Eotrogaspidia Lelej, 1996c

(Figs 1–15)

Eotrogaspidia Lelej, 1996c: 21, ♂ ♀.

Type species: Mutilla auroguttata Smith, 1855, by original designation.

Extended diagnosis. MALE. Post genal bridge without medial projection; hypostomal carina not dentate. Clypeus polished, concave or gibbous in pentagonal shape (Figs 5–6). Mandible apically bidentate, ventrally excised into large basal tooth, without inner subbasal denticle. Prementum not tuberculate. Scape with one strong or two parallel longitudinal carinae ventrally; scape punctate or smooth between two carinae (Figs 5A, 6C); F1 compressed, 3 × longer than pedicel. Parascutal carina well developed; mesopleuron ventrally with precoxal swelling; mesoscutellum with medial longitudinal carina posteriorly elevated or tuberculate; propodeum laterally without denticles. Metacoxa evenly convex with sparse long recumbent setae (Fig. 7A), or flattened with dense erect microsetae (Figs 7 B–G). S2 evenly convex, without lateral felt line; T7 with medial longitudinal impunctate line; S5–6 without lateral carinae; S8 with strong longitudinal lateral ridge posteriorly tuberculate; cuspis stick-like (Figs 10A, 10D), spatulate (Figs 10B, 11B), narrowed posteriorly (Fig. 10C), or lamellate (Figs 11A, 11C); digitus slender, apparently smaller than cuspis; paracuspis stick-like; penis valves weakly asymmetrical, posteriorly with ventral hook (Figs 10 E–H, 11D–F). FEMALE. Mesosoma broadest at propodeum; scutellar scale developed. Procoxa armed with rounded tubercle. T2 with two large pale setal spots, distance between them 0.3–0.5 × spot diameter; T3–T4 with complete or medially interrupted band of pale setae; if T2 spots small and distance between them 1.0 × or more than spot diameter, then T3–T4 with two small spots of pale setae widely separated from lateral margin of terga (Figs 2 C–D, 4B–C); pygidial plate sub-convex, laterally defined by weak longitudinal carinae; surface of pygidial plate irregularly rugose on anterior 1/3–1/2 and smooth posteriorly, transversely rugose entirely, or micro-reticulate entirely with irregular sub-rugae anteriorly (Fig. 12).

Species included. Eotrogaspidia includes 10 species: E. adhabar sp. nov., ♂ (India, Nepal), E. amans (André, 1909), ♂ ♀ (Indonesia), E. auroguttata (Smith, 1855), ♂ ♀ (China, India *, Indonesia, Japan, Laos *, Thailand, Vietnam), E. buddha sp. nov., ♂ ♀ (India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka), E. hauseri sp. nov., ♂ (India, Nepal), E. lena (Cameron, 1899), comb. nov., ♂ (India), E. melanopleura sp. nov., ♀ (China), E. oryzae (Pagden, 1934), ♂ ♀ (Laos *, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam), E. rubripes (André, 1901), comb. nov., ♀ (Afghanistan *, Iran *, Palestine, Syria) and E. saussurei (Lelej, 2005), comb. nov., ♂ ♀ (India, Sri Lanka). Every new combination proposed herein involves species that were previously placed in the genus Trogaspidia Ashmead, 1899 (T. lena, T. rubripes, T. saussurei). Also, we propose the reallocation of Mutilla ekka Nurse, 1902, ♀ (India) from Eotrogaspidia to Vanhartenidia Lelej in Lelej & van Harten, 2006 (new combination) because this species is closely related and potentially synonymous with V. dives (Smith, 1855).

Distribution. Oriental region. Only E. auroguttata and E. rubripes are distributed in the Palaearctic region (Palaearctic China and Middle East, respectively).

Remarks. The male of this genus is similar to that of Trogaspidia by having the mandible ventrally excised with a large tooth, the mesoscutellum with a longitudinal medial carina, S2 without a felt line, the paracuspis well-developed and the digitus straight, but it differs by having F1 compressed (cylindrical in Trogaspidia), the digitus small (usually larger in Trogaspidia) and the penis valves weakly asymmetrical (right penis valve usually more strongly modified in Trogaspidia). The male of this genus is also similar to that of Vanhartenidia by having the metacoxa conspicuously flattened and covered with dense erect pale microsetae ventrally, but differs by having a stick-like digitus (lamellate in Vanhartenidia) and a well-developed stick-like paracuspis (paracuspis tuberculate coarctate in Vanhartenidia). The female of this genus is similar to that of Trogaspidia by having the mesosoma broadest at the propodeum and the pygidial plate posteriorly smooth or micro-reticulate, but differs by having the pygidial plate irregularly rugose on anterior 1/3–1/2 and smooth posteriorly or micro-reticulate entirely (longitudinally striate, longitudinally rugose, or irregularly rugose on basal 3/ 4 in Trogaspidia). The female of Eotrogaspidia also resembles that of Vanhartenidia by having T2 with large baso-lateral golden spots, but can be distinguished from the latter by having the protarsus weakly pectinate (strongly pectinate in Vanhartenidia) and the pygidial plate weakly sculptured, irregularly or transversely rugose, or micro-reticulate throughout, with lateral carina not widened posteriorly (pygidial plate with well-developed longitudinal rugae and lateral carina widened posteriorly in Vanhartenidia).