Ammatomus alipes (Bingham 1897)

Ammatomus alipes (Bingham)

Gorytes alipes Bingham, 1897:273, fig. 78 [, ; Bombay, Malabar coast, Tenasserim; syntypes in British Museum (Natural History)].

Ammatomus alipes (Bingham).—Turner, 1912:373 [transferred to Ammatomus].—Bohart and Menke, 1976:513 [listed].

Gorytes (Ammatomus) alipes Bingham.—Maidl and Klima, 1939:64 [listed].

Bingham described this species from both sexes from the localities cited above. There are four specimens in the British Museum that could qualify as syntypes. One is a female bearing labels, “TENASSERIM/Maulmein/8-89-BINGHAM COLL.”, “Gorytes/alipes/Bingh./TYPE” and a B.M. type label, “21.1,511”. A second female bears only a label, “Bombay/Dist.”, on the reverse of which is written, “77/111.” A male bears a label, “Bombay/Downes,” and another label, “60.15/E.I.C.” Another male, lacking a head, bears only a blue disc on which is written, “78/89.” The 77, 60, and 78 refer to the years in the 1800's when the respective specimens were accessioned. The first three specimens are conspecific, and I have selected the Tenasserim specimen as lectotype. The last specimen belongs to an undescribed species of Ammatomus.

Ammatomus alipes is the largest of the three Ceylonese species of the genus, females being 8.3–10.0 mm long as compared to 6.5–8.6 mm, and has certain other distinctions. The pale markings are lemon yellow rather than paler yellow, creamy, or white. The legs have very few red markings, these being restricted to the ventral surfaces of the mid- and hind femora and foretibia, rather than being predominantly red. The scutum has smaller, sparser punctures (cf. Figures 11, 12), and the first transverse cubital vein has a short stub at the lower end that extends into the first submarginal cell. The first abdominal tergum has a complete, sharp, lateral carina. The female has the posterior margin of the forefemur margined by a dense brush of short flattened setae (Figures 34–36) that give it the appearance of being sharply edged, quite unlike the forefemur in its male and in the female of A. xerophilus; the female of A. amatorius also has such a brush. The male differs markedly from A. amatorius (Smith) in having a low, rounded median tubercle beneath on the third to eighth flagellar segments; the male of A. xerophilus is unknown.

All of our specimens were collected at three localities in the Wet Zone with average annual rainfall of 2400–3900 mm. However, two males were collected by Wickwar at Wellawaya in the Dry Zone. The species is widely distributed in India and occurs also in Burma.

The following description is based on Ceylonese specimens. I have seen more than 40 specimens from South India that vary in that the stub of the first transverse cubital vein is evanescent or absent in a few, and two males lack the flagellar tubercles. Also, the yellow markings are usually more extensive, the bands on abdominal terga may be broader and entire, the thoracic markings may be larger, and there may be a small yellow spot above on the mesopleuron.

FEMALE.—Length 8.3–10.0 mm. Black, the following lemon yellow: palpi, middle of mandible, clypeus, supraclypeal area, narrow line along inner eye margin from clypeus to upper margin of antennal insertion, scape, pronotum with a very narrow posterior line and lobe, scutum with small posterolateral spot, metanotum in middle with a narrow apical band sometimes interrupted on midline, small spot at apex beneath of fore- and midcoxae, fore- and midfemora beneath in part or almost entirely, base of fore- and hind tibiae on outer surface and stripe on entire midtibia outwardly, tarsi except apical half of last segment of hind pair, and subapical stripes on abdominal terga I–IV all interrupted in middle, that on I more widely so; the following red: apex of mandible, fore- and midfemora beneath in part and foretibia. Wings clear, stigma and veins brown, first transverse cubital vein with a short stub near lower end extending into first submarginal cell. Vestiture short, silvery, appressed, densest on clypeus, then on front, then on thorax, and abdomen with only a bloom in certain lights; pygidium with dense, brown, subappressed setae beneath which is reddish golden pile.

Apical width of clypeus 1.5–1.6 times height; least interocular distance 0.3 times that at posterior ocelli, and 0.15 times head width; postocellar line twice ocellocular line; median frontal groove extending to anterior ocellus; upper front and area laterad of ocelli with smaller punctures than in A. amatorius and A. xerophilus, mostly separated by half or more the diameter of a puncture.

Scutum with smaller punctures than in A. amatorius, anterolaterally most of them separated by one or more times the diameter of a puncture (Figures 11, 12); mesopleuron also with smaller punctures, many of them in irregular rows separated by several times the diameter of a puncture, but many punctures in a row mostly separated from each other by half the diameter of a puncture; posterior margin of forefemur apparently sharply edged, the edge consisting of dense, short, flattened setae (Figures 34–36); propodeal enclosure not glossy anteriorly, with dense micropunctures and a few scattered small punctures; first transverse cubital vein with a short stub near lower end extending into first submarginal cell.

MALE.—Length 7.3–9.6 mm. Black, the following lemon yellow: clypeus, supraclypeal area and adjacent small spot along inner eye margin, scape, narrow line posteriorly on pronotum and lobe, band laterally on scutum gradually narrowing posteriorly, scutellum, metanotum, spot on mesopleuron beneath tegula, forefemur, midfemur except above at base, small spot at apex of hind femur, tibiae, tarsi, apical bands on terga I–V, broadened laterally on I–III, narrower and not quite reaching sides on IV–V, small median spot on VI; apical flagellar segments light red beneath. Wings and vestiture as in female.

Other characters as in female except as follows: flagellar segments III–VIII beneath with a small median tubercle; and posterior margin of forefemur rounded, not fringed with dense, short, flattened setae.

SPECIMENS EXAMINED (all USNM and Krombein et al. except as noted).—WESTERN PROVINCE, Colombo District: 1, Padukka, Arakawila Jungle, 26 Nov, Karunaratne.

SABARAGAMUWA PROVINCE, Ratnapura District: 1, Weddagala, Sinharaja Jungle, 18–21 Jun.

UVA PROVINCE, Monaragala District: 2, Wellawaya, Wickwar (London); 1, 1, Telulla, 11, 12 Dec, Wickwar (Colombo).

SOUTHERN PROVINCE, Galle District: 6, Kanneliya section, Sinharaja Jungle, 11–16 Jan ( in Malaise trap), 13–16 Jul (2, 1 in Malaise trap), 13–16 Aug (3).

MISCELLANEOUS: 1, no label data (Colombo).