Blakeius Ashmead 1903
Creators: name: Turrisi, Giuseppe Fabrizio
name: Palmerini, Maurizio Matteini
name: Brothers, Denis J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Mutillidae
Blakeius

description: Blakeius Ashmead, 1903
Blakeius Ashmead, 1903: 327.
Bisigilla Skorikov, 1927: 35 (as subgenus of Myrmilla Wesmael, 1851), type species Mutilla bipunctata Latreille, 1792, ♀, by subsequent designation of Invrea 1964: 71. Junior subjective synonym of Blakeius Ashmead, 1903 according to Brothers 1975: 591.
Type species. Mutilla bituberculata Smith, 1855 (♀), by original designation, junior subjective synonym of Mutilla bipunctata Latreille, 1792 (♀) according to Morawitz (1865): 125 (Lelej & Brothers 2008).
Diagnosis. ♀. Supra-antennal tooth present, acute projection produced by frontal carina, more or less medially expanded; frontal carina touching inner margin of eye; antennal rim mostly concealed within the frons, not visible dorsally; gena (lateral view) convex, bulging, not angulate, without tooth-like process; T2 with two very wide circular whitish to slightly goldish setal spots disposed transversely, with setae very dense and recumbent; spots close to anterior margin of T2.
♂. Head strongly convergent toward occipital margin; longitudinal frontal furrow absent; ocelli well developed; notaulus and parapsidal line absent; tegula and wings well developed, not reduced; T2 without pale spots; S8 with sides subparallel bearing single raised medial tubercle; genital capsule with cuspis of volsella elongate, finger-shaped, apex regularly rounded, weakly convex to flat toward apex, ending well beyond mid length of paramere harpe, without longitudinal carina; digitus of volsella much shorter than cuspis, about half its length; midventral process of penis valve present, elongate and strongly curved.
Redescription. ♀. Head mostly blackish, sometimes lighter with antennal rim concolorous with rest of head (Figs 3 A, 3B, 3C); mesosoma reddish orange, with lateral and ventral parts extensively dark brown to blackish (Fig. 2 B); metasoma entirely blackish; integument of body coarsely sculptured, dull; head regularly rounded behind eyes, with dense and coarse punctures, without whitish setal spot on vertex and occiput (Fig. 3 A); supraantennal tooth present as acute projection produced by frontal carina, more or less expanded medially (Fig. 3 A); antennal rim mostly concealed within frons, not visible dorsally (Figs 3 A, 3C); A1 with ventro-lateral carina; A3 more than twice length of A2; frontal carina touching inner margin of eye; postgena (behind oral fossa) convex (Fig. 4 A) or narrowly and deeply concave behind elevated tuberculate hypostomal carina, bowl-shaped (Fig. 12 A); occipital margin straight; occipital carina a narrow rim (Fig. 4 A); gena (lateral view) convex, bulging, not angulate, without tooth-like process (Fig. 7 B); genal carina absent; clypeus not prominent, wider than high, anterior margin wide, slightly concave with lateral tooth-like projection (Fig. 3 E); oral fossa wider than long, roughly V-shaped (Fig. 4 C); mandible with inner apical tooth normally shaped, not curved (Fig. 3 D); mandible with inner basal tooth (Figs 3 C, 3D); pronotum about as wide as propodeum (Fig. 2 A); pronotum with epomial carina well developed, close to pronotal spiracle; fore coxa without distal tooth-like process; mid tibia with 6–7 dorsal pre-apical spines arranged in two rows; hind tibia with 5–7 dorsal pre-apical spines arranged in two rows; T2 with two sharply defined whitish to goldish setal spots disposed transversely, close to anterior margin (Figs 2 A, 2B); T3 with broad pubescent band, entire or very weakly but distinctly interrupted medially; T4 without (Figs 2 A, 2B) or with broad pubescent band, very weakly but distinctly interrupted medially (Figs 6 A, 6B); S6 flat or slightly folded longitudinally.
♂. Head mostly blackish, sometimes lighter, with antennal rim concolorous with rest of head (Figs 3 F, 3G, 3H); mesosoma reddish orange, with lateral and ventral parts extensively dark brown to blackish (Fig. 2 D); metasoma entirely blackish; integument of body coarsely sculptured, dull; head strongly convergent posteriorly (Fig. 3 F), with dense and coarse punctures; A1 with ventro-lateral carina; A3 shorter than A4; ocelli well developed (Fig. 7 F); longitudinal frontal furrow absent (Fig. 7 F); occipital carina (lower part) a narrow rim; clypeus not prominent, wider than high, anterior margin wide, moderately concave with lateral tooth-like projection (Fig. 3 J); oral fossa wider than long, roughly V-shaped; mandible with inner apical tooth straight, not curved (Fig. 3 I); pronotum with sides convergent toward anterior margin (Fig. 2 C); posterior margin of pronotum, V-shaped (Fig. 8 B); pronotum, median length less than half lateral length (pronotum short) (Fig. 8 B); mesoscutum convex (Fig. 6 D); notaulus and parapsidal line absent; transscutal suture well developed, evident (Fig. 8 B); tegula sub-circular, well developed, normal sized (Fig. 8 B); fore and hind wings present and well developed (Figs 2 C, 2D); fore wing, submarginal cell 2 similar in size to submarginal cell 1 (Fig. 4 E); fore wing with vein 2m-cu present (Fig. 4 E); mesoscutellum and metascutellum well defined (Fig. 8 B); anterior and posterior metanotal carinae well raised; propodeum (lateral view) sloping (Fig. 6 D), narrower than or as wide as pronotum (dorsal view) (Fig. 8 B); mesopleuron strongly convex, strongly rugose-punctate, width of upper part about half width of lower part; mid tibia with one dorsal pre-apical spine; hind tibia with one dorso-lateral pre-apical spine; T1 campanulate (Figs 6 C, 6D); T2 without setal or cuticular spots (Figs 2 C); T3 with broad pubescent band, entire or very weakly but distinctly interrupted medially (Figs 2 C, 6C); T4 with or without pubescent band, if present weakly interrupted medially (Figs 6 C, 6D); S2 with medial well developed, tooth-like process (Fig. 2 D); S8 with sides subparallel (Fig. 5 F), and well developed stout tooth-like median process (Fig. 5 G); genital capsule with cuspis of volsella elongate, finger-shaped, apex regularly rounded, weakly convex to flat toward apex, ending well beyond mid length of paramere harpe, without longitudinal carina (Fig. 5 B); digitus of volsella much shorter than cuspis, about half its length (Fig. 5 D); midventral process of penis valve present, elongate and strongly curved (Fig. 5 E).
Species included. Blakeius bipunctatus (Latreille, 1792), Bla. cobosi (Suárez, 1958) and Bla. ortizi (Suárez, 1954).
Distribution. Mediterranean basin (Fig. 36).
description: Published as part of Turrisi, Giuseppe Fabrizio, Palmerini, Maurizio Matteini & Brothers, Denis J., 2015, Systematic revision and phylogeny of the genera Blakeius Ashmead, 1903 and Liomutilla André, 1907, with description of two new genera (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae, Myrmillinae), pp. 1-78 in Zootaxa 4010 (1) on pages 9-10, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4010.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/289318