Hyposoter prolixus

Hyposoter prolixus (Holmgren, 1860)

Limneria prolixa Holmgren, 1860: holotype ♀ in NHRS, examined.

Limneria prolixa was transferred to Hyposoter by Hinz (1964). Horstmann does not appear to have considered this species, or to have seen the holotype, since it is nowhere mentioned in his publications or notes, nor in his draft key. We have examined the holotype, and have found that it corresponds almost exactly with a long series in NMS collected in East Anglia in the UK, which we therefore assign to prolixus.

This is one of the very few European Hyposoter with red hind coxae. It is most similar to H. maculatus, but has the central part of the metasoma entirely orange, and at least the last two tergites black. The area superomedia is well-defined and elongate, in contrast to that of maculatus, which is as broad as long and ill-defined at the side margins.

The biology is unknown, and we have seen specimens only from Sweden, the UK, and Germany. Almost all the specimens seen were collected in August, with a handful from June and July. Two specimens from the third author’s collection were barcoded (BOLD Sample IDs CollHH3490 and 3491).