Trogaspidia lingnani (Mickel, 1933)

Okayasu, Juriya, Lelej, Arkady S., Williams, Kevin A., Brabant, Craig M., Nguyen, Lien Thi Phuong, Nguyen, Anh Duc, Pham, Thai Hong & Truong, Tuong Thi Cat, 2025, Current knowledge on the velvet ants (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae, Myrmosidae) of Vietnam: faunal review and new distributional records, Zootaxa 5668 (1), pp. 1-104 : 73-75

Trogaspidia lingnani (Mickel, 1933)

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:6950B6CD-CE9B-4DD2-AF87-C26579C3CA54

( Figs 26A–26D)

Mutilla suspiciosa Smith, 1857 : Dover 1926: 234. Misidentification.

Timulla (Trogaspidia) suspiciosa lingnani Mickel, 1933c: 310 , ♂, holotype ♂ (Beggar Village, s.w. of Nodoa, Hainan Island, China) [UMSP]; Wu 1941: 137.

Trogaspidia suspiciosa lingnani : Chen 1957: 170, ♂ ♀.

Trogaspidia sibylla lingnani : Lelej 2005: 102; Okayasu et al. 2018: 305, ♀; Barthélémy et al. 2018: 238 , ♂ ♀; Barthélémy & Guénard 2025: 78, ♀.

Trogaspidia lingnani : Williams et al. 2019b: 46 , ♀; Pagliano et al. 2020: 285; Boutin & Vilhelmsen 2024: supplementary table S2, S3, ♀.

Trogaspidia sibylla minae ( Zavattari, 1913) : Boutin & Vilhelmsen 2024: supplementary table S3, ♀. Misidentification.

Material examined. 5♂ 12♀. Vietnam: CAO BANG: Ba Be NP, lodge, 21–26.VI.2008, J.B. Heppner leg., malaise [1♂ FSCA] ; LAO CAI: Van Ban, Liem Phu , 300–700 m, 29, 30.IX.2006, K. Eguchi leg. [2♀ SKYC] ; Van Ban, Liem Phu , 450–600 m, 26.IX.2006, K. Eguchi leg. [2♀ SKYC] ; TUYEN QUANG: Lâm Bình, ThƯ Ợng Lâm , maze field, 22.44919°N 105.32252°E, 290 m alt., 25.VI.2024, J. Okayasu leg. [1♀ IEBR] ; VINH PHUC: Tam Dao , 20.VIII.1994, E. Sugonyaev leg. [1♀ IBSS] ; Tam Dao , pine forest, 400–500 m, 9.VIII.1998, Sk. Yamane leg. [1♀ SKYC] ; Meninh Biodiversity Station , 21°23'18"N 105°42'46"E, 23–25.VI.2014, M. Hauser & N. von Ellenrieder leg., hand collected [1♂ CSCA] ; QUANG NINH: [ Ha Long ], Hoanh Bo, North of Hong Chay , 20.VI.1962, N. Kabakov leg. [1♂ 1♀ IBSS] ; HOA BINH: Da Bac, Tuly [= Tu Ly], road, bamboo, 21.X.1990, S. Belokobylskij leg. [1♀ IBSS] ; NINH BINH: Cuc Phuong National Park , 20°21'N 105°36'E, 200 m, 7–9.V.2002, S. Belokobylskij leg. [1♀ IBSS] ; DAK LAK: Chu Yang Sin NP, near dam, 800–940 m, 2–10.VI.2007, C. v. Achterberg & R. de Vries leg., malaise [1♂ RMNH] ; Chu Yang Sin NP, near river, 740 m, 1–10.VI.2007, C. v. Achterberg & R. de Vries leg., malaise [1♂ RMNH] ; DONG NAI: Cat Tien National Park , 11°26'49"N 107°26'26"E, dipterocarp forest, sand near river, 26.VIII.2008, V. Zryanin leg. [1♀ IBSS] ; Nam Cat Tien National Park , 24.V.2010, V. Zryanin leg. [1♀ IBSS] .

Identification source. Compared with type [SYSM]. Compared with voucher specimens from China ( Chen 1957) [ TARI] .

Previous record. This species was recorded from an ambiguous locality in Vietnam by Boutin & Vilhelmsen (2024) as Trogaspidia sibylla minae . However, this record is attributed to T. lingnani given its distribution (see the remarks section below).

Distribution. China. Laos. Thailand. Vietnam: Cao Bang *, Lao Cai *, Tuyen Quang *, Vinh Phuc *, Quang Ninh *, Hoa Binh *, Ninh Binh *, Dak Lak *, Dong Nai *.

Occurrence in Vietnam. May, June, August to October. South China-Vietnam subtropical evergreen forests, Northern Indochina subtropical forests, Southern Annamites montane rain forests, and Southeast Indochina dry evergreen forests ecoregions. 290–940 m alt. Sand near river, bamboo, pine forest, maze field ( Fig. 30C).

Sex association. This species was initially described from the male only. The female was associated and diagnosed by Chen (1957). However, the evidence of this association was not indicated. JO found a pair in copula among Chen’s voucher specimens in TARI.

Remarks. Until recently ( Williams et al. 2019b), this was treated as a subspecies of Tr. sibylla ( Smith, 1857) from Borneo.Another subspecies, Tr. sibylla minae ( Zavattari, 1913) , is more similar to Tr. lignani than to Tr. sibylla in female color pattern, but it is recognized from Taiwan only. Comparison of type material, or future molecular analyses between Taiwanese and mainland populations, could indicate that it is conspecific with Tr. lingnani or that it should be raised to a full species.