Ropalidia haladaorum Polasek 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Polašek, Ozren
name: Onah, Ikechukwu
name: Kehinde, Tope
name: Rojo, Veronica
name: Noort, Simon Van
name: Carpenter, James M.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Vespidae
Ropalidia
Ropalidia haladaorum

description: Ropalidia haladaorum Polašek sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: AF5FA431-8B57-492A-85E7-F1FAD5CC51F5
Type specimens. Holotype: Bangui, Central African Republic, 1♀ (OLM.0259). Paratypes: Ogoue, Gabon, 1♀ (MNHN); Kibale NP, Uganda, 1♀ (ZFMK); Sangmelima, Cameroon, 1♀ (NHRS-HEVA0008441); Mount Richard Moland, Guinea, 1♀ (MSNV); Dzanga Ndoki, Central African Republic, 1♀ (AMNH _ IZC00179521); Alcu, Equatorial Guinea, 1♂ (ETH). The total number of examined specimens: 6♀♀, 1♂.
Diagnosis. Intermediate-size species, with strongly developed, dorsally projecting inferior propodeal carina, coarse metapleuron punctures, and overall darker colour pattern than another similar species, R. flavoscutellata sp. nov. Males are easily separated from other species by the shape of clypeus and terminal flagellomere.
Description. Females. Wing length 8.2–11.7 mm. Colour. Basic colour brown or dark brown (Figure 24 aa). Clypeus with large basal brown spot or completely light-brown (Figure 24 bb). Inner orbit with short, triangular yellow area, suffused with reddish area on frons (Figure 24 bb). Gena with small triangular yellow spot, missing in melanic specimens. Mandible with antero-basal yellow spot (Figure 24 bb). Pronotum brownish, sometimes with thin yellow line under pronotal carina (Figure 24 aa). Mesoscutum darker, brown or even blackish. Mesopleuron brown or black in varying amounts, without yellow markings (Figure 24 aa). Scutellum brown (sometimes with reddish posterior margin), metanotum dark brown or black. Propodeum with yellow rhomboid patch underneath inferior propodeal carina (Figure 93a). T1 brown, T2/S2 with thin posterior yellow band or completely ferruginous/ brown (Figure 24 aa). Coxa I (sometimes including II and III) with yellow markings (Figure 24 aa). Femur brown or dark brown, occasionally with reddish lines or even hints of yellow; distal end of femur commonly with yellowish or reddish area (Figure 24 aa). Tibia and tarsi variable: dark brown, brown or even lightly reddish (tarsi never black; Figure 24 aa). Antenna ferruginous, darkened or even black from above; ferruginous or orange-yellowish underneath (Figure 24 aa). Scape yellow or suffused yellowish underneath (Figure 24 bb). Wings translucent or yellowish, nervature and stigma brown, apical spot comparatively lighter (Figure 24 aa); trichome very dense, of intermediate or longer length (similar to Figure 23b).
Head. Clypeus as long as wide or slightly wider, upes very slightly curved, with weak or absent oculo-clypeal angle; clypeus resembles pentagonal shape (Figure 24 bb). Juxtamandibular lobe and excavation of intermediate size. Clypeus shallowly punctate basally, inner orbit impunctate, frons densely and shallowly punctate (Figure 24 bb). Gena comparatively thicker than in R. flavoscutellata sp. nov., with shallow and poorly defined punctures, except closer to eye where punctures can be more defined. Upper two thirds of clypeus covered by silvery pubescence and longer yellowish setae towards clypeal apex. Frons covered by longer setae with somewhat bent tips, which are about as long as ocelli diameter. Eyes covered by short setae. Ocelli comparatively larger, forming acute angle forward. AF1 about as long as scape, AF2 1.5 times as long as wide (Figure 24 bb).
Mesosoma. Mesosoma as wide as head, coarsely and shallowly punctate. Parapsidal furrows conspicuously developed. Scutellum long, with rounded edges and slightly excavated posterior margin. Median carina of scutellum well developed, extends to more than half its length. Metanotum with superior crescent-shaped margin and larger impunctate triangle. Median tooth of metanotum absent. Scattered punctures on metapleuron anteriorly (Figure 93a; in contrast to R. flavoscutellata sp. nov., with shiny metapleuron). Propodeum with strongly developed inferior carina, placed at angle in relation to superior carina direction. Superior propodeal carina usually absent, with just poorly defined ridge in its place. Lateral surface of propodeum covered by very weak and scarce punctures (Figure 93a). Mesosoma covered by comparatively shorter setae. Mesoscutum pubescence silvery or golden.
Metasoma. T1 pyriform and elongated, proximally impunctate, distally coarsely punctate. T2 elongated, with fine and shallow directional punctures. T2 lamella comparatively long, translucent (less so in melanic specimens). T2 lamella cut-out linear, with shallower depression medially on S2 side.
Males. Wing length 9.2 mm. Colour. Males have more yellow than females; most of frons and clypeus yellow, mandible and yellow line along eye margin (Figure 60 bb). Pronotum with thick yellow line underneath carina, frontal surface of mesopleuron yellow, all coxa yellow, all femora with yellow line on anterior surface, large yellow rhomboid spots underneath inferior propodeal carina; T1 with triangular yellow areas that almost meet medially and create yellow posterior band; T2 with complete and somewhat thicker yellow band that continues on S2 as thin line that nearly dissipates medially. Remaining metasomal segments lighter than basal colour. Antenna black from above, scape yellow underneath, flagellum orange-yellow underneath. Terminal flagellomere unicolorous (Figure 93b).
Head. Male clypeus pentagonal, with flattened apex, with obtuse or mildly acute tip (Figure 60a). Oculo-clypeal angle not developed (upes continues into lateral clypeal margin in nearly straight line). Clypeus surface somewhat convex, densely punctate. Gena about 0.7 times of eye width. Scape somewhat thicker, shorter than AF1, AF2 about 1.6 times as long as wide. Tyloids least developed of all African mainland Ropalidia species, barely visible, except in terminal flagellomere. Terminal flagellomere elongated, curved, with mildly obtuse tip (Figure 93b).
Mesosoma. Tarsal I spur not developed.
Metasoma. S7 barely concave.
Distribution. Cameroon, Central African Republic, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Uganda, Kenya (photograph only).
Etymology. The name is the Latin plural genitive of the surname Halada, and refers to Milan and Jiri Halada, who substantially contributed to the OLM collection and collected the holotype specimen.
Similar species. R. flavoscutellata sp. nov., with differences listed in the key.
Genetics. One specimen was successfully genotyped (BOLD:ADO6988). The position of this cluster suggests a rather deep lineage, sister to a large cluster comprising of R. guttatipennis, R. copelandi sp. nov., R. soikae sp. nov., R. dondo sp. nov. and R. clepsydra sp. nov. 28s genotyping had failed.
description: Published as part of Polašek, Ozren, Onah, Ikechukwu, Kehinde, Tope, Rojo, Veronica, Noort, Simon Van & Carpenter, James M., 2025, Revision of the mainland African species of the Old World social wasp genus Ropalidia Guérin-Méneville 1831 (Hymenoptera; Vespidae), pp. 1-142 in Zootaxa 5626 (1) on pages 90-91, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5626.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/15325272