Orientilla desponsa ( Smith, 1855 )

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 : 17-19

Orientilla desponsa ( Smith, 1855)

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:D8A0B4BA-9EBC-40CB-9D58-719DBBCC8100

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:1EB23ADE-BE84-4141-932C-7E21C60708BA

( Figs 4A–4D)

Mutilla desponsa Smith, 1855: 38 , ♂, syntypes ♂ (North China) [NHMUK]; Dalla Torre 1897: 31. Synonymized by Lelej (1996a: 106) under Orientilla variegata ( Smith, 1855) . Resurrected to valid species status by Lelej (2005: 111).

Mutilla variegata Smith, 1855: 39 , ♀, syntypes ♀ (North China) [NHMUK]; Dalla Torre 1897: 95. Synonymized by André (1909: 179) under Stenomutilla desponsa ( Smith, 1855) .

Stenomutilla desponsa : André 1909: 179, ♂ ♀; Mickel 1933c: 324, ♂; Wu 1941: 135; Yasumatsu 1948: 73, ♂; Chen 1957: 220, ♂; Murota 1973: 119, ♂; He et al. 2004: 961, ♂.

Stenomutilla variegata : Mickel 1933c: 323, ♀; Wu 1941: 135; Chen 1957: 220, ♀; Murota 1973: 119, ♀; He et al. 2004: 961, ♀.

Orientilla variegata : Lelej 1979: 1067, ♀; Lelej 1996a: 106, ♂ ♀, part; Lelej 2002: 101.

Orientilla desponsa : Lelej 2005: 111, part; Hua 2006: 300; Lo Cascio 2015: 554; Brothers & Lelej 2017: 59, ♂ ♀; Okayasu et al. 2018: 308, ♀; Williams et al. 2019b: 11; Pagliano et al. 2020: 131; Boutin & Vilhelmsen 2024: supplementary table S2, S3, ♀; Barthélémy & Guénard 2025: 74, ♂ ♀.

Material examined. 39♂ 2♀. Vietnam: LAO CAI: Van Ban, Liem Phu , 300–700 m, 30.IX.2006, K. Eguchi leg. [2♀ SKYC] ; BAC KAN: Ba Be Natl. Pk. H.Q., forest, 22°34'N 105°37'E, 4–9.VI.2000, D.C. Darling leg., Malaise trap, ROM 2000401 [1♂ ROM] ; Ba Be , 22°25'29.39"N 105°38'19.09"E, ca 277 m alt., 5.VII.2014, H. Yoshitomi leg. [1♂ EUMJ] ; THAI NGUYEN: Dai Tu, Cat Ne , 21°31'54.4"N 105°39'51.1"E, 20–25.VIII.2007, Malaise trap [2♂ IEBR] ; Minh Tien , 25.V.2007, Malaise trap [1♂ IEBR] ; PHU THO: Viet Tri , 21°22'02.6"N 105°19'15.6"E, 20.X.2018, Ngat T. Tran, Minh P. Nguyen, & Tuan V. Luong leg. [1♂ IEBR] ; VINH PHUC: Ngoc Thanh, Me Linh , 20.VIII.2001, Lam X. Truong leg. [1♂ IEBR] ; 22°16'51"N 105°71'54"E, 1–10.X.2020, IED’s [= Insect Ecology Department’s] collectors leg., Malaise trap [3♂ IEBR] ; 21°23'01.7"N 105°42'40.7"E, ca 70 m alt., 11–20.V.2021, IED’s [= Insect Ecology Department’s] collectors leg., Malaise trap [6♂ IEBR] ; HOA BINH: Ha Son Binh Prov. [= Hoa Binh], Da Bac, Tuly [= Tu Ly], forest, 21.X.1990, E. Narchuk leg. [1♂ IBSS] ; QUANG TRI: Dak Rong, A Ngo , ca 150–200 m alt., 31.V.2006, IED’s [= Insect Ecology Department’s] collectors leg. [1♂ IEBR] ; GIA LAI: Mang Yang, Kon Ka Kinh National Park , 14°12'11.6"N 108°18'58"E, ca 830 m alt., 19.V–3.VI.2022, Lam V. Tinh leg., Malaise trap [1♂ IEBR] ; DAK LAK: Chu Yang Sin NP, near dam, 500 m, 3–9.VI.2007, C. v. Achterberg & R. de Vries leg., malaise [2♂ RMNH] ; NINH THUAN: Nui Chua NP, northeast part, 90–150 m, 23–30.V.2007, C. v. Achterberg & R. de Vries leg., malaise [18♂ RMNH] .

Identification source. Keyed using Lelej (1996a) and compared with the original description.

Previous record. This species was recorded from Hoa Binh by Lelej (1996a).

Distribution. China. Taiwan. Vietnam: Lao Cai *, Bac Kan *, Thai Nguyen *, Vinh Phuc *, Phu Tho *, Hoa Binh, Quang Tri *, Gia Lai *, Dak Lak *, Ninh Thuan *. This species was also recorded from Myanmar ( Bingham 1897: 30, as M. variegata ), but Bingham’s description differs from true Or. desponsa in the body color ( Lelej 1979, 1996a).

Occurrence in Vietnam. May to October. South China-Vietnam subtropical evergreen forests, Northern Indochina subtropical forests, Red River freshwater swamp forests, Luang Prabang montane rain forests, Southern Annamites montane rain forests, and Southern Vietnam lowland dry forests ecoregions. 70–830 m alt. Forest.

Sex association. This species was described from the male as Mutilla desponsa and from the female as Mutilla variegata in the same publication ( Smith 1855). They were associated by André (1909), but the evidence of this synonymy was not indicated. This treatment was confirmed by Lelej (1996a) based on males and females collected at the same place.

Remarks. This is the most widespread and common species of Orientilla .