Antepipona de Saussure 1855
Creators: name: Nguyen, Lien Thi Phuong
name: Nguyen, Anh D.
name: Dang, Hoa T.
name: Yamane, Seiki
name: Engel, Michael S.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Vespidae
Antepipona

description: KEYS TO ORIENTAL SPECIES OF ANTEPIPONA DE SAUSSURE, 1855A key is provided here to the 33 recognized species in the genusAntepiponade Saussure, 1855 from the Oriental
region. The characters are taken from the descriptions and figures of van der Vecht (1963), Giordani Soika (1976,
1977, 1982), Yamane (1990), Kumar et al. (2016), and Selis (2018), as well as from specimens of A. bipustulata (de Saussure, 1855), A. buguttata (Fabricius, 1787), A. ceylonica (de Saussure, 1867), A. rufescens (Smith, 1857), A. tytides (Cameron, 1904), A. concava Nguyen, Dang & A. D. Nguyen, n. sp., and A. crenula Nguyen, Yamane & Engel, n. sp. from Vietnam; A. biguttata from China and India; A. bipustulata from Singapore and Japan; A. ceylonica, A. minutissima Giordani Soika, 1982, A. ovalis (de Saussure, 1853), and A. sibilans (Cameron, 1903) from India; A. brunnipes (Fabricius, 1804), and A. rufescens from Indonesia; A. excelsa Giordani Soika, 1982 from Nepal; A. sibilans from Taiwan; A. tytides (Cameron, 1904) from Thailand; A. luzonensis (Rohwer, 1919) from the Philippines; and the holotype of A. haryana Gusenleitner, 1996 deposited in Hokkaido University Museum, Sapporo, Japan. Because some species are known only from the female (such as A. sexfasciata Giordani Soika, 1986, A. tricolorata Selis, 2018, A. menkei Giordani Soika, 1986, A. excelsa, and A. haryana) or the male (such as A. brunneola Giordani Soika, 1986, A. concava Nguyen, Dang & A. D. Nguyen, n. sp., and A. crenula Nguyen, Yamane & Engel, n. sp.), separate keys are provided for females and males.
Key to females
1. Posterior surface of propodeum without carinae (Fig. 11E) ......................................................................... 2
— Posterior surface of propodeum with two short horizontal or slightly oblique carinae (Fig. 1D; 13F) ........ 16
2. Frons with sparse and fine punctures, interspaces between punctures not raised to form reticulation (Fig. 15A, B) ................................................................................................................................................................ 3
— Frons with dense and coarse punctures, interspaces between punctures raised to form reticulation (Figs 7A; 9A) .............................................................................................................................................................. 4
3. Clypeus in anterior view 1.5 × wider than high; apical margin widely and deeply emarginate (distance between lateral teeth much greater than 1/3 width of clypeus between inner compound eye margins) (Fig. 15A) ........... .................................................................................................................... A. frontalis Giordani Soika, 1982
— Clypeus in frontal view slightly wider than high; apical margin narrowly and shallowly emarginate (distance between lateral teeth about one-fourth width of clypeus between inner compound eye margins) (Fig. 15B).... ....................................................................................................................... A. haryana Gusenleitner, 1996
4. SII bulging at base (Fig. 9C) ......................................................................................................................... 5
— SII not bulging at base (Figs 1E; 5D; 13G) ................................................................................................... 8
5. SII strongly convex at base; TII with strong punctures, interspaces between punctures larger than puncture diameter (Fig. 9C) ....................................................................................................................................... 6
— SII less convex at base; TII with strong punctures, interspaces between punctures equal to or smaller than puncture diameter (Fig. 3D) ............................................................................................................................... 7
6. Clypeus with very strong punctures, interspaces between punctures not raised to form reticulation, apical margin shallowly emarginate; anterior surface of pronotum with sparse punctures laterally; tegulae with external margin strongly concave in posterior third; body black with yellow markings .......... A. exaltata Giordani Soika, 1982
— Clypeus with very coarse and dense punctures, interspaces between punctures raised to form reticulation, apical margin deeply emarginate; anterior surface of pronotum with dense punctures laterally; tegulae not as above; body black with orange markings ......................................................................... A. tytides (Cameron, 1904)
7. Occipital carina gradually narrowing from top to bottom; clypeus with large dense punctures, widely emarginate at apex (distance between lateral teeth less than 1/3 width of clypeus between inner compound eye margins) (Fig. 3A) .................................................................................................... A. bipustulata (de Saussure, 1855)
