Pristaulacus comptipennis Enderlein, 1912

Turrisi, Giuseppe Fabrizio, Yeh, Wen-Chi & Lu, Sheng-Shan, 2025, Taxonomic review of the Aulacidae of Taiwan (Hymenoptera: Evanioidea) with description of a new species, Zootaxa 5618 (4), pp. 584-594 : 586-587

Pristaulacus comptipennis Enderlein, 1912

( Figure 1 )

Pristaulacus comptipennis Enderlein 1912: 265 ; Enderlein 1913: 319, 326; Hedicke 1939: 7; Konishi 1990: 652; 1991: 564; Smith 2001: 282; Turrisi 2007: 28; Turrisi et al. 2009: 56; Turrisi 2017: 934; Pham et al. 2024: 215.

Type material. According to Enderlein (1912) the type material includes eight females. Turrisi (2007) designated the lectotype and two paralectotypes (examined). TAIWAN: lectotype ♀ labelled “ Hoozan, Formosa, II.10, H. Sauter/ Pristaulacus comptipennis Enderl. ♀, Type, Dr. Enderlein det. 1912/Syntypus/ Eberswalde coll. DEI/Lectotypus ♀, Pristaulacus comptipennis Enderlein, 1912 , des. T. Megjaszai 1999/ Pristaulacus comptipennis Enderlein, 1912 ♀, Lectotypus G.F. Turrisi des. 2006” ( SDEI) ; 2♀ paralectotypes both labelled “ Hoozan, Formosa, V.10, H. Sauter/ Pristaulacus comptipennis Enderl. ♀, Type, Dr. Enderlein det. 1912/Syntypus/ Eberswalde coll. DEI/Paralectotypus ♀, Pristaulacus comptipennis Enderlein, 1912 , des. T. Megjaszai 1999/ Pristaulacus comptipennis Enderlein, 1912 ♀, Paralectotypus G.F. Turrisi des. 2006” ( SDEI) .

Additional material examined. TAIWAN: 1♀, Hoozan , V.1910, H. Sauter, ( SDEI) ; 2♀, Anping , 22.VII.1911, H. Sauter ( SDEI) ; 1♀, Kankau ( Koshun ), V.1912, H. Sauter ( SDEI) ; 2♀, Kosempo, H. Sauter ( SDEI, USNM) ; 1♀, 1911, H. Sauter ( SDEI) ; 2♂, 1912, H. Sauter ( SDEI, USNM) ; 7♂, V.1912, H. Sauter ( SDEI) ; 2♀, 2♂, Tainan, 22.VII.1911, H. Sauter ( SDEI) ; 2♀, Taihorin , V.1910, H. Sauter ( SDEI) ; 1♀, Hoozan , IX.1910, Sauter ( ZMHB) ; 2♀, Taihorinsho , VI.1910, H. Sauter S-G. ( ZMHB) ; 1♀, 1♂, IX.1910 ( ZMHB) ; 1♂, X.1910, ( ZMHB) ; 1♀, Taihorinsho , IX.1909, Sauter ( HNHM) ; 3♀, Kosempo , IX.1909, Sauter ( HNHM) ; 1♀, Puli Village , Nantou, 15-30.XII.1963, coll. K.H. Chen ( LACM) ; 1♀, Kending, Pingtung Co. , 24.IV.2013, W. C Yeh ( TFRI) ; 1♀, Shuanglianpi Yuanshan, Yilan Co. , 26.V.2014, W.C. Yeh ( TFRI) ; 1♀, ditto, 29.IX.2014, S. S. Lu ( TFRI) ; 1♀, Xinxian, Wulai , New Taipei City, 10.IIV.2022, W. C. Yeh ( TFRI) .

Diagnosis. Medium sized, body length: 9.0–14.0 mm (♀); 12.0–13.0 mm (♂); fore wing length: 7.0– 10.5 mm (♀); 8.9–9.7 mm (♂). Colour mostly black to blackish brown, A1–2 reddish orange; legs extensively reddish orange to dark reddish orange, with femora darker ( Figs 1A, 1B ); wings hyaline, fore wing extensively marked with wide and irregular brown spots on basal part, below stigma and apex, hind wing slightly brown at base and apex; setae whitish to brown on head, yellowish-golden on mandible ( Fig. 1C ), whitish on mesosoma, light brown on metasoma. Head, from above, 1.3 × wider than long, shiny, gena well developed, 0.8 × eye length, convex, moderately convergent behind eyes, rounded posteriorly; occipital margin deeply emarginated with a very wide and deep U-shaped medial groove ( Fig. 1D ); occipital carina wide, lamelliform, 0.6–0.8 × diameter of an ocellus; vertex with fine, deep and scattered punctures (distance between punctures 3.0–4.0 × punctures diameter). Mesosoma moderately elongate ( Fig. 1B ), 2.0 × as long as high, coarsely sculptured; pronotum areolate-rugose, with one straight, acute and moderately developed anterior tooth protruding slightly anterolaterally on each lateroventral margin, posterior margin weakly angulate, without process; mesoscutum transverse-carinate to areolate-rugose, anterior margin, in lateral view, widely rounded, not overhanging pronotum; fore wing with vein 2-rs+m obsolescent; hind coxa moderately elongate, subcylindrical, 2.6 × as long as broad, transverse-carinate dorsally, polished and sparsely punctate ventrally; hind basitarsus 12.0 × longer than broad and 1.2 × longer than tarsomeres 2–5; tarsal claws with four tooth-like processes along inner margin. Metasoma pyriform in lateral view, moderately compressed laterally; petiole moderately elongate and slender, 2.5 × as long as broad; ovipositor length 1.1–1.3 × fore wing length. Detailed descriptions and intraspecific variation are provided by Enderlein (1912), Konishi (1990, 1991), Turrisi (2007) and Turrisi & Smith (2011).

Distribution. Japan (Amami-ôshima, Okinawa-hontô, Iriomote-jima, Kohama-jima), Korea, China ( Hong Kong), Taiwan, Laos ( Enderlein 1912, 1913; Konishi 1990, 1991; Turrisi 2007; Turrisi & Smith 2011; Choi et al. 2013).

Remarks. The dark markings on wing are variable, apparently through a north-south clinal variation with the northernmost specimens from Amami-ôshima Island ( Japan) having the extreme reduction of wing markings. Congruently, the Taiwanese specimens exbibit a wide extension of dark markings, with a broad substigmal spot extended back to the end on submarginal cells.

Biology. Based on available data, this species flies from May to October and is probably the commonest aulacid in Taiwan. The probable host is Ceresium elongatum Matsushita ( Coleoptera , Cerambycidae ) which emerged from dead wood of an unidentified tree species ( Konishi 1991). Another possible host is Olenecamptus bilobus nipponensis Dillon & Dillon ( Coleoptera : Cerambycidae ), obtained from wood of Ficus superba var. japonica Miq. ( Moraceae ) ( Turrisi & Smith 2011).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Pristaulacus comptipennis Enderlein, 1913, ♀ (TFRI). A Habitus, dorsal view. B Habitus, lateral view. C Head, frontal view. D Head, dorsal view.