Cerceris mastogaster F. Smith 1856

Cerceris mastogaster Smith

Cerceris mastogaster Smith, 1856:453 [; Madras, India; type in British Museum].—Schletterer, 1887:496 [listed].—Cameron, 1890:249 [listed].—Bingham, 1897:310 [redescribed].—Dalla Torre, 1897:467 [listed].—Turner, 1912: 505, 506, figs. 53, 77 [type redescription].—Bohart and Menke, 1976:583 [listed].

Cerceris abuensis Turner, 1912:807, 808 [in part] [ paralectotype, but not lectotype; Mount Abu, India; British Museum].

I have examined the unique female holotype of C. mastogaster and associate as the opposite sex all but one of the males included in the syntype series of C. abuensis. Both sexes have characters of the bupresticida group, the female with a buprestid clamp, and the male with an acute posterolateral tooth on the sixth abdominal sternum. These characters distinguish C. mastogaster from all of the Ceylonese taxa except C. bidentula spiniventris Tsuneki. Both sexes of C. mastogaster are larger than the latter taxon, have the apex of the forewing strongly infuscated rather than weakly infumated, the female has a pair of erect lateral processes on the third to fifth sterna rather than an acute posterolateral tooth on the fifth sternum, and the male has a blunt posterolateral tubercle on the sixth tergum, which is lacking in the other taxon.

The type of C. mastogaster has more extensive red markings on the abdomen than the other two females, the female from South India has the least red on the abdomen, and the Ceylonese female has some red on only the hind femur rather than on all femora. The Ceylonese female is smaller than the Indian females.

Turner based C. abuenis on a mixed series collected by C. G. Nurse. The syntypes consist of one female and ten males each bearing a typed label “Abu.” The female and one male are the only specimens bearing handwritten labels by Turner, respectively, “Cerceris/abuensis/Type Turn.” and “Cerceris/abuensis/Type Turn.” (Turner usually did not label more than one pair.) The other nine males stand over a Turner identification label, “Cerceris abuensis Turn.,” in the general collection. They are to be considered syntypes in accordance with the provisions of Article 73(c) (i) of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. The specimens labeled “types” agree with Turner's description of the two sexes, but they belong to different species; eight of the other nine males are conspecific with Turner's type male; and the ninth male is the opposite sex of his type female. There is another male bearing an “Abu” label and an identification label “Cerceris/albopicta/Sm.” in Cameron's handwriting. It came to the British Museum from the Cameron collection in 1914, and presumably was not seen by Turner when he described C. abuensis; I do not consider it a syntype. There are in the National Museum of Natural History (USNM) two males of C. mastogaster bearing typed locality labels “Abu” exactly as in the syntype series of C. abuensis. They were in a tray with several specimens of both sexes bearing typed “Quetta” locality labels and identified as C. albopicta Smith. These were purchased from Nurse with this identification, so they cannot be considered syntypes of C. abuensis.

The type female bears another label, “B.M.TYPE/HYM./21.1, 223.” It was so labeled during World War II and placed in the segregated collection of holotypes. I have labeled it the lectotype of C. abuensis. This selection is in consonance with Turner's policy (1912:477) that he did not describe “species from the male sex [only], considering that as a rule it is inadvisable in this genus to make the male the type….”

The true male of C. abuensis differs from Turner's type male in lacking the posterolateral tooth on both the sixth abdominal tergum and sternum, in having a broader fimbria of curled hairs on the clypeal margin extending to the clypeal lobe, and in having a very weak infumation rather than a large infuscation at the apex of the forewing. The lectotype female of C. abuensis lacks a posterolateral tooth and a median buprestid clamp on the fifth abdominal sternum, and the apex of the forewing is only very weakly infumated as in the male. The female of C. mastogaster has a buprestid clamp on the third to fifth sterna, and a large infuscation at the apex of the forewing.

Cerceris abuensis occurs in South India, but it has not yet been collected in Sri Lanka.

There are so few Ceylonese specimens that the descriptions below are based also on the type of C. mastogaster, another female from South India, and 18 males from South and Central India and Abu.

