Ropalidia retromaculata 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 retromaculata

description: Ropalidia retromaculata Polašek sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: A54064C5-A1EA-4FC0-86E7-1C4890A1F973
Type specimens. Holotype: Mzarabani, Zimbabwe, 1♀ (OLM.0198). Paratypes: same collection data as the holotype, 1♀; Chipinge, Mt Selinda, Zimbabwe, 2♀♀ (OLM); Hwange, Zimbabwe, 1♀ (OLM); Chingola-Solwezi, Zambia, 4♀♀ (OLM); 120 km S of Lusaka, Zambia, 3♀♀ (OLM); Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, 1♀ (OLM); Kasungu, Malawi, 1♀ (OLM); Thuchila, Malawi, 1♀ (NNM); Kacholola, Zambia, 1♀ (CAS). The total number of examined specimens; 16♀♀.
Diagnosis. Member of the capensis- group, morphologically very similar to R. valentula sp. nov., characterized by a slightly more protruding clypeal apex in females, upwardly directed setae in propodeal excavation, light brown fore wing nervature and yellowish and transparent stigma, dark coxae, yellow spot on gena that extends to posterior side of head and more yellow colour on the body. Males are unknown.
Description. Females. Wing length 6.3–7.9 mm. Colour. Basic colour brown or light brown. Clypeus yellow with smaller basal light brown or brown spot (Figure 13a). Inner orbit almost entirely yellow to eye sinus, merged with yellow interantennal area. Mandible yellow with minute brown central or basal spot (Figure 13b). Gena yellow, in more xanthic specimens even he posterior side of head with yellow spot (notably, R. mosichi sp. nov. can also have a yellow spot on posterior side of head). Tempora, vertex and frons brown or brown with black markings (commonly underneath scape and sometimes centrally on frons; Figure 13a, b). Pronotum brown with broadened yellow line underneath carina, which extends and widens towards inferior angle; sometimes pronotum can also have small yellow spot at posterior angle. Mesonotum darker, usually dark brown with varying amount of black. Basal colour of scutellum and metanotum usually similarly basal pronotum colour; scutellum occasionally with thin posterior yellow line, metanotum with two lateral yellow spots of varying intensity. Mesopleuron black with large reddish area, metapleuron black and brown; propodeum brown. Coxa brown or reddish (sometimes slightly lighter colour than the basal body colour), remaining leg parts brown or reddish, terminal parts of tibia and tarsi occasionally darker than femur. T1 with posterior yellow line, reduced to bilateral triangular spots in darker specimens. T2 with posterior yellow band, S2 with remaining yellow triangles and occasionally complete yellow line thinner than that on T2. T3 and T4 (sometimes even T5, less commonly even T6) with posterior suffused yellow band (Figure 13c). S2–S6 with reduced posterio yellow bands to lateral triangles. Wings transparent, except the yellowed anterior margin; apical spot faintly yellowish or brownish. Stigma light brown and semi-translucent, nervature light brown. Antenna ferruginous, yellowish-orange underneath, flagellomeres 4–9 (or 3–10) slightly tinted dark from above.
Head. Clypeus about as wide as long, with straight or weakly curved upes and weakly developed oculo-clypeal angle (Figure 13a). Clypeal apex more protruding, and upes slightly more curved than in R. valentula sp. nov. Clypeus with hardly conspicuous and fine punctures that follow yellow-brown gradient—punctures on yellow areas much less defined, sometimes yellow areas entirely impunctate. Frons densely and finely punctate, obscured by fine yellowish-silvery pubescence. Frons covered by longer setae that are longer than the ocellus diameter and are forwardly bent at tips. Setae on tempora are somewhat shorter, these on gena very short. Tempora finely punctate; gena with occasional and weakly defined puncture, yellow areas almost impunctate. Ocelli with wider base than sides. Mandible wider proximally than distally, but less than in R. valentula sp. nov.; basal mandibular excavation less developed than in R. valentula sp. nov. Scape longer than AF1, AF2 about long as broad or somewhat wider.
Mesosoma. Mesosoma covered by very short yellowish-golden pubescence; some longer setae at dorsal part of pronotum, in front of anterior mesonotum margin. Punctures similar to other members of capensis -group, with shallower and less defined margins; mesonotum sparsely and shallowly punctate, median suture and parapsidal furrows less developed. Scutellum with developed black line in place of median carina, usually about a quarter of scutellum length. Propodeum overall rounded; carina and inferior propodeal carina usually weak. Propodeal excavation with upwardly directed setae in mid-third of height, similar to remaining two closely related species (R. nigrocerasina sp. nov. and R. valentula sp. nov.).
Metasoma. T1 pyriform, more slender than in R. valentula sp. nov. T2 of intermediate length, with parallel margins; lamella with shallow T2/S2 nick and less developed T2/S2 suture. T2 covered by intermediate and shallow, poorly defined punctures.
Males are unknown.
Distribution: Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi.
Etymology. The name combines the Latin words retro (an adverb meaning “behind”) and maculatus -a -um (an adjective meaning “spotted” or “marked”), in reference to the posterior yellow spot of the head.
Similar species. R. nigrocerasina sp. nov. and R. valentula sp. nov. (see description of these species and key to species for further comparison).
Genetics. Three specimens were genotyped, belonging to a single BIN (BOLD:ADS0025). The results suggest a sister position to the R. valentula sp. nov. and R. nigrocerasina sp. nov., in alignment with the morphological features of these three species.
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 117-118, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5626.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/15325272