J. HYM. RES. Vol. 9(2), 2000, pp. 324-346 A Review of the Sphex flavipennis Species Group (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Sphecidae: Sphecini) 1 A. S. Menke and W. J. Pulawski (ASM) Systematic Entomology Laboratory, PSI, USDA, National Museum of Natural History, Washington D.C. 20560-0168, USA; (WJP) Dept. of Entomology, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California 94118-4599, USA, e-mail: [email protected] Abstract.—The Sphex flavipennis species group, a Palearctic assemblage formerly called the max- illosus species group, is characterized, its species are diagnosed, keyed, their distributions sum- marized, and male antennae illustrated. The large Eurasian wasp formerly known as maxillosns Fabricius or rufocinctus Brulle must now be called fnnerarius Gussakovskij. Similarly, the species formerly known as afer Lepeletier must now be called leuconotus Brulle. The following species are included (new synonyms are listed in parentheses): atropilosns Kohl, 1885; flavipennis Fabricius 1793 (rufocinctus Brulle 1833); fnnerarius Gussakovskij 1934 (maxillosus Fabricius 1793, a junior homonym of Sphex maxillosus Poiret 1787; obscurus Fischer de Waldheim 1843; and mavromous- takisi de Beaumont 1947); leuconotus Brulle 1833 (triangulum Brulle 1833, a junior homonym of Sphex triangulum Villers 1789; afer Lepeletier 1845; sordidus Dahlbom 1845; tristis Kohl 1885; pluniipes Radoszkowski 1886, a junior homonym of Sphex plumipes Drury 1773; and pachysoma Kohl 1890); libycus de Beaumont 1956; melas Gussakovskij 1930; and oxianus Gussakovskij 1928 (nubilis de Beaumont 1968). A lectotype is designated for Sphex funerarius Gussakovskij 1930, and a neotype is designated for Sphex leuconotus Brulle 1833. Descriptive notes are provided for the type material of Sphex atropilosns Kohl, fitnerarius Gussakovskij, leuconotus Brulle, rufocinctus Brulle, and triangulum Brulle. It is rather ironic, after all these years, In 1994 both of us restudied the types and that the proper scientific names have not confirmed our prior assessments of them. been established for Sphex maxillosus Fa- These were important findings because bricius 1793 and afer Lepeletier 1845, since van der Vecht (1959) noted that maxillosus these two of the Palearc- represent largest Fabricius was a junior homonym and the tic This is cor- sphecid wasps. problem species needed a replacement name. Van rected here. Initially our study was der Vecht believed that leuconotus Brulle Menke's examination in prompted by was the oldest available replacement for 1964 of Brulle's type specimens at the Mu- maxillosus. However, we are certain that seum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, leuconotus is a senior synonym of afer Le- which suggested that two taxa recognized peletier. In this paper we establish that fu- Kohl (1890) as of maxillosus by synonyms nerarius Gussakovskij is the proper name Brulle and (rufocinctus triangulum Brulle) for maxillosus Fabricius and leuconotus were not conspecific with that species. Brulle the proper name for afer Lepeletier. This was corroborated by Pulawski in Our study has enabled us to construct 1975, who re-examined the same material. an identification key to the Palearctic spe- cies of the flavipennis group. This key should be regarded as provisional because 'Mailing address: Ammophila Research Institute, these are difficult, 1429 Franklin St., Bisbee, AZ 85603-6211, USA, wasps taxonomically e-mail: [email protected] and we have not made an exhaustive Volume 9, Number 2, 2000 325 study of the species. Too little is known sian Academy of Sciences, St. Peters- about geographic variation in the flavipen- burg, Russia nis group, particularly the color of the USNM: United States National Museum wings, setation, legs, and gaster. These of Natural History, Washington D.C., may prove to be variable within some spe- U.S.A. cies, but a very large specimen database Wien: Naturhistorisches Museum, Wien, would be required to resolve species lim- Austria its and the significance of geographic var- Zurich: Entomologisches Institut, Eidge- iation. The apparent variation in male nossische Technische Hochschule, Zur- placoid distribution on the antenna also ich, Switzerland needs to be carefully analyzed, as well as METHODS possible variation in the male genitalia. terms used here follow Currently the male genitalia seem identi- Morphological Bohart and Menke that we cal or nearly so in the taxa we discuss (1976) except here. follow Salmon (1929) for the name of the cord-like "tendon" at the base of The family group names used in the ti- curved, the called this the tle are based on Melo (1999). petiole. Salmon funicle, and we adopt his term because it is not a SOURCES OF MATERIAL tendon in the true sense of the word. Measurements of the abdominal petiole