FEMALE.—Length 10.0–13.5 mm. Black, the following white or ivory: basal half of mandible, clypeus except narrow apical margin, streak on supraclypeal area and interantennal crest, sides of face broadly to just above antennal insertions, scape beneath, broad spots on pronotal disk, most of tegula, band on postscutellum, fore and mid femora beneath on apical half or more, small spot at apex of anterior surface of hind femur, outer surface of all tibiae, basitarsi, transverse fascia on base of second abdominal tergum, third tergum with large lateral spots narrowing toward midline, broad fascia on fifth tergum gradually narrowing toward midline, and lateral spot on third sternum; rest of tarsi testaceous or darker. The following red: flagellum beneath, propodeum except enclosure, mid and hind coxae and trochanters or only hind segments, all femora or only hind femur in part, first three terga except pale areas or only first tergum, sometimes basal half of second tergum behind pale fascia, first to fifth sterna except pale lateral spot on third or only first through third sterna, and median blotch on fourth sternum. Forewing pale and with a strong infuscation beyond marginal cell, stigma and veins dark brown.

Head width 1.4 times distance from clypeal apex to anterior ocellus and 1.9 times least interocular distance; clypeus with a pair of small closeset teeth above apical margin, median lobe slightly sinuate and with a blunt lateral tooth.

Propodeal enclosure glossy, impuctate, median groove very weak, extreme base with a few weak rugulae.

First abdominal segment about as long as greatest width; none of terga with medioapical fovea; pygidium elongate ovate, apex truncate, length 2.3 times greatest width, surface irregularly wrinkled; second sternum with a very weak basal platform; third to fifth sterna each with a large, erect sublateral process having a truncate or rounded apex; fifth sternum shallowly concave between lateral projections and posteriorly with a strong, erect triangular lamella.

MALE.—Length 7.9–10.7 mm. Black, the following white or ivory: basal half of mandible, clypeus except narrow anterior margin, narrow line on middle of face to interantennal crest, large lateral spot on lower half of front, scape beneath, large lateral spot on pronotal disk, tegula, band on postscutellum, basal spot on second abdominal tergum, broad apical band on third tergum narrowed toward middle, sixth tergum except extreme base, bands on second and sixth terga may sometimes be narrower, occasional small basal spot on second sternum, band across middle of third sternum, small spots on hind coxa, large spot on apex of fore and mid femora, and almost all of tibiae and tarsi. The following light red: rest of hind coxa, basal half of hind femur, first abdominal segment and basal two-thirds of second sternum; flagellum testaceous beneath; wings almost clear, forewing with large infumation beyond marginal cell.

Head (Figure 53) width 2.0 times distance from apex of clypeus to anterior ocellus and 1.9 times least interocular distance; clypeus with apical margin of median lobe very weakly tridentate, fimbria of waxed hair on lateral fourth of margin.

Propodeal enclosure glossy, impunctate, basal half occasionally with traces of weak longitudinal ridges, posterior half with a weak median groove; hind coxa with a sharp carina along inner ventral margin.

First abdominal segment 1.2 times as long as wide; sixth tergum with a small, blunt posterolateral tubercle; pygidium (Figure 72); second sternum with a pair of extremely weak anterolateral tubercles, which are sometimes evanescent, basal platform slightly raised; sixth sternum with an acute posterolateral tooth (Figure 73).

SPECIMENS EXAMINED.—NORTHERN PROVINCE. Mannar District: 1, Kondachchi, Ma Villu, 11–12 Apr, Krombein et al. (USNM).

NORTH CENTRAL PROVINCE. Anuradhapura District: 1, Hunuwilagama, 22–26 May, Krombein et al. (USNM).

EASTERN PROVINCE. Trincomalee District: 2, Trincomalee, China Bay Ridge Bung., 0–100 ft, 13–17 May, Krombein et al. (USNM).

MISCELLANEOUS. 1, North Western Province, Puttalam District, Tabbowa-Anuradhapura District, Galkulama, 18 Oct, Robinson et al. (USNM).