To the Knowledge of the Velvet Ant Genus Bischoffitilla Lelej (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) in Indonesia

The Mutillidae (Hymenoptera: Aculeata) are a family of solitary ectoparasitoid wasps, famous for their sting and conspicuous coloration. The occurrence of Müllerian mimicry complexes has been demonstrated in both Africa and North America. Müllerian mimicry is the resemblance between several harmful species, advertising their defence to would-be predators by sharing a conspicuous colour pattern. Various colour patterns are known to occur in Oriental (Asian) velvet ants, but potential Müllerian mimicry complexes have not yet been inferred. We analysed the coloration of the females of 283 Oriental velvet ant species (52 genera), characterized by 12 phenotypic traits, and we identified shared colour patterns. Morphological differences between groups were tested using non-metric multidimensional scaling and permutational multivariate analysis of variance. We also inferred the geographical range of these colour patterns, and we investigated whether the shared patterns are the result of convergent evolution or common ancestry. We identified six distinct shared colour patterns, of which four can be associated with Müllerian mimicry. We also studied the position and shape of metasomal markings, and we found no association with mimicry rings. Our results improve the understanding of colour evolution in Oriental velvet ants and extend the previously described Müllerian mimicry complex to the south Asiatic landmass.

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Critical analysis of the type material of Mutillidae described from the Australasian Region (Hymenoptera)

Brothers

2022

Zootaxa

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The type material of all species-group taxa described from the Australasian Region (including Wallacea) is discussed, and photographs of all extant primary type specimens are provided. To facilitate subsequent work and fix the identities of the taxa, 136 lectotypes are designated where appropriate. Type localities are traced and delimited as accurately as possible, and listed. The currently valid name for each taxon is provided and incorporated in a checklist of 324 species-group taxa. Although no critical revisionary taxonomic studies are involved here, ten new combinations for taxa which are obviously misplaced according to current generic concepts are provided: Bothriomutilla condonensis (Turner) comb. nov., from Ephutomorpha; Bothriomutilla doddi (Bingham) comb. nov., from Mutilla; Ephutomorpha lacinia (Smith) comb. nov., from Mutilla; Ephutomorpha xiphognatha (André) comb. nov., from Pseudomethoca; Odontomyrme cordatiformis (Turner) comb. nov., from Ephutomorpha; Odontomyrme elderi (Froggatt) comb. nov., from Mutilla; Odontomyrme fulvodorsalis (Turner) comb. nov., from Ephutomorpha; Odontomyrme haematogastra (André) comb. nov., from Ephutomorpha; Orientilla manni (Krombein) comb. nov., from Stenomutilla; Neotrogaspidia tricarinata (Zavattari) comb. nov., from Mutilla and Trogaspidia. A new synonymy is also proposed: Trogaspidia cooki (André, 1895) = Curvitropidia pulawskii Pagliano, 2020 syn. nov. Corrections of publication dates for several publications are made, and brief comments on the geographic distribution of the Australasian mutillids are also provided.

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To the Knowledge of the Velvet Ant Genus Bischoffitilla Lelej (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) in Indonesia

Cited by 3 publications

References 11 publications

Parasitoid Aculeates – Vespoideasensu lato

Parasitoid Aculeates – Vespoideasensu lato

Colour pattern diversity and evolution in Oriental velvet ants (Hymenoptera: Aculeata: Mutillidae)

Critical analysis of the type material of Mutillidae described from the Australasian Region (Hymenoptera)

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