Paraxenos Saunders 1872
Creators: name: Benda, Daniel
name: Pohl, Hans
name: Nakase, Yuta
name: Beutel, Rolf
name: Straka, Jakub
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Strepsiptera
Xenidae
Paraxenos

description: Key to species of Paraxenos Saunders, 1872 parasitizing digger wasps of the genus Bembix Fabricius, 1775 based on female cephalothorax (modified and extended from Kifune & Hirashima 1987)
1. Old World distribution ...................................................................................................................... 2
– Australian distribution ...................................................................................................................... 4
2. Mandible completely enclosed in mandibular capsule (md, Figs 2A, 6C) ....................................... 3
– Mandible projecting beyond anterior edge of head capsule (md, Fig. 7); host: Bembix orientalis (Handlirsch, 1893); Sri Lanka ............................. Paraxenos krombeini Kifune & Hirashima, 1987
3. Maxilla anteriorly directed, maxillary base ~ 2–3× as wide as distal part of maxilla (mxb, mx, Fig. 6E–F); labial area between maxillae distinctly wider than long in midline (lba, Fig. 6C); shiny area near submaxillary groove without conspicuous dark papillae on lateral cephalic extensions (lehc, Fig. 3C; lehc, smxg, Fig. 6A); dark lateral region of abdominal segment I below spiracles distinctly contrasting to pale coloration of thorax on dorsal side (asI, Fig. 3D); hosts: Bembix oculata Panzer, 1801, Bembix rostrata (Linnaeus, 1758), Bembix sp.; distribution: widespread in the Palearctic Region .............................................................. Paraxenos hungaricus (Székessy, 1955)
– Maxilla anteromedially directed, maxillary base ~ 3× as wide as distal part (mxb, mx, Fig. 2A); labial area between maxillae slightly wider than long (lba, Fig. 2A); lateral cephalic extensions completely dull on ventral side (lehc, Fig. 2A), covered by conspicuous, densely arranged dark papillae; lateral region of abdominal segment I below spiracles only slightly darker on dorsal side (asI, Fig. 1D); host: Bembix kohli Morice, 1897; distribution: United Arab Emirates ....................... ............................................................................................................... Paraxenos arabicus sp. nov.
4. Spiracles situated at about midlength of cephalothorax; maximum width of cephalothorax ca 1.8 mm; host: Bembix atrifrons F. Smith, 1856; distribution: Western Australia ............................................. ........................................................................... Paraxenos occidentalis Kifune & Hirashima, 1987
– Spiracles situated at about basal third of cephalothorax; maximum width of cephalothorax ca 1.6 mm; lateral margins of cephalothorax evenly curved; host: Bembix musca Handlirsch, 1894; distribution: Australia (Queensland) ................................... Paraxenos australiensis Kifune & Hirashima, 1987
Key to species of Paraxenos Saunders, 1872 parasitizing digger wasps of the genus Bembix Fabricius, 1775 based on male cephalotheca
Cephalotheca of Paraxenos australiensis, P. krombeini, and P. occidentalis unknown.
1. Clypeal lobe distinctly wider than length of mandible (cll, Fig. 4E); distance between mandibles very distinctly exceeding mandibular length; maxilla at base ~ 2× as wide as mandible (mx, Fig. 4A, E); clypeus (clypeal lobe) prominent in lateral view, but blunt anteriorly (cl, Fig. 4B); pale stripe between compound eye and mandibular base as wide as diameter of compound eye; hosts: Bembix oculata Panzer, 1801, Bembix rostrata (Linnaeus, 1758), Bembix sp.; distribution: widespread in the Palearctic Region ............................................................... Paraxenos hungaricus (Székessy, 1955)
– Clypeal lobe ~ as wide as mandibular length (cll, Fig. 4F); maxilla at base ~ 1.5× as wide as mandible (mx, Figs 2C, 4F); clypeus (clypeal lobe) not prominent in lateral view (cl, Fig. 2D); pale stripe between compound eye and mandibular base ~ 2× as wide as diameter of compound eye; host: Bembix kohli Morice, 1897; distribution: United Arab Emirates ......... Paraxenos arabicus sp. nov.
description: Published as part of Benda, Daniel, Pohl, Hans, Nakase, Yuta, Beutel, Rolf & Straka, Jakub, 2023, A new species of the genus Paraxenos Saunders, 1872 (Strepsiptera: Xenidae) from Bembix digger wasps (Hymenoptera: Bembicidae) and a redescription of Paraxenos hungaricus (Székessy, 1955), pp. 134-155 in European Journal of Taxonomy 885 (1) on pages 150-151, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2023.885.2197, http://zenodo.org/record/8205386