— Occipital carina wide in the upper two-thirds, narrowing rapidly in lower third to form a distinct angle; clypeus with larger and denser punctures, more widely emarginate at apex (distance between teeth much greater than 1/3 width of clypeus between inner compound eye margins) (fig. 34 in Giordani Soika, 1986)......................... ................................................................................................................ A. sexfasciata Giordani Soika, 1986
8. Clypeus much wider than long, distance between lateral teeth much greater than 1/3 width of clypeus between inner compound eye margins (Fig. 7A, fig. 43 in Giordani Soika 1982) ...................................................... 9
— Clypeus as long as or slightly wider than long, distance between lateral teeth less than 1/3 width of clypeus between inner compound eye margins (figs 1, 3 in Giordani Soika 1982) ..................................................... 15
9. Clypeus with sparse small punctures (fig.43 inGiordani Soika 1982); punctures on metasoma sparse and fine .... .................................................................................................................. A. siamensis Giordani Soika, 1982
— Clypeus with denser stronger punctures; punctures on metasoma denser and stronger .............................. 10
10. Clypeus with strong punctures, interspaces between punctures at central part not raised (Fig. 7A, fig. 51 in Kumar et al. 2016) .................................................................................................................................... 11
— Clypeus with coarse punctures, interspaces between punctures at least at central part slightly or strongly raised (Figs 15C, D) ............................................................................................................................................ 12
11. Metanotum with small teeth at base laterally (fig. 13 in Giordani Soika 1982); posterior surface of propodeum with sparse small punctures; terga with strong punctures (fig. 53 in Kumar et al. 2016); clypeus slightly emarginate, with sparse punctures (fig. 51 in Kumar et al. 2016); body black with yellow markings (fig. 49 in Kumar et al., 2016) ........................................................................................................ A. ovalis (de Saussure, 1853)
— Metanotum with large triangular teeth at base laterally (Fig. 7C); posterior surface of propodeum with dense strong punctures; terga with stronger punctures (fig. 6 in Selis 2018); clypeus more deeply emarginate, with denser punctures (Fig. 7A, fig. 7 in Selis 2018); body back with yellow and ferruginous markings (Fig. 7C) ... ............................................................................................................................. A. rufescens (Smith, 1857),
12. Posterior surface of propodeum with dense coarse punctures, interspaces between punctures raised; clypeus with two faint longitudinal carinae at apical half or two-thirds (fig. 3 in Gusenleitner 2015, fig. 7 in Selis 2018) ... .................................................................................................................................................................. 13
— Posterior surface of propodeum with sparse small punctures; clypeus without faint longitudinal carinae (Fig. 15C, 15D) ......................................................................................................................................................... 14
13. Pronotum with anterior carina rounded at shoulder, anterior surface of pronotum with uniform punctures except a smooth shiny area medially; body black with yellow markings ........ A. consimilis Gusenleitner, 2015
— Pronotum with anterior carina slightly produced at shoulder; anterior surface of pronotum smooth shiny, with some scattered deep punctures; body black with yellow and ferruginous markings ..... A. tricolorata Selis, 2018
14. Large species, body length about 11.5 mm; clypeus less convex, with apical margin more than 1/3 width of clypeus between compound eyes (Fig. 15C, fig. 44 in Giordani Soika 1982); anterior carina of pronotum present only laterally, pronotal shoulder rounded; metanotum with sharp teeth at base laterally; body ferruginous with yellow markings (Fig. 15E) .......................................................................... A. aurantiaca Giordani Soika, 1982
— Smaller species, body length about 6.5 mm; clypeus more convex, with apical margin about ¼ width of clypeus between compound eyes (Fig. 15D); anterior carina of pronotum present laterally and in dorsal third, produced to blunt angle at shoulder; metanotum with blunt teeth at base laterally; body black with yellow markings (Fig. 15F) ............................................................................................. A. minutissima Giordani Soika, 1982
15. Clypeus deeply emarginate with blunt teeth laterally (fig. 1 in Giordani Soika, 1982); frons with dense punctures; lower part of mesepisternum with spaced punctures, interspaces between punctures slightly smaller than puncture diameter; metanotum with well-developed sharp teeth at base laterally (fig. 2 in Giordani Soika 1982) ........... ................................................................................................................................. A. guttata (Smith, 1852).
