Leptometriella nigra Friese

Leptometriella nigra (Friese)

(Figs. 4, 12)

Ancyloscelis nigra Friese, 1910: 710. Syntypes female and male from Mendoza [province], 1200 m a.s.l., November 1908, P. Jörgensen (not examined). Jörgensen, 1912a: 159. Schrottky, 1920: 171.

Leptometria nigra: Jörgensen, 1912b: 321.

Leptometriella nigra: Roig Alsina, 1999: 24.

Diagnosis. This species is readily distinguished by the wholly black vestiture of both sexes. It is an hirsute species, without appressed hairs on the metasomal terga basally to the apical bands. The hidden sterna of the male and the genital capsule are remarkably similar to those of L. tucumana.

Redescription. Female. Length 6.5–9.5 mm; length of forewing 5.5–7.0 mm.

Body black, except apex of mandible, flagellomeres 4–10, and apex of tarsi dark reddish brown. Wings hyaline, weakly yellowish; veins and pterostigma brown. Vestiture entirely black. Hairs dense and long on head and mesosoma. Hairs on clypeus 1.2–2.2 times MOD, between antennal sockets up to 3 times MOD. Hairs on scutum 1.4–3.1 times MOD; on mesopleuron 3.3–4.0 times MOD; metapostnotum with short hairs (0.3–0.5 times MOD) close to propodeal margin, remainder of metapostnotum glabrous. T2–T4 with apical band of dense, appressed hairs, denser on T3–T4; T2 basally to apical band with mostly erect hairs of two types: short, finely plumose hairs 0.4–0.6 times MOD, and stiff, simple, longer hairs 1.3–1.8 times MOD; T3– T4 also with erect hairs basally to apical band. Punctures on clypeus and labrum larger than those on rest of body, on clypeus 0.15–0.30 times MOD, separated by 0.5–1.0 times their diameter. Margins of scutum with punctures dense, but median part of posterior half with punctures irregularly distributed, separated by 1–5 times their diameter; basal part of scutellum polished, with few scattered punctures; punctures on mesopleuron finer than those of scutum; upper part of metapostnotum glabrous, polished. Vertex of head moderately elevated behind ocelli, distance from median ocellus to vertex in frontal view as long as 1.1–1.2 ocellar diameters. Proportion of UID to LID 0.92–0.94; of IAD to AOD 1:0.43–0.45. Proportion of scape, pedicel and first three flagellomeres 2.8:0.6:1:0.4:0.5; first flagellomere as long as 1.3 times its apical width. Mandible without distinct preapical tooth. Metapostnotum nearly vertical, in same plane as metanotum. T6 basally with gradular carina continuing raised margin of pygidial plate laterally and fading at side, also with short gradular carina on apical portion of tergum.

Male. Length 6.8–8.2 mm; length of forewing 5.9–7.3 mm.

Color of cuticle and vestiture similar to that of female. Distribution of vestiture and punctation similar to that of female, although denser. Hairs of scutum 1.9–3.6 times MOD. T2–T5 with apical bands of dense hairs 0.7–1.5 times MOD; T6 also with apical band, but hairs twice as long as those of previous terga; T1 without defined apical band. Hairs of basal part of terga erect (without appressed hairs), those on T2 1.5–2.3 times MOD. Hairs of S2–S5 long, 2.3–3.5 times MOD, those on S3–S5 shorter medially. S6 evenly covered with short hairs 0.25 times MOD. Proportion of first three flagellomeres, 1:0.6:0.6; first flagellomere as long as 1.3 times its apical width. Mandible broadened peapically. T7 with two apical points separated distally by a distance similar to their length, forming medially a U-shaped notch. S7, S8 and genital capsule similar to those of L. tucumana.

Material studied. Argentina. Salta: 2 females, 5 males, Cachi, 28-I-1968, Golbach, Terán & Willink (IFML); 7 males, Tacuil, 23-27-I-1968, A. Terán (IFML); 2 males, Tacuil, 2700 m, 23-27-I-1968, Golbach, Terán & Willink (IFML); 2 females, 1 male, Cafayate, Yacochuya, 20-III-1974, A. Willink (IFML); 3 females, 1 male, Cafayate, Yacochuya, 25-I-1986, on Sphaeralcea bonariensis, J.L. Neff (CTMI); 5 females, 2 males, 15 kn SE Payogasta, recta Tin Tin, 21-III-1990, A. Roig Alsina (MACN); 1 male, Tin Tin, 18-III-1993, P. Hazeldine (MACN); 2 females, Payogasta, III-1990, M. Fritz (MACN); 1 male, Amblayo, 2500 m, 30-I-1945, F. Monrós (MLP). Catamarca: 1 male, Joyango, 29-X-1972, L. Stange (IFML). La Rioja: 5 females, Guanchín 15-XII-1971, C. Porter & L. Stange (IFML). Mendoza: 3 females, Villavicencio, 20-XI-1941 (MLP); 2 females, Bajada Villavicencio, 1300 m, on flowers of Sphaeralcea brevipes, 19-XI-1973, J.L. Neff (CTMI).