites, even to the sternites. Wings fuliginous, somewhat violaceous. Pubescence wholly dark, somewhat brownish, obscurely reflecting bluish or greenish in certain lights. Propodeum with a rather variable amount of fine, dark hair. Clypeus very broad, 2.6-3.0 X as broad as high, subtruncate or somewhat rounded apically. Front broad, MID .57-.65 X TFD; UID .85-.95 X LID. Front angle of ocellar triangle greater than a right angle, OOL exceeding POL. Antennae relatively short, segment three measuring from .55 to .70 X UID. Pronotum broadly angulate behind. Propodeum short, with a well-defined flattened declivity. Front basitarsus with four comb-spines (rarely three or five), the spines 1.5-2 X as long as the width of the tarsus at their bases. Fore wing with SMC3 much narrowed above, subtriangular in most specimens.
Male. — Length 6.5-17 mm. Color of body and wings as in female; pubescence largely brownish, often silvery on sides of lower front. Propodeum with abundant dark hairs; abdominal venter with sparse, short setae. Front broad, MID .56-.64 X TFD; inner orbits diverging above, UID slightly exceeding LID. Ocelli in a broad triangle; OOL slightly greater than POL. Propodeal declivity much less abrupt than in the preceding species, front tarsus modified as in that species. SGP broad, rounded apically, nearly flat, its outer margin fringed with fairly long, curved setae. Genitalia with the parameres elongate, strongly setose; digiti slender and tapering, the disc clothed (except at the tip) with short setae, most of which are bent at an angle near their tips (see fig. 84 in Evans, 1951).
Distribution. — Arizona, Chihuahua, Texas, and Florida to Utah, Manitoba, Ontario, and Massachusetts. (Map 48.)
Mexican specimens examined. — 1 2,3 $ 2 . Chihuahua: 1 S, Villa Ahumada, 28 July 1953 (Kansas Univ. Exped.) [KU]; 1 9,13, Samalayuca, 6 Aug. 1950 (RFS) [AMNH]; 1 S , Guzman, 4400 feet, 6 Aug. 1906 (P. P. Calvert) [ANSP].