Protopolybia clypeata Santos, Silveira & Carpenter, sp. nov.

(Figs 42, 44, 46, 72, 79, 86)

Diagnosis. Length of fore wing 4.6 mm; clypeus narrow, 1.24 × higher than wide, ventral margin broadly curved and little produced ventrally (Fig. 42); pronotal prominence almost collinear with fovea and pronotal carina (Fig. 44); T2 only with yellow posterior band (Fig. 46).

Description. FEMALE. Length of fore wing 4.6 mm; clypeus narrow, much higher than wide (HClp=1.24; MxWClp=1.24; TeW=0.91; MiWClp= 0.45 mm), ventral margin broadly curved and little produced ventrally (Fig. 42); tentorial pit closer to antennal socket than to eye margin; interantennal area narrow, approximately equal to diameter of antennal socket; mandibles short, with length equal to 0.57 × distance between eyes at vertex; occipital carina extending for three forth of height of gena; pronotal carina obtuse, produced downward, visible laterally as protuberance; pronotal prominence almost collinear with fovea and pronotal carina (Fig. 44); mesoscutum as long as wide; mesepisternal groove absent; scrobal groove abbreviated; scutellum with short marked median line; metanotum triangular, with its length 0.66 × width of central disk; metanotal lobe with apex slightly rounded; propodeum gently convex around narrow median groove; T1 narrow, 1.38 × as long as wide; T1 notably narrower than T2.

Frons, mesoscutum, metanotum and mesopleuron finely reticulated; anterior margin of scutellum weakly punctate; metasomal terga reticulated; ventral margin of clypeus with elongated silvery bristles; eyes glabrous; body with short bristles; except propodeum and anterior portion of T1 with long and sparse bristles.

Black to dark-brown, moderately marked by yellow spots; antennal articles dorsally black, scape partially testaceous; mandibles black to brown; clypeus with yellow V-shaped mark, inner and outer orbit with band that not extends to vertex and occiput, interantennal area with two small oblique spots, pronotal carina and generally anterior prominence and fovea with yellow marks; mesoscutum black; tegulae partially, mesepisternum with narrow yellow mark, metanotum generally with two yellow spots (Fig. 46); propodeum with pared dorsal marks, distal band on T1–T3 (Fig. 46), yellow; T4–T6 black; legs brown; wings hyaline, venation black.

MALE. Length of fore wing 4.3 mm; eyes wide, strongly produced inwards; clypeus narrow, with elongated silvery bristles; ventral margin little produced ventrally and widely rounded; tentorial pit closer to eye margin than to antennal socket; color like female. Parameral spine without elongate bristles; paramere with basal angle widened, apical angle narrow (Fig.72); digitus with short and sparse bristles; apical margin of digitus rounded, basal process of digitus narrow and elongated (Fig. 79); cuspis with few bristles; ventral process of aedeagus rounded, not directed laterally in dorsal view, anteriorly and laterally serrated (Fig.86), like Protopolybia bituberculata (Fig. 90) and P. sedula (Fig.91); pre-apical region of aedeagus not angular.

Type material. Holotype, ♀, PERU, Dpto. Loreto, San Pedro, 5°50`S 74°02`W, 17.iii.1999 Carpenter & Davidson (AMNH). Paratypes: 19 ♀ (same data as holotype). Other material. COLOMBIA: Caqueta, 4 ♀, Yuruyaco, 73km sw Florencia, 12.ii.1979 (M. Cooper) (BMNH); PERU: Dpto. Loreto, Yarina, 112m, 05°10`S 73°51`W, 8 ♀, 6 ♂, 10.iii.2000; Galícia, 19 ♀, 2 ♂ 18.iii.1999 (Carpenter & Davidson) (AMNH); BRAZIL: Acre, Reserva Catuaba, 2♀, 6.x.1998 (S. Mateus) (UNESP-IBILCE).

Distribution. Colombia, Peru, Brazil: AC.

Remarks. Protopolybia clypeata sp. nov. has as diagnostic character the ventral margin of the clypeus broadly curved and little produced ventrally. In addition, the pronotal prominence is almost collinear with the fovea and the pronotal carina, a character shared with P.collombiana and P. scutellaris. Besides the main diagnostic character, Protopolybia clypeata differs from P. scutellaris by the absence of a lateral processes on T1 and by having the metanotum distinctly narrower and more elongated, 0.66 × the width of the central disk. In respect to P. collombiana, P. clypeata can be distinguished by the shape of the clypeus.

Etymology. The specific name refers to the particular shape of the female clypeus.