Aulacus albimanus

Aulacus albimanus (Kieffer, 1911)

Figs 2, 55

Aulacinus albimanus Kieffer 1911: 220, 223.— Hedicke 1939: 24.

Aulacinus albimanus albimanus: Kieffer 1912: 350, 354.

Aulacus albimanus (Kieffer) — Smith 2001: 268, comb. nov.; Jennings 2010 [on-line checklist].

Aulacinus albimanus var. nigriventris Kieffer 1911: 224.— Hedicke 1939: 24.

Aulacinus albimanus nigriventris Kieffer 1912: 354.

Aulacus nigriventris (Kieffer) — Smith 2001: 273. syn. nov.

Material examined. Holotype. Aulacus albimanus: ♀ "Mackay" [Queensland] (BMNH 3 a.68). Right antenna missing, left flagellomeres 8–12 missing. Holotype. Aulacus nigriventris: ♂ " Victoria " " Australia, R.E. Turner, 1907–244". Left antenna, right flagellomeres 9–11, right wings, apex of left fore wing, right fore leg, right mid leg except coxa and trochanter, hind leg except coxa, left fore tarsomere 5 and claw, mid tarsomeres, hind tarsomeres 4 and 5 and claw missing; metasoma glued to card.

Other Material examined. NSW: 1♂, Uralla, W. W. F.[Froggatt]. Queensland: 4♀, Mackay, 1892, 1907 and 1909, G. Turner (BMNH).

Description. FEMALE. Length. 10.0 (9.5–10.5) mm, excluding ovipositor.

Colour. Body black except femora, tibiae and posterior T1 orange (Figs 2A, B), tarsomeres predominantly white, distal third of ovipositor sheaths white. Wings hyaline except for small pale brown spot apically on the marginal and submarginal cells of fore wing.

Head. 1.35× wider than long when viewed dorsally (Fig. 2C); face rugose, pubescence dense; shallow subantennal groove; frons without lateral medial carina above toruli, rugose, with short pubescence; vertex rugose, almost strigate, with scattered short setae; gena rugose, pubescence short; posterior margin of head not concave in dorsal view; occipital carina absent; malar space 0.34 (0.31–0.37)× height eye; clypeus 2.8× as wide as high, margin sinuate, with small medial process; distance from lateral ocellus to eye margin 0.73 (0.7–0.8)× distance between lateral ocelli; scape 1.6 (1.4–1.7)× length pedicel; first flagellomere 2.3 (1.8–2.8)× as long as scape, 0.6 (0.55–0.7)× as long as second flagellomere.

Mesosoma. Propleuron rugose, with scattered short setae, ventro-lateral carina present; pronotum rugose; mesoscutum in lateral view rounded antero-dorsally (Fig. 2E), medial and lateral lobes strigate-rugose, with scattered short setae, admedial lines present; notauli distinct, carinate, narrow and deep; scutellum and axillae rugose, scutellum anteriorly with pair of deep depressions, separated by a median carina; metapostnotum scrobiculate, posterior margin straight; mesopleuron rugose dorsally, areolate ventrally, with short pubescence; mesepimeron broad, scrobiculate; metapleuron rugose, with short pubescence; propodeum areolate, posterior margin smooth; hind coxa strigate dorsally, ovipositor guide somewhat caudal, oblique (Fig. 2F); hind trochanter imbricate, with scattered short setae; prefemur on hind leg distinct; hind femur imbricate, with scattered short setae; hind tibia imbricate, pubescence short, with scattered stout emergent setae; hind femur 0.80 (0.70–0.90)× length hind tibia; hind tibia with ventro-apical pecten of short robust spines; hind tarsomeres 1–4 with ventroapical pecten of short robust spines, tarsomere 1, 2.70 (2.40–2.9)× length tarsomere 2; tarsomere 2, 1.35 (1.20– 1.45)× length tarsomere 3; tarsomere 3, 2.60× length tarsomere 4; tarsomere 4, 0.50× length tarsomere 5; hind tarsal claw 0.50× length tarsomere 5; veins 2r-m and 3r-m present, 3r-m spectral medially; hind wing venation complete, R+Rs, M+Cu, Cu, r-m and 2-M spectral, with 2–3 hamuli.

Metasoma. Clavate, 1.38 (1.33–1.43)× length of mesosoma; T1 and T2 narrow, glabrous; ovipositor 8.10 (7.20–9.00) mm.

MALE. Similar to female except scape and pedicel black.

Distribution. Aulacus albimanus is known from two widely separated localities, Mackay, Queensland and Uralla, NSW (Fig. 55).

Biology. The male specimen from Uralla, NSW is labelled as a parasite of Coptocercus rubripes (Boisduval) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Phoracanthini).

Comments. Kieffer (1911) originally described A. nigriventris as a variety of A. albimanus, although they were later separated into two species (Smith 2001). Although the whereabouts of the holotype of A. nigriventris is in question, we believe that the male specimen in the BMNH is the holotype as it is clearly labelled in Kieffer's handwriting as " Aulacinus albimanus var. nigriventris ". There is also a separate typed label "Determined by Dr. Kieffer".

The type specimens of Aulacus albimanus and A. nigriventris are similar in both general colouration and sculpturing, differing only in the colouration of the scape and pedicel which are orange in the former species and black in the latter species. Given this is the only distinguishing feature between the two specimenss, we hereby synonymise the two names.

Aulacus albimanus keys out with A. burnsi, but the face is rugose (rugulose in A. burnsi), ovipositor guide somewhat caudal (medial in A. burnsi), and body black except femora, tibiae and posterior T1 orange (body black except propleuron and ventral half of pronotum orange in A. burnsi).