A Revision of the rhopalocerus Species Group of Bembecinus Costa (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae: Bembicinae)
Author
Gess, Friedrich W.
Albany Museum and Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6139 South Africa
Author
Pulawski, Wojciech J.
California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California 94118, USA, wpulawski @ calacademy. org
Author
Gess, Sarah K.
Albany Museum and Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6139 South Africa, s. gess @ ru. ac. za
text
Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences
2015
2015-04-15
62
7
207
256
journal article
299711
10.5281/zenodo.11512316
b5962602-3138-42ad-8b1a-e0e483d0c267
0068-547X
11512316
Bembecinus gilvus
R. Bohart
Figures 3c
,
8a, b
.
Bembecinus gilvus
R.
Bohart, 1997:168
,
Fig. 3
,
♀
.
Holotype
:
♀
,
Namibia
: Gobabeb (
USNM
), examined by W. Pulawski.— S. Gess and F.
Gess, 2003:115
(floral records);
Pulawski, 2014:12
(in catalog of world
Sphecidae
sensu lato
).
RECOGNITION
.
—
Bembecinus gilvus
has the gaster mainly yellow with some black, but without ferruginous color. It also has a pair of admedian yellow stripes on the scutum and a yellow marking between the midocellus and each hindocellus (the two separated in the midline). It differs from similar species (
quadristrigatus
,
somalicus
) in lacking the erect setae along the hypostomal carina (at most a few such setae are present next to the occipital carina), the lower metapleuron closely, microscopically punctate, the body length of 6.0–10.0 mm (rather than 9.5.0–14.0), the female forebasitarsus barely broadened (
Fig. 8a
), and in the male the distance between the clypeus and the antennal scrobe equal to about 0.3 × least interocular distance rather than 0.6–0.7 ×.
MATERIAL
EXAMINED
.—
NAMIBIA
:
Kunene Region
:
on road 3245
E Skeleton
Coast Park (
20°14′S
13°53′E
), F.W. and S.K. Gess, visiting yellow flowers of
Zygophyllum simplex
Linnaeus
,
Zygophyllaceae
(
5 ♀
,
AMGS
);
12 km
E Springbok-waater at
20°15′S
13°44′E
, F.W. and S.K. Gess, visiting flowers of
Zygophyllum simplex
L.,
Zygophyllaceae
,
13.x.2000
(
1 ♀
,
AMGS
),
14.x.2000
(
1 ♀
,
AMGS
),
11.iv.2002
(
3 ♀
,
7 ♂
,
AMGS
).
Erongo Region
:
20 km
NE
Hentiesbaaai
at
21°58′S
14°22′E
,
10.xii.1996
,
W.J. Pulawski
(
2 ♀
,
2 ♂
,
CAS
)
;
5 km
E
Swakopmund
,
4.ii.1978
,
O. Lomholdt
(
1 ♀
,
ZMUC
)
;
63 km
E
Swakopmund
at
22°45′S
15°02′E
,
15.ii.1996
,
W.J. Pulawski
(
1 ♀
,
1 ♂
,
CAS
);
11 km
E
Walvis Bay
at
22°59′S
14°37′E
,
6.xii.1996
(
2 ♂
,
CAS
)
;
between
Kuiseb
and
Gaub
passes (
23°27′S
15°46′E
)
22.iii.1999
,
F.W. and S.K. Gess
(
1 ♀
,
AMGS
);
Gaub
Pass (
23°30′S
15°46′E
)
,
19.iii.1997
,
F.W. and S.K. Gess
, on yellow flowers of
Zygophyllum simplex
Linnaeus
,
Zygophyllaceae
(
1 ♀
,
1 ♂
,
AMGS
);
Kuiseb River
bed at
Rooibank
(
23°11′S
14°39′E
)
,
10.iv.1998
,
F.W. and S.K. Gess
(
2 ♀
and
1 ♂
visiting yellow flowers of
Zygophyllum simplex
Linnaeus
,
Zygophyllaceae
,
2 ♀
visiting yellow flowers) (
4 ♀
,
2 ♂
,
AMGS
);
Rooibank Desert Park
,
15.xii.1977
,
Empey
(
3 ♂
,
AMGS
)
;
5 km
N Gobabeb
,
Wharton
, 31.xii,1978,
on
Zygophyllum simplex
Linnaeus
(
1 ♀
,
PPRI
) and
2.i.1979
(
1 ♀
,
PPRI
);
Kuiseb-Naukluft Bridge in Namibpark
,
15.v.1973
,
M.F. Johannsmeier
(
4 ♀
,
PPRI
);
Kuiseb Naukluft Bridge
,
Namib Park
,
16.v.1973
,
M.F. Johannesmeier
(
2 ♂
,
AMGS
);
Gobabeb
[Namib Desert Research Station]
6.i.1980
, R.