— Clypeus less deeply emarginate with sharp teeth laterally (fig. 3 in Giordani Soika, 1982); frons with denser punctures; lower part of mesepisternum with more spaced punctures, interspaces between punctures much greater than puncture diameter; metanotum with smaller teeth at base laterally (fig. 4 in Giordani Soika 1982) ........ ...................................................................................................................... A. consors Giordani Soika, 1982
16. Body with dense, coarse, deep punctures; body almost black except some faint yellow marks on head and antennal scape (fig. 7-9 in Gusenleitner 2015) .............................................................. A. ressli Gusenleitner, 2015
— Body punctures less coarse, shallower, sparser; body black with extensive yellow markings (Figs 1A, C-F; figs 1-6 in Kumar et al. 2016) ................................................................................................................................ 17
17. Frons with strong or sparse, fine punctures, interspaces between punctures smooth, not raised to form reticulation ........................................................................................................................................................... 18
— Frons with dense coarse punctures, interspaces between punctures raised to form reticulation ................... 19
18. Frons with sparse fine punctures; SII bulging at base ............................................. A. intricata (Smith, 1857)
— Frons with strong punctures; SII not bulging at base .................. A. sasidharani Lambert & Narendran, 2002
19. Anterior surface of pronotum with horizontal series of punctures on middle third, close to each other and separated by short longitudinal carinae ............................................................................................................ 20
— Anterior surface of pronotum without horizontal series of punctures ......................................................... 22
20. SII bulging at base (Fig. 16A); pronotum with anterior carina produced to sharp angle at shoulder (Fig. 16C) ...................................................................................................................... A. excelsa Giordani Soika, 1982
— SII not bulging at base (Fig. 1E; 16B); pronotum with anterior carina slightly produced at shoulder (Fig. 16D) ................................................................................................................................................. 21
21. Clypeus as wide as long, with two longitudinal carinae in apical half (Fig. 1A); metanotum with sharp teeth at base laterally (Fig. 1D); propodeum with large deep punctures ......................... A. biguttata (Fabricius, 1787)
— Clypeus wider than long, without longitudinal carinae (Fig. 16I); metanotum with blunter teeth at base laterally (Fig. 16K); propodeum with smaller shallower punctures ............................ A. sibilans (Cameron, 1903)
22. Pronotum with anterior carina produced to blunt to sharp angle at shoulder ............................................ 23
— Pronotum with shoulder rounded ............................................................................................................. 26
23. SII bulging at base ................................................................................. A. bhutanensis Giordani Soika, 1976
— SII not bulging at base .............................................................................................................................. 24
24. Clypeus with fine punctures, interspaces between punctures several times larger than puncture diameter; posterior surface of propodeum with fine punctures, interspaces between punctures smooth ............................... .................................................................................................................... A. thailandia Gusenleitner, 2002
— Clypeus with stronger punctures, interspaces between punctures as large as puncture diameter; posterior surface of propodeum with strong coarse punctures, interspaces between punctures raised to form reticulation, interspaces with minor punctures ..................................................................................................................... 25
25. Pronotum with anterior carina produced to sharp angle at shoulder (Fig. 16G); body with finer punctures .... .......................................................................................................................... A. luzonensis (Rohwer, 1919)
— Pronotum with anterior carina produced to blunt angle at shoulder (fig. 9 in Gusenleitner, 2013); body with coarser punctures ......................................................................................... A. pruthii Giordani Soika, 1982
26. Pronotum with anterior carina well developed on lateral surface, bent inwards before and not reaching dorsal surface (Fig. 5C) ............................................................................................ A. ceylonica (de Saussure, 1867)
