Darwin wasps of the subfamily Pimplinae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) of Mexico: genera Apechthis Förster, Itoplectis Förster and Pimpla Fabricius Author Khalaim, Andrey I. Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, Cd. Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia. Author Ruíz-Cancino, Enrique 0000-0003-4305-6568 Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, Cd. Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia. & https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0003 - 4305 - 6568 text Zootaxa 2021 2021-11-25 5071 4 451 491 journal article 3304 10.11646/zootaxa.5071.4.1 250bb9d8-a388-4795-9d57-cf58791d768a 1175-5326 5726393 52E0E77B-D285-4F99-B623-4AA2BF95977E 10. Pimpla molesta Smith , 1879 Pimpla molesta Smith 1879: 229 [ holotype ♀ (NHMUK), Costa Rica , San José Prov. , Volcán Irazú , 2000–2300 m , coll. Rogers ]. References. Cameron 1886: 266 [ modesta (misspelling); syn. of P . croceipes ]. Gauld 1991: 523 [syn. of P. croceipes ]. Veijalainen et al . 2011 [ex synonym; DNA barcoding; Mexico ( Guerrero ), Guatemala , Honduras , Costa Rica , Panama ]. Remarks. Pimpla molesta was synonymized to P . croceipes by Cameron (1886) but recent molecular and morphological investigation ( Veijalainen et al . 2011 ) demonstrated that actually these are two distinct species. The two species were separated by DNA barcoding and minor differences in morphology and colouration. Thus, many earlier records of P . croceipes actually may belong to P . molesta . Examined specimens from Guatemala , Honduras and Panama well correspond with P. molesta , but most Mexican specimens share characters of both species, and therefore all Mexican specimens are preliminarily treated here as P. croceipes . See also Remarks section under P . croceipes . Material examined. GUATEMALA . 1 ♂ ( AEIC ) San Jose Pinala , 1800 m , 2.viii.1987 , coll. M.J. Sharkey. 1 ♀ ( AEIC ) Sacatepequez , near Antigua , 1700 m , 23.xi.1986 , coll. M.J. Sharkey. HONDURAS . 1 ♀ ( AEIC ) Cerro Monserrat , 1800 m , 30.v.1994 , coll. H. & A. Howden. 2 ♀ ( AEIC ) Francisco Morazán , 30 km E of Tegucigalpa , Cerro Uyuca , 1800 m , 27.v.1994 , coll. H. & A. Howden. 1 ♀ , 1 ♂ ( FSCA ) Francisco Morazán , Cerro Uyuca , El Zamorano , 1900 m , cloud forest, Malaise trap , 10–20.viii.1992 , coll. C. Porter & L. Stange. COSTA RICA . 1 ♀ ( INHS ) Puntarenas Prov. , San Vito de Java, Las Cruces, 1200 m, Jardín Botánico , 5.viii.1986 , coll. M.E. Irwin. PANAMA . 1 ♀ ( TAMU ) Chiriquí Prov. , Reserva La Fortuna , Estación Biológica , 4–8.viii.1999 , coll. A. Gillogly & J. Woolley. Distribution. Mexico ( Guerrero ), Guatemala , Honduras , Costa Rica , Panama . Biology. Pimpla molesta , as far as P . croceipes , seems to share a mimicry pattern with a Lissonota species ( Ichneumonidae : Banchinae) being involved in mimicry complexes characterized by black colouration with lower body parts being bright yellow ( Veijalainen et al . 2011: 66 ).