Abbreviations used to indicate location are made as follows: the width is mea- of specimens are listed below with corre- sured at the base of tergum I, the length institutions. sponding is measured from the base of the funicle CAS: California of Sciences, San Academy (on the petiole) to the base of tergum I. Francisco, California, U.S.A. When describing color we use the term Copenhagen: Zoologisk Museum, Copen- "red" to indicate non-black areas of the Denmark hagen, legs. In reality, the true color more closely Dresden: Staatliches Museum fur Tierkun- approximates amber, or reddish brown in de, Dresden, Germany many instances. Setal color is described as Genova: Museo Civico di Storia Naturale pale or white vs. dark brown or black. In "Giacomo Doria", Genova, Italy some cases, pale or white setae are really Krakow: Instytut Systematyki i Ewolucji silver. Zwierzat, Polska Akademia Nauk, Kra- For the uncommonly collected species kow, Poland we have listed locality records known to Lausanne: Musee Cantonal de Zoologie, us. Lausanne, Switzerland The fourth edition of the International Lund: of Sweden University Lund, Lund, Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN Menke: A. S. Menke Collection, Ammo- 1999) stipulates in Article 74.7.3 that "to Research Arizo- phila Institute, Bisbee, be valid, a lectotype designation made af- U.S.A. na, ter 1999 must contain an express state- Moscow: Zoological Museum, Moscow ment of the taxonomic purpose of the des- State Russia University, Moscow, ignation". These statements must accom- Palermo: Istituto di Zoologia, Universita pany each designation (Article 74.3). Tra- di Palermo, Palermo, Italy ditionally lectotype designations have Paris: Museum National d'Histoire Natu- been indicated by the words "present des- relle, Paris, France ignation" and the purpose is clear to all, Stockholm: Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet, namely to fix the identify of the name in- Stockholm, Sweden volved. To add a statement after each des- St. Petersburg: Zoological Institute, Rus- ignation seems redundant and repetitive 326 Journal of Hymenoptera Research to us, but to satisfy the Code, we have fol- gellomeres are more elongate than in lowed "present designation" with the fol- those two species. The female mid and lowing statement "in order to ensure the hindlegs are black, but the foretibia and name's proper and consistent use". tarsus are reddish. Species discrimination in the flavipennis The flavipennis Species Group grQup ig ^^ espedally in females The species discussed here belong to a Previous authors have used wing color, lineage that de Beaumont (1960) called the setal color, presence or absence of long se- maxillosus group. Because maxillosus is a tae on the femora, and proportions of the we have renamed it the junior homonym, petiole and /or comparisons of its length the oldest valid flavipennis group, using w i tn the length of one of the hindtarso- name. species meres to separate females of some species. Females of the share flavipennis group However, the separation of females of /la- the characters: following defining clypeal vipennis, /unerarius, and oxianus is partic- disk convex, but conspicuously abruptly ularly vexing, and association with males near free a depressed margin, delimiting may often be the only reliable way to narrow, flat rim; labral with inverted apex identify these species. The most useful Y- or carina whose arms V-shaped project male character is the number and width as small lobes; base of Y or V often ex- of placoids on the flagellum (although tending as a median carina toward labral they are variable in /umrarius especially; base. In addition to these apparently de- see that spedes bdow for details) . other rived characters, the lack certain species male features that have been used by pre. specializations of other Sphex: the metan- vious WQrkers are ^ ]ength rf tRe lateml otum is simple (not bituberculate); the ^ bmshes of sternum VII, the form of lacks 1 • rpropodeal r dorsum coarse, widelyJ .11 c j 1 u. the clypeal tree margin, and color pattern. transverse carinae or spaced,r wrinkles; ^ n i_ ,.i_ u . these characters are , / ,,,,, , Generally, however, , ,. , ,. ,, and the propodeal side lacks a vertical „ , , ,, .. ., . , . reliable. „. , not wholly Male genitalia lack the anterior to the . • swelling spiracular groove. 1,1 . e j . , unusual elaborations found in some sec- , .1 1 i r . t Males lack features of . , . apparentlyr J speciesr , ..... .,. tions of the °genus and appearrr identical in . _ .. _- group significance. , Ti .u r 11 n 1 species of the flavivennis group. The penis the contains the Pale- r J r ° r group following , ,, t \ ., , . is in lateral ... 1 r, 1, 100c a valve head arcuate profiler and arctic species: atropilosus Kohl 1885, /lain- is