— Pronotum with anterior carina not bent inwards before reaching dorsal surface (Fig. 16K) ......................... 27
27. Clypeus as long as wide, glossy, with large, round, dense punctures; propodeum with posterior surface flat .... ..................................................................................................................... A. menkei Giordani Soika, 1986
— Clypeus wider than long, punctures not rounded; propodeum with posterior surface concave .................. 28
28. Clypeus with deep semicircular emargination apically, with sharp teeth laterally (figs 28, in Giordani Soika, 1976); punctures on clypeus coarse, interspaces tending to form longitudinal striation .................................. ............................................................................................................. A. kashmirensis Giordani Soika, 1976
— Clypeus with shallower emargination, with blunt teeth laterally (Fig. 16H); punctures on clypeus less coarse, interspaces not tending to form longitudinal striation ..................................... A. brunnipes (Fabricius, 1804)
Key to males
1. Posterior surface of propodeum without carinae (Fig. 11E) ......................................................................... 2
— Posterior surface of propodeum with two short horizontal or slightly oblique carinae (Fig. 1D; 13F) ........ 14
2. Frons with sparse fine punctures, interspaces between punctures not raised to form reticulation .................... .................................................................................................................... A. frontalis Giordani Soika, 1982
— Frons with dense coarse punctures, interspaces between punctures raised to form reticulation ..................... 3
3. SII bulging at base (Fig. 9C) ....................................................................................................................... 4
— SII not bulging at base (Figs 1E; 5D; 13G) ................................................................................................. 6
4. SII less convex at base; TII with strong punctures, interspaces between punctures smaller than puncture diameter (Fig. 3D) ................................................................................................... A. bipustulata (de Saussure, 1855)
— SII strongly convex at base; TII with strong punctures, interspaces between punctures larger than puncture diameter (Fig. 9C) ....................................................................................................................................... 5
5. Anterior surface of pronotum with sparse punctures laterally; tegulae with external margin strongly concave in posterior third; digitus in inner aspect with lower right corner angled (fig. 36 in Giordani Soika, 1982), penis valves in profile with apical part strongly produced into a crow-beak-shaped lobe (fig. 35 in Giordani Soika 1982); body black with yellow markings ..................................................... A. exaltata Giordani Soika, 1982
— Anterior surface of pronotum with dense punctures laterally; tegulae not as above; digitus in inner aspect with lower right corner rounded (Fig. 10B), penis valves in profile with apical part strongly produced into a blade-shaped lobe (Fig. 10D); body black with orange markings ................................... A. tytides (Cameron, 1904)
6. Clypeus shallowly emarginate at apex .......................................................................................................... 7
— Clypeus deeply emarginate at apex ............................................................................................................ 13
7. Punctures on metasoma sparse and fine ..................................................... A. siamensis Giordani Soika, 1982
— Punctures on metasoma denser and stronger ............................................................................................... 8
8. Propodeum rounded laterally ...................................................................................................................... 9
— Propodeum angled laterally ....................................................................................................................... 11
9. Posterior surface of propodeum with dense coarse punctures, interspaces between punctures raised to form reticulation ................................................................................................... A. consimilis Gusenleitner, 2015
— Posterior surface of propodeum with sparse small punctures ...................................................................... 10
10. Large species, body length about 11.5 mm; clypeus less convex, with apical margin more than 1/3 width of clypeus between compound eyes (fig. 44 in Giordani Soika, 1982); anterior carina of pronotum present only laterally, pronotal shoulder rounded; metanotum with sharp teeth at base laterally; FXI large, exceeding middle of FVIII; body ferruginous with yellow markings .................................... A. aurantiaca Giordani Soika, 1982
