Ropalidia macloutsie 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 macloutsie

description: Ropalidia macloutsie Polašek sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 1F84261B-9FAA-4C37-BFC6-57AA937D0ADD
Type specimens: Holotype: Macloutsie Sid, Botswana, 1♀ (SAM. A007904.20). Paratypes: 1♀ with the same collection data (SAM. A007904.21); Maun, Botswana, 1♀ (OLM); Hluhluwe, South Africa, 2♀♀ (MFNB); Ellisras, South Africa, 1♀ (MSNV.108); Bruco, Angola, 1♀ (NHM); Manicala, Mozambique, 1♀ (OLM.0031); Masvingo, Zimbabwe, 1♀ (OLM); Mount Selinda, Zimbabwe, 1♀ (OLM); paratypes / allotypes [3♂♂], all with the same collection data as the holotype (SAM. A007904.22, SAM. A007904.23, SAM. A007904.24). The total number of examined specimens: 11♀♀, 3♂♂.
Diagnosis. A member of capensis -group, characterized by straight upes, weak juxtamandibular lobe, transparent fore wing and elongated antenna in females; males have a specific shape of the terminal flagellomere.
Description. Females. Wing length: 6.2–7.3 mm. Colour. Basal colour dark brown, darker than R. novissima GIORDANI SOIKA (Figure 9 aa). Clypeus yellow with basal brown or brown-black spot that occupies over half of area (Figure 9 aa). Inner orbit with thicker yellow line, interantennal area with smaller suffused yellow spot (sometimes reduced or missing). Gena usually brown (sometimes with smaller yellow spot). Mandible yellow, usually with complete brown line that spans from base and merges with yellow area underneath the teeth (sometimes slightly reduced, but almost always reaching more than half of mandible length). Pronotum with thin yellow line underneath carina and frequently with a suffused yellow marking in postero-dorsal angle (Figure 8 bb). Metanotum commonly with two large yellow spots. Coxa I mainly yellow, coxa II often with lateral yellow line, coxa III with yellow markings (most common pattern includes entirely yellow coxa I and lateral lines on coxa II and III; Figure 98a). T1 brown (exceptionally with small bilateral yellow spot). T2 with posterior yellow band, S2 band thinner, complete or broken down into three sections. Remaining metasomal segments brown. Legs brown, tarsi often darker. Wings transparent, nervature and stigma brown, apical spot not developed (Figure 98a). Antenna dark brown from above, yellowish-orange underneath; scape ferruginous-brown underneath (Figure 9 aa).
Head. Clypeus resembling of R. novissima GIORDANI SOIKA, with straight and elongated upes and weakly developed juxtamandibular lobe and excavation; its surface somewhat convex, as opposed to most species in capensis -group (Figure 9 aa). Clypeus basally sparsely punctate, covered by silvery pubescence and some protruding setae of similar length across entire clypeus. Inner orbit impunctate, frons with dense and shallow punctures (Figure 9 aa). Gena 0.6 times as wide as eye, tempora thinner, about half of gena width. Occipital carina straight, reaches mandible. Ocellar triangle wider basally. Scape longer than AF1, pedicel longer than wide, AF2 about 1.2–1.4 times as long as wide.
Mesosoma. Mesosoma weakly punctate, pronotum with small and shallow, mesonotum with larger but very shallow punctures. Mesopleuron largely and shallowly punctate, metapleuron almost impunctate. Scutellum sparsely punctate, metanotum with small impunctate area. Propodeum with weakly developed upper and inferior propodeal carina, excavation mainly with downