In the Mid-Menesian region, wasps from the sphecid genus Cerceris Latreille are known only from New Guinea and its coastal islands, the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands. In the Melanesian area, there is only one representative of the first group, pictiventris immolator Smith.
Cerceris cyclops, new species
Dorsum of thorax and propodeum with only a few scattered punctures; anterior carina on side of pronotum not lamellate, not extending onto dorsal surface; First abdominal segment thin, twice as long as wide, sides straight, dorsal surface with scattered large shallow punctures; 2nd to 5th terga with extremely fine and very slightly larger punctures;. 5th sternum not laterally inflated; hypopygium with apical teeth separated by a narrow U-shaped margin, lateral margin with a small acute tooth adjacent to apical tooth.
First tergum subquadrate, length less than greatest width, sides rounded, surface coarsely and coherently punctate; 2nd to 5th terga with similar sculpture; pygidium with rounded sides, length nearly twice as long as width, surface irregularly wrinkled and with a few coarse, short, suberect setae on basal half; 1st sternum with low rounded keel on basal half; 2nd sternum flat at base; 5. sternum not raised laterally; hypopygium with apical teeth separated by a narrow U-shaped emargination, lateral margin with a small acute tooth adjacent to apical tooth.
Cerceris papuensts, new species
Cerceris misoolensis, new species
Cerceris karimuiensis, new species
Cerceris brandti, new species
BPBM)
Cerceris millironi, new species
It has more yellow than the allotype, including a few spots on the pronotal disc, a band on the postscutellum, a small posterolateral spot on the second tergum, and complete bands on the third to sixth terga. One of them is 11.5 mm long and both lack yellow markings on the 4th and 5th terga, and the 3rd tergum has only posterolateral spots instead of a complete band. Black, rather dull, the following lemon yellow: basal half of mandible, clypeus except apical margin and edge of process, broad band along inner eye margin extending upwards to level with top of interantennal lamella, stripe on latter, scape and flagellum below , large basal spot on 2nd tergum, band on apical three-quarters of 3rd tergum, small posterolateral spot on 4th tergum, small posterolateral spot on 5th tergum, and outer surface of.
Head (Figure 10) transversely oval in frontal view, height three-quarters of greatest width, inner margins of eye not converging above or below; inner margin of mandible with 2 separated teeth, rounded low in middle; apical margin of median lobe of clypeus finely and broadly and with 2 lateral teeth of this section; surface of clypeus with contiguous punctures, raised medially into a low, broad transverse process in apical fourth. The female from Wamena has lateral spots on the pronotum and a stripe on the post-scutellum, but lacks spots on the 4th and 5th terga, and the tegula is reddish. The specimen from Milne Bay has the lateral lobe of the clypeus black, lacks the basal spot on the second tergum, but has a narrowly interrupted middle yellow band on the third sternum, and the legs except the coxae and hind tarsus are reddish . .
The female from Kutsime is less macularized; The lateral clypeal lobe is black, the spot on the second tergum is very small, and the band on the third margin is reduced to a pair of posterolateral ivory spots.
Cerceris minuscula Turner
Several specimens have the basal half of the second sternum yellow and a patch or band on the third sternum. Coloration similar to female except for the following: 5th tergum black, in female except as follows: 5th tergum black, 6th yellow except narrowly at base, yellow spots basally and posterolaterally on 2nd sternum and 3rd sternum with oval yellow spot on each side. The characters characteristic of the male are: head height 0.8 times its greatest width; inner eye margins converging below, interocular distance across posterior eyelets 1.2 times this distance at intersection of epistomal suture and inner eye margin; clypeus gently convex, apical margin of median lobe tridentate and with fhnbrium of twisted, waxy hairs on lateral third; 1st flagellar segment slightly longer than 2nd; 1st tergum rather thin, greatest width three-quarters of length; pygidium closely punctate, sides slightly rounded, greatest width three-quarters of length; 5th and 6th sterna with transverse subbasal fimbriae; hypopygium broadly and rather shallowly rounded at apex, lateral teeth short and sharp.
PARATYPES.—Several have been deposited in the collection of the United States National Museum, and one in the University of Minnesota. Black, following pale yellow: basal two-thirds of mandible, clustering pale yellow: basal two-thirds of mandible, clypeus, supraclypeal area and interantennal lamella, side of front up to top of interantennal lamella, antenna below, small spot adjacent to mandible and lower posterior eye margin, large, narrowly interrupted spots on pronotal dorsum and scutellum, tegula except margins, postscutellum, a pair of large oval spots on dorsal and posterior surfaces of propodeum, small posterolateral spot on 1st tergum, basal two-fifths of 2nd tergum, posterior half of 3rd and 5th terga, basal three-fifths of 2nd sternum, apical half of 3rd sternum, all trochanters, fore and mid tibiae and tarsi, and hind tibia below; the following reddish-apical third of the mandible, the tip of the clypeal process, the edge of the tegula, the pygidium and the tip of the hind femur. 10c Cerceris minuscula korovensis, new subspecies This subspecies of the central Solomons, known only from a single male, is distinguished from m.