— Smaller species, body length about 6.5 mm; clypeus more convex, with apical margin about ¼ width of clypeus between compound eyes (Fig. 16F); anterior carina of pronotum present laterally and in dorsal third, produced to blunt angle at shoulder; metanotum with blunt teeth at base laterally; FXI small, reaching only apical margin of FIX; body black with yellow markings ............................................. A. minutissima Giordani Soika, 1982
11. Metanotum with minute tubercles laterally ......................................................... A. ovalis (de Saussure, 1853)
— Metanotum with larger tubercles laterally .................................................................................................. 12
12. Mesoscutum almost as long as wide between tegulae; pronotal carina in dorsal view strongly produced at lateral corners; inner compound eye margins weakly convergent ventrally, in anterior view about 1.3 × further apart from each other at vertex than at clypeus; digitus almost oval in shape apically (Fig. 8B); penis valves long (Fig. 8C), about 2.2× as long as basal apodeme, in profile apical part strongly produced into a large triangular lobe, upper part of proximal margin with long teeth (Fig. 8D); body black with yellow and ferruginous markings ........... .............................................................................................................................. A. rufescens (Smith, 1857)
— Mesoscutum shorter than wide between tegulae; pronotal carina in dorsal view round or slightly produced at lateral corners; inner compound eye margins strongly convergent ventrally, in anterior view more than 1.7 × further apart from each other at vertex than at clypeus; digitus with dense long setae (Fig. 12B); penis valves short (Fig. 12C), about 1.7× as long as basal apodeme, in profile apical part strongly produced into a large triangular lobe (Fig. 12D), smooth, without teeth; body black with yellow markings ......................................... ......................................................................................... A. concava Nguyen, Dang & A. D. Nguyen, n. sp.
13. Clypeus wider than long; frons with dense punctures; lower part of mesepisternum with spaced punctures, interspaces between punctures slightly smaller than puncture diameter; metanotum with well-developed sharp teeth at base laterally (fig. 2 in Giordani Soika 1982); FXI bending backwards, its apex reaching near base of FIX .......................................................................................................................... A. guttata (Smith, 1852)
— Clypeus not wider than long; frons with denser punctures; lower part of mesepisternum with more spaced punctures, interspaces between punctures much greater than puncture diameter; metanotum with smaller teeth at base laterally (fig. 4 in Giordani Soika 1982); FXI with apex scarcely reaching to base of FIX .................... ...................................................................................................................... A. consors Giordani Soika, 1982
14. Body with coarse dense punctures, punctures quite deep; body almost black except some faint yellow marks on head and antennal scape (figs 5-8 in Gusenleitner, 2015) ..................................... A. ressli Gusenleitner, 2015
— Body punctures less coarse sparser, punctures shallower; body black with extensive yellow markings (Fig. 1 B-F) ...................................................................................................................................................................... 15
15. Frons with strong, or sparse fine punctures, interspaces between punctures smooth, not raised to form reticulation ........................................................................................................................................................... 16
— Frons with dense coarse punctures, interspaces between punctures raised to form reticulation ................... 17
16. Frons with sparse fine punctures; S2 bulging at base .............................................. A. intricata (Smith, 1857)
— Frons with strong punctures; S2 not bulging at base ................. A. sasidharani Lambert and Narendran, 2002
17. Anterior surface of pronotum with horizontal series of punctures on middle third, series close to each other and separated by short longitudinal carinae ...................................................................................................... 18
— Anterior surface of pronotum without horizontal series of punctures ......................................................... 20
18. SII bulging at base (Fig. 16A); pronotum with anterior carina produced to sharp angle at shoulder (Fig. 16C) ...................................................................................................................... A. excelsa Giordani Soika, 1982
— SII not bulging at base (Fig. 16B); pronotum with anterior carina slightly produced at shoulder (Fig. 1C, 16D) ......................................................................................................................................................... 19