Wharton
(
1 ♀
,
UCDC
,
holotype
of
Bembecinus gilvus
)
;
Namib Desert Research Station
[Gobabeb] at
13°33′45″S
15°02′38″E
,
I. Kapofi
and
M.E. Irwin
,
14–26.ii.1997
(
1 ♀
,
CAS
)
,
8–15.ix.1997
(
1 ♀
,
CAS
)
,
24.xi.1997
(
10 ♀
,
CAS
)
,
1–8.xii.1997
(
4 ♀
,
CAS
)
,
15–22.xii.1997
(
3 ♀
,
CAS
)
,
22–29.xii.1997
(
3 ♀
,
CAS
)
,
29.xii.1997
(
3 ♀
,
CAS
)
,
5–12.i.1998
(
1 ♀
,
CAS
)
,
17–24.ii.1998
(
13 ♀
,
CAS
)
;
8 km
S
Gobabeb
,
12.ii.1978
(
2 ♂
,
ZMUC
);
88 mi.
E [
147 km
]
Walvis Bay
,
2.x.1967
,
E.S. Ross
and
A.R. Stephen
(
1 ♀
,
CAS
).
!
Karas Region
: SW Gibeon
41 km
on 1089 (
25°20′S
17°29′E
)
10.iii.1999
, F.W. and S.K. Gess (
8 ♀
and
10 ♂
,
AMGS
), visiting white flowers of
Limeum
sp.
,
Molluginaceae
(
11 ♀
,
15 ♂
,
AMGS
); SW Gibeon
41 km
on road 1089 (
25°20′S
17°29′E
)
24.iii.1999
, F.W. and S.K. Gess (
2 ♂
,
AMGS
);
16 km
S Rosh Pinah at
28°04′S
16°51′E
, F.W. and S.K. Gess,
13.x.2000
(
1 ♀
,
AMGS
), visiting flowers of
Tripteris
,
Asteraceae
,
15.x.2000
(
1 ♂
,
AMGS
); Great Fish River, Aiais [Ai-Ais], Mus. Staff,
xi.1939
(
1 ♀
,
SAMC
).
SOUTH
AFRICA
:
Northern Cape Province
: Goodhouse,
xi.1936
, Museum Staff [
SAMC
] (
4 ♀
,
SAMC
).
Western Cape
:
11 km
W Clanvilliam on road to Graafwater,
1.xii. 1989
, F.W. and S.K. Gess (
1 ♂
,
AMGS
).
FIGURE
8.
Bembecinus gilvus
: a – female forebasitarsus, b – male clypeus.
GEOGRAPHICAL
DISTRIBUTION
.— Known from
Namibia
, from the Desert/Nama-Karoo fringe in the north, penetrating the Namib Desert along the courses of the Swakop and Kuiseb rivers, to the Nama-Karoo in the south and across the Orange River into
South Africa
, with a single record from
11 km
west of Clanwilliam in arid sandy Fynbos (
Fig. 24c
). This record so far south is surprising, however, it is of interest that the specimen was collected in the dry summer month of December, an unusual collecting time for this winter rainfall area which is most commonly visited by insect collectors in the spring, when flowering is at its height. It is clear that summer collecting in the winter rainfall area north to the Orange River is required to establish the complete distribution of this species.
FLORAL
ASSOCIATIONS
.— Visiting flowers of four plant families:
Zygophyllaceae
(
Zygophyllum simplex
Linnaeus
),
Molluginaceae
(
Limeum
sp.
),
Asteraceae
(
Tripteris
sp.
) and
Vahliaceae
(label data, see Material Examined; S. Gess and F.
Gess 2003
).
NESTING
.— Unknown.
PREY
.— Unknown.