A taxonomic review of the genus Antodynerus de Saussure, 1855 (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae) from the Indian subcontinent
Author
Kumar, Girish P.
Author
Carpenter, James M.
text
Zootaxa
2013
2013-10-30
3731
2
267
278
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.3731.2.7
57c5462d-6179-4aa6-99cd-412ad852927a
1175-5326
221282
560EE8E0-C2FF-4074-BEA8-751BFE60154D
Genus
Antodynerus
de Saussure, 1855
Antodynerus
de Saussure, 1855: 287
, name for division V of subgenus
Leionotus
of genus
Odynerus
; validated by
ICZN 1970: 187
.
Type
species: “
Odynerus punctum
(Fabricius)
” sensu
de Saussure, 1853
[=
Ve spa
flavescens
Fabricius, 1775
], by subsequent designation (
van der Vecht 1959: 238
; confirmed by
ICZN 1970: 187
).
Kalliepipona
Giordani Soika, 1952: 81
(as subgenus of
Pseudepipona
de Saussure
).
Type
species:
Odynerus radialis
(de Saussure)
[=
Rhynchium radiale
de Saussure, 1855
], by original designation. Synonymized by
Giordani Soika (1965)
.
Pseudokalliepipona
Giordani Soika, 1955: 366
(as subgenus of
Pseudepipona
de Saussure
).
Type
species:
Odynerus bellatulus
de Saussure, 1853
, by original designation. Synonymized by
Giordani Soika (1965)
.
Parepipona
Giordani Soika, 1957: 477
(as subgenus of
Pseudepipona
de Saussure
).
Type
species:
Odynerus radialis
(de Saussure)
[=
Rhynchium radiale
de Saussure, 1855
], by original designation. Synonymized by
van der Vecht & Fischer (1972)
.
Anthodynerus
[!]
Giordani Soika, 1961: 445
. Incorrect subsequent spelling of
Antodynerus
de Saussure, 1855
.
Diagnosis.
Metanotum angled, with dorsal raised disc, in dorsal view with semicircular ridge between the horizontal and vertical surfaces; anterior face of pronotum smooth, without foveae; tegula not evenly rounded posteriorly, emarginate adjoining parategula and surpassing apex of later; metanotum without tubercles; propodeum not raised shelf-like to same level of metanotum, without superior carinae; submarginal carina and valvula of propodeum not produced; fore wing with second submarginal cell not petiolate, first and second recurrent veins both received in second submarginal cell; midtibia with one spur; metasoma not petiolate; T1 sessile, not carinate, with transparent apical border; female cephalic fovea not in raised area; male antenna apically hooked; male midfemur not toothed; male S7 rounded apically.
Distribution.
Ethiopian, Oriental and Palaearctic Regions.
Ethology.
Knowledge about the behaviour of the genus
Antodynerus
de Saussure
is poor. In the Indian subcontinent
A. flavescens
is known as a “squatter wasp,” nesting in pre-existing cavities, often in abandoned nests of
Eumenes
Latreille
or
Sceliphron
Klug (
Jayakar & Spurway 1965
)
. See also
Horne (1870)
,
Cretin (1903)
,
Stebbing (1905)
,
Maxwell-Lefroy (1909)
,
Gravely (1915)
, and Begum
et al.,
(1991).
Roubaud (1916)
has published a brief note on the nesting behavior of the Afrotropical
A. bellatulus bellatulus
(de Saussure)
, which also uses pre-existing cavities.
In this study we observed two behaviours of this genus for the first time. 1.
Parasitic association of strepsipteran insect
: In many specimens of
Antodynerus limbatus
(de Saussure)
and some specimens of
A. flavescens flavescens
(Fabricius)
female strepsipteran parasite were observed usually inside the tergal segments and rarely inside the sternal segments of the wasp. The female strepsipterans are larviform, leg-less and wingless, without eyes and antennae. In
Figs 7
,
13
the female strepsipteran is seen as partially projecting from wasp’s metasoma. The species of the genus
Pseudoxenos
Saunders
from family
Stylopidae (Strepsiptera)
are known as specialized parasites of
Eumeninae
(
Kifune & Yamane 1985
,
Lelej 1996
). 2.
Symbiotic association with mites
: In many specimens of
Antodynerus limbatus
(de Saussure)
and some specimens of
A. flavescens flavescens
(Fabricius)
symbiotic associations with mites were observed. There are no modified acarinaria developed in the genus
Antodynerus
(see
Giordani Soika 1985
, for a survey of
types
of acarinaria). Mites usually occupy the posterior pits of the propodeum and rarely other areas such as the lateral sides of propodeum (
Fig. 17
), metasoma, etc. The mites of the family
Winterschmidtiidae (Acari)
are known to be symbiotic with potter wasps (
e.g.
Okabe & Makino 2003
).