Dasymutilla archboldi Schmidt & Mickel 1979
Creators: name: Williams, Kevin A.
name: Manley, Donald G.
name: Deyrup, Mark
name: Dohlen, Carol Von
name: Pitts, James P.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2012
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Mutillidae
Dasymutilla
Dasymutilla archboldi

description: Dasymutilla archboldi Schmidt & Mickel 1979
(Figs 9, 24, 36–39)
Dasymutilla archboldi Schmidt & Mickel 1979. Proc. Ent. Soc. Wash. 81: 576. Holotype, Ƥ: USA: FL: Highlands Co., Archbold Biological Station, 24–25.March.1978, J.O. Schmidt & A. Hook (USNM Type No. 75944).
Diagnosis. FEMALE. The female of this species can be separated from other Dasymutilla species by the following combination of characters: the posterior margin of the head is evenly rounded, the scutellar scale is narrow and lacks transverse carinae anterior to it, and the propodeum has numerous raised tubercles. MALE. The male of this species can be separated from other Dasymutilla by the following combination of characters: the pronotum and mesonotum are clothed with silver setae, T3–7 are clothed with silver setae, the dorsal propodeal surface is clothed with dense appressed silver setae laterally, the tegulae are punctate, and there is a large seta-filled pit on S2.
Description of male (hitherto unknown). Coloration. Head and mesosoma dorsally and anteriorly black. Mandible, antenna, legs, propodeum and apical segments of metasoma dark reddish brown. Basal metasomal segments red. Tibial spurs concolorous with legs, dark reddish brown. Wings weakly infuscated, veins brown, darker basally. Head and mesosoma clothed throughout with erect and appressed silver setae; sparse erect brown setae interspersed with silver setae on vertex, pronotum, mesoscutum and scutellum. T1 and S1–2 with erect silver setae; T2 with erect black setae on basal half and thick fringe of black setae apically; T3–7 and S4–8 having interspersed black and silver erect setae. Head: Rounded posteriorly. Front, vertex and gena with dense coarse punctures. Mandible tridentate apically, unarmed ventrally. Antennal scrobe ecarinate. Gena ecarinate. Ocelli minuscule; ocellocular distance>5 × length of lateral ocellus, interocellar distance 3 × lateral ocellar length. Flagellomere I 1.5 × pedicel length; flagellomere II 2.0 × pedicel length. Mesosoma: Pronotum with coarse dense punctures. Tegula punctate and clothed with setae throughout, convex. Mesonotum with coarse dense punctures. Mesopleuron with coarse dense punctures posteriorly and small sparse punctures anteriorly. Metapleuron with a few small punctures. Scutellum nearly flat, slightly convex, with coarse, confluent punctures. Propodeum reticulate dorsally and posterolaterally, anterolaterally with sparse small punctures. Metasoma: T1 nodose, with dense confluent punctures. T2 and S2 with deep punctures that are separated by slightly less than each puncture diameter. S2 with ovate medial pit, densely filled with white setae, 0.18 × S2 length, 1.4 × longer than wide. T3–6 dense small punctures and interspersed erect and appressed setae; S3–6 with dense small punctures and erect setae only. Pygidium shagreened with punctures that are separated by slightly more than each puncture diameter, lacking apical fringe of setae. Hypopygium punctate, apical margin impunctate and shining with medial tooth. Genitalia (Figs 36–39): Free length of paramere dorsally curved apically, with ventral brush of long dense setae basally, remainder having scattered short sparse setae; paramere laterally kinked in basal 0.2 and slightly recurved in apical 0.6, apices almost imperceptibly divergent. Cuspis roughly cylindrical, ~0.6 × free-length of paramere, having long, sparse setae throughout; outer row of setae anteriorly directed, inner row posteriorly directed. Densely setose basal lobe present. Digitus laterally curved internally, tapering slightly at apex, asetose, ~0.35 × free-length of paramere. Penial valve emarginated anterodorsally, ventral margin bidentate apically, teeth separated, unidentate medially; having longitudinal row of setae at apex and subapically on external margin.
Length. Females: 4–8 mm; males: 3.5– 8 mm.
Host. Hosts of D. archboldi are unknown. This species appears to be the commonest small mutillid in open Florida scrub habitat on the Archbold Biological Station, where the most abundant potential hosts by far are wasps in the genera Tachysphex and Tachytes (Crabronidae), of which there are at least 22 resident species. These wasps and their enemies are difficult to study at the Station because their burrows are seldom aggregated and fill in quickly with loose silica sand.
Distribution. This species is found only in the scrub habitat of southern Florida, specifically in Highlands, Okeechobee, Orange, and Polk Counties.