Black; the following yellow mandible except tip, clypeus except apical margin narrow, supraclypeal area, band along inner eye margins extending to apex of interantennal prominence, scape, a pair of small rounded spots on pronotal dorsum, small spot on tegula, band on postscutellum, small spot at base of 2nd tergum, large spot on each side of 3rd and legs as in m.
Cerceris vechti, new species
The paratypes are 11-11.5 mm long and match the holotype very well in color and sculpture. One specimen has ten basitarsal spines and both have seven serrations on the hind femur. The Kiung specimen lacks the lateral spots on the first tergum and the narrow stripe on the fifth tergum.
Cercerts venusta Smith
The color is similar to that of the female, except as follows: supraclypeal area sometimes yellow, vertex spots small, temple with a spot above it instead of a stripe, shield band occasionally interrupted, 3rd tergum occasionally spotless, 6th tergum with a apical band, and 7th tergum with an apical band, and 7th tergum with a lateral spot on each side adjacent to pygidium. The lateral lobe of the clypeus in keiensis shows virtually no punctures, as in atrescens. The following are ferruginous: head above, flagellum below, tegula, apex of 1st tergum, pygidium and legs.
Black, the following yellow: mandible except the apex, clypeus except occasionally the base of the middle lobe, large quadratic mark on the side of the face that tapers slightly above and ends opposite the top of the interantennal lamella, stripe on the interantennal lamella, small spot on the top behind the eye, on the underside, lateral spot on pronotal disc, shield rarely with spots, postscutellum with band, occasionally narrow stripe across the middle of the 1st tergum, subapical band on the 2nd tergum occasionally interrupted in the center, narrow apical bands on 4th to 6th terga, exposed parts of 1st and 2nd terga, and occasionally of the 3rd to 6th sternum, and stripe on the outer surface of the fore and mid tibias. The following are ferruginous: scape above, flagellum below, tegula, apical third or half of 1st tergum, pygidium and legs. Cerceris venusta atrescens, new subspecies This form from western New Guinea is characterized by a significant reduction in the number and size of the yellow markings.
The female paratype is similar in size and color to the holotype, but the femurs are black and the band on the fourth tergum is narrowly interrupted in the middle.
Cercerts mordax, new species
It is cyanidated so that all pale markings appear bright iron. The present species, also known from one female, is immediately distinguished from all others occurring in this area by the large vertical lamellate tooth on the mesopleuron and the serration of the apical margin of the median lobe of the clypeus. This polytypic Solomon species is represented by four subspecies from Vella Lavella, Santa Ysabel, New Georgia and Bougainville.
The very slender shape distinguishes it at once from any of the other species in the area covered by this revision, and the configuration of the clypeal process and apical margin of the clypeus is also diagnostic. Two of the polytypic species of Cerceris occurring in the Solomons, bougainvillensis and vellensis, show an interesting parallel evolution of homoeochromic analogues. Head (Figure 16) transversely oval, height 0.7 times width, inner eye margins converging slightly above; inner edge of lower jaw with a strong blunt tooth just above the middle; apical margin of clypeus with a narrow truncated incision in the middle, then a low emargination which is slightly wider and then a small blunt tooth at the edge of the middle lobe; surface of clypeus densely micropunctate and with some scattered larger punctures, the process narrow and erect, with a free apical border which is angularly projecting; face with moderately large, incoherent punctures; supraclypeal area convex; anterior longitudinally rugosopunctate; vertex and temples with moderately large, subcontinuous punctures; 2nd flagellum segment 0.8 times as long as 1st.
It is superficially similar in appearance to bougainvillea sis novo georgica, but can be easily separated by its more slender build and by the conformation of the female's clypeal process.
Cerceris bougainvillensis Tsuneki
The Guadalcanal males and one of the Santa Ysabel males are colored as in the allotype, but the other Santa Ysabel males have the band at the apex of the second tergum divided into a median and a few lateral spots or the median spot may be missing. The coloration is similar to that described above, except that the females have a narrow yellow line at the apical edge of the third tergum. They are similar to the type, except in a few details of the pale maculations as follows: pale markings are sometimes reduced, in one specimen they are completely lacking, and another specimen has a light spot on tegula.
Tsuneki described this as a species, having no material of any of the other subspecies. Descriptions of new species of Fosorial Hymenoptera in the British Museum Collection and of a species of the rare genus Iswara belonging to the family Dorylidae. If submission is invited, the following press format requirements will govern the preparation of copy.
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