Ropalidia luculenta 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 luculenta

description: Ropalidia luculenta Polašek sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 10680B24-8544-446A-8F01-AD40D5357CED
Type specimens. Holotype: Voi, Kenya, 1♀ (OLM.0034). Paratypes: all with same collection information, 6♀♀ and 1♂ (OLM). The total number of examined specimens: 7♀♀, 1♂.
Diagnosis. A member of the capensis -group, easily distinguishable from all other species by numerous yellow markings on body, wide triangular T1 and lacking fore leg tarsal spur in males.
Diagnosis. Females. Wing length 6.3–6.9 mm. Colour. Basic colour ferruginous, with substantial amount of yellow markings. Clypeus completely yellow or yellow with basal brown suffused central spot; more melanic specimens have larger longitudinally extended spot (Figure 4a). Thick yellow lines along eye sinuses often in conflux with yellow on interantennal area, mandible (entirely yellow or yellow with central brown spot), thick yellow spot on gena and thin line on tempora (merged with yellow on gena in xanthic specimens; Figure 4c). Mesosoma with numerous yellow markings: pronotum predominantly yellow (commonly with small postero-dorsal brown area or thick frontal line that originates underneath pronotal carina and extends posteriorly; Figure 4b, c). Mesoscutum darker-brown, with two or four ferruginous longitudinal lines; lateral side of mesosoma commonly with yellow spot on upper mesopleuron. Tegula yellow, with just small postero-lateral ferruginous area (Figure 4b). Both scutellum and metanotum with two yellow spots; these spots never show signs of conflux, even in very xanthic specimens (Figure 4b). Propodeum ferruginous, without yellow markings in all examined specimens. Coxa with yellow marks, femur with long yellow lines, in melanic reduced to faint yellow spot on femur III (while those on femur I and II are retained; Figure 4c). T1 with wide posterior yellow band, T2–7 with posterior bands, S2–5(6) with thinner yellow band, sometimes broken down into several yellow patches along posterior margin. Antenna ferruginous-orange, tinted darker towards distal parts, with darkest area in AF7–AF9; scape yellow underneath (Figure 4a, c).
Head. Clypeus about as long as broad, with convex surface, evenly curved upes, protruding apex and well developed juxtamandibular excavation (Figure 4a); shape of clypeus mostly resembles females of R. antennata (DE SAUSSURE). Clypeus with poorly defined punctures, laterally impunctate, covered by very short pubescence and scattered protruding whitish-yellowish setae, longer and denser towards apex. Inner orbit impunctate (Figure 4a). Frons with intermediate and spaced punctures, similar to tempora, vertex with gradually diminishing punctures evanescing towards occipital carina. Gena shallowly punctate, posteriorly impunctate and shiny. Frons, tempora and gena covered by short setae of equal length. Gena as wide as eye or slightly narrower. Scape barely longer than AF1, AF2 about as wide as long, varying from 0.8–1.1 times as wide as long (Figure 4a).
Mesosoma. Mesosoma covered by short whitish-golden setae. Punctures of mesosoma weak and shallow, especially on mesopleuron. Tegula with just few poorly defined punctures, often obscured by pubescence and hardly discernible. Mesonotum median suture weak, parapsidal furrows stronger. Scutellum punctures weak and poorly defined, metanotum more coarsely punctate, with large posterior impunctate area. Metapleuron with scattered punctures posteriorly, impunctate anteriorly. Propodeal excavation with obtuse margins; entire propodeum surface even, with hardly discernible punctures and almost entirely without striations, covered by short medially directing setae. Setae in mid-section of propodeal excavation directed medially or posteriorly, resembling R. antennata (DE SAUSSURE). Wings translucent, covered by very short setae (Figure 4b, c). Nervature brown, stigma brownish, apical spot not developed (except minimal yellowing in distal part of median cell; Figure 4b).
Metasoma. T1 specific, triangular and rounded (Figure 4b), with more developed dorsal curvature (Figure 4c). T2 elongated and parallel. T2/S2 suture less developed, visible only in proximal half of segment. T2 lamella very long, transparent; lamellar margin uneven, shallower sternally, with visible and obtuse T2/S2 suture nick. T2 covered by short yellowish setae, S2 covered by whitish pubescence and longer protruding setae; remaining segments covered by longer protruding setae.
Males resemble females in overall appearance, with more yellow. Wing length: 6.4 mm. Colour. Clypeus entirely yellow, frons predominantly yellow (Figure 50a); scutellum and metanotum with smaller yellow spots. Terminal metasomal bands reduced, broken into yellow patches alongside their posterior edges. Antenna orange, with just few distal flagellomeres slightly darkened dorsally (Figure 50b).
Head. Male clypeus resembles that or R. valentula sp. nov. in shape, with curved upes, strong juxtamandibular lobes and correspondingly deep excavation (Figure 50a). Clypeal surface strongly convex, the apex not substantially depressed; entire surface of clypeus minutely punctate. Mandible strongly developed, with broader base and strong tortuous excavation (Figure 50a). Gena thicker, about 0.8 times as wide as eye. Scape thin, AF1 shorter than scape (about 0.7 times), AF2 slightly wider than long. Tyloids originating at AF2, weakly developed and symmetrical in proximal-distal direction; terminal flagellomere short, rounded and obtuse, with elongated tyloid and obtuse tip (Figure 50b).
Mesosoma. Tarsal I spur not developed. Several morphological features of males of this species seem to resemble R. valentula sp. nov., which also has underdeveloped tibial spur (alongside similarly shaped clypeus, mandible and terminal flagellomere).
Metasoma. S7 with flattened surface.
Male-female pairing strength: high; male is a part of the type nest series.
Distribution: South-Eastern Kenya.
Etymology. From the Latin adjective luculentus -a -um, “bright”, referring to the numerous bright yellow areas on the body.
Genetics.After several failures, a single specimen was successfully genotyped (BOLD:ADR2389). This species seems to be most closely related to R. tajiri sp. nov., followed by R. antennata (DE SAUSSURE). Interestingly, this species seems to show an interesting pattern previously described in the Palearctic Polistes (Schmid-Egger et al., 2017), with disagreement between genetics and male-female morphology. In this case, male head morphological features of R. luculenta sp. nov. strongly resemble the R. valentula sp. nov., R. nigrocerasina sp. nov. and R. retromaculata sp. nov., but genetics suggests that this species is more closely related to R. antennata (DE SAUSSURE) and R. tajiri sp. nov. Networking analysis methods provided a possible solution, suggesting that this species is located between two other species, explaining genetic closeness and morphological similarity.
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 98-99, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5626.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/15325272