Material examined. Type material. Holotype, USA: Florida: Highlands Co., Archbold Biological Station, 1Ƥ, 24–25.March.1978, J.O. Schmidt & A. Hook (USNM Type No. 75944). Paratype: USA: Florida: Highlands Co., Archbold Biological Station, 1Ƥ, 20.X.1978, J.O. Schmidt (EMUS). Other material. USA: Florida: Highlands Co., Archbold Biological Station, various dates & collectors: 343 (PMAE, EMUS), 87Ƥ 103 (FSCA), 5Ƥ 353 (EMUS, ABSC), 23 (UCDC); Carter Creek North, 23, 25.VI.2009, M. Deyrup (EMUS); Carter Creek South, 53, 16.IX.2009, M. Deyrup (EMUS, ABSC); FWC Henscratch Pres., 13, 17.VI.2009, M. Deyrup (EMUS); Gould Road Preserve, 33, 13 –19.V.2009, M. Deyrup (EMUS, ABSC); Lake June State Park, 23, 3.VI.2009, M. Deyrup (ABSC); Saddle Blanket Lakes, 23, 1 –6.V.2009, M. Deyrup (EMUS, ABSC); Okeechobee Co., Archbold Biological Station, 43, 21 –27.VII.1987, D.B. Wahl (PMAE, EMUS); Orange Co., Walt Disney World, 13, 30.VI –7.VII.1996, Z. Prusak & S.M. Fullerton (UCFC); Polk Co., FWC Sunray Preserve: 33, 15 –20.V.2009; 2Ƥ 33, 22 –29.VII.2009, M. Deyrup (EMUS, ABSC); Lake Wales Ridge State Forest: 143, 1 –6.V.2009; 103, 20.VI.2009, M. Deyrup (EMUS, ABSC); Saddle Blanket Lakes, 13, 1 –6.V.2009, M. Deyrup (EMUS, ABSC); Tiger Creek Preserve, Babson Park, 23, 5.V.2007, B. Pace-Aldana & A. Peterson (UCFC). Over 100 additional specimens were examined from Highlands and Polk Counties in Florida (ABSC, CUIC, DGMC, EMUS).
Remarks. Although they did not directly place it in a species-group, the authors suggested this species could be a member of the D. caneo species-group (now included in the D. monticola species-group). Manley (1983) recognized the female’s close affiliation to D. vesta and, based on this similarity, hypothesized that the male should be similar to D. vesta. Examination of D. vesta series in collections yielded males that had unique red mesosomal coloration (Manley, 1983) and distinctly shaped tegulae (Manley, 1984). These males were described as the opposite sex of D. archboldi (Manley, 1983).
Morphological and distributional data led us to doubt this sex association. The males attributed to D. archboldi by Manley are much larger than the females, which is a common occurrence in species of other genera (Sphaeropthalma pensylvanica: Pitts et al., 2010a; Timulla and Ephuta spp.: Deyrup & Manley, 1986), but had not been observed in other Dasymutilla species (Deyrup & Manley, 1986). Additionally, these D. archboldi males were difficult to separate from the more common D. vesta, necessitating a publication meant to facilitate identification by a difference in tegula shape (Manley, 1984) that has shown to be inconsistent (KAW & MD, pers. obs.). Finally, while D. archboldi females were known only from Polk and Highlands Counties in Florida, these males were found throughout the state and even in southern Georgia. Male specimens of D. archboldi sensu Manley are listed under D. vesta.
Our phylogenetic results (Fig. 73) further suggest that males attributed to D. archboldi have been misidentified, as males and females fall in separate clades. The male attributed to D. archboldi is sister to D. vesta and has similar ITS sequences to that species (98.1% identical in ITS1 and 100% identical in ITS2). The female of D. archboldi is recovered in a clade with a yet-unidentified male, with which it shares nearly identical ITS sequences (100% identical in ITS1 and 99.8% identical in ITS2). Therefore, we determine that the male previously attributed to D. archboldi is conspecific with D. vesta and we associate the female of D. archboldi with a previously undescribed male.
The true male of D. archboldi (Fig. 24) is described above; it superficially resembles the males of D. arenerronea (Fig. 25) and D. macilenta (Fig. 32). This newly associated male is approximately the same size as female D. archboldi specimens, can be reliably separated from other Floridian Dasymutilla, and is found only in the scrub habitat of southern Florida like the female.
Dasymutilla archboldi appears to have a distribution restricted to the Lake Wales Ridge and part of the smaller, nearby Hundred Foot Ridge. It probably does not occur north and east of this area, based on extensive sampling by S.M. Fullerton in suitable habitat at the University of Central Florida and other areas. The Lake Wales Ridge is known to have a variety of species of plants and arthropods that are not found elsewhere, primarily due to the isolation, antiquity, size and position of this ridge (Deyrup 1990). [For a description of major Florida sand ridges, see White (1970)]. Over 85% of the xeric uplands on the Lake Wales Ridge have been converted to agricultural, industrial and residential uses (Weekly et al. 2008). A recent study, however, shows that D. archboldi occurs on at least 18 Florida scrub habitat preserves, and probably does not qualify to be considered a species of conservation concern (Deyrup, unpublished data).
description: Published as part of Williams, Kevin A., Manley, Donald G., Deyrup, Mark, Dohlen, Carol Von & Pitts, James P., 2012, Systematic review of the Dasymutilla monticola species-group (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae): using phylogenetics to address species-group placement and sex associations, pp. 1-29 in Zootaxa 3554 on pages 7-9, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.213054