19. Metanotum with sharp teeth at base laterally; propodeum with large deep punctures ..................................... ......................................................................................................................... A. biguttata (Fabricius, 1787)
— Metanotum with blunter teeth at base laterally; propodeum with smaller shallower punctures ....................... ........................................................................................................................... A. sibilans (Cameron, 1903)
20. Pronotum with anterior carina produced to form blunt to sharp angle at shoulder .................................... 21
— Pronotum with shoulder rounded ............................................................................................................. 26
21. SII bulging at base ................................................................................. A. bhutanensis Giordani Soika, 1976
— SII not bulging at base .............................................................................................................................. 22
22. Posterior surface of propodeum with fine punctures, interspaces between punctures smooth; clypeus shallowly emarginate apically, with blunt lateral teeth ................................................. A. thailandia Gusenleitner, 2002
— Posterior surface of propodeum with strong coarse punctures, interspaces between punctures raised to form reticulation; apical emargination of clypeus quite deep, semicircular or deeper, with sharp teeth laterally (Fig. 13A, fig. 61 in Kumar et al. 2016 ...................................................................................................................... 23
23. Clypeus strongly convex, with narrow emargination apically, depth of emargination about as long as the width of emargination; body ferruginous and brown-ferruginous ....................... A. brunneola Giordani Soika, 1986
— Clypeus less convex, with wider emargination apically, depth of emargination longer than width of emargination, or about half its width; body black with yellow markings .................................................................. 24
24. Anterior vertical surface of pronotum with several large punctures medially; metanotum with large sharp teeth, teeth close to each other; clypeus slightly wider than high, with deep emargination apically, depth of emargination about half its width (Fig. 13A) ............................................ A. crenula Nguyen, Yamane & Engel, n. sp.
— Anterior vertical surface of pronotum not as above; metanotum with small blunt teeth, teeth placed far from each other; clypeus much wider than high, about 1 ¼ times as wide as high, with quite deep emargination apically, depth of emargination longer than width of emargination (fig. 51 in Giordani Soika 1982, fig. 61 in Kumar et al. 2016) .................................................................................................................................... 25
25. Pronotum with anterior carina produced to sharp angle at shoulder; body punctures not very coarse; clypeus with long, exceptionally sharp teeth laterally (fig. 33 in Giordani Soika 1982); FXI bending backwards and curved, its apex reaching to base of FIX (fig. 34 in Giordani Soika 1982) .......... A. luzonensis (Rohwer, 1919)
— Pronotum with anterior carina produced to blunt angle at shoulder; body with coarser punctures; clypeus with shorter blunter teeth laterally (fig. 51 in Giordani Soika 1982, fig. 61 in Kumar et al. 2016); FXI almost straight, its apex not reaching to base of FIX (fig. 52 in Giordani Soika 1982, fig. 62 in Kumar et al. 2016) ................ ..................................................................................................................... A. pruthii Giordani Soika, 1982
26. Pronotum with anterior carina well developed on lateral surface, bent inwards before and not reaching dorsal surface (Fig. 5C) ............................................................................................ A. ceylonica (de Saussure, 1867)
— Pronotum with anterior carina not bent inwards before reaching dorsal surface (Fig. 16F) ........................ 27
27. Clypeus with deep semicircular emargination apically, with sharp teeth laterally (figs 29 in Giordani Soika, 1976) ................................................................................................... A. kashmirensis Giordani Soika, 1976
— Clypeus with shallower emargination apically, with blunt teeth laterally (Fig. 16G) ....................................... ........................................................................................................................ A. brunnipes (Fabricius, 1804)
description: Published as part of Nguyen, Lien Thi Phuong, Nguyen, Anh D., Dang, Hoa T., Yamane, Seiki & Engel, Michael S., 2024, Taxonomic review of the potter wasp genus Antepipona de Saussure, 1855 (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Eumeninae) from Vietnam, with descriptions of two new species and keys to the Oriental fauna, pp. 697-722 in Zoosystema 46 (27) on pages 715-719, DOI: 10.5252/zoosystema2024v46a27, http://zenodo.org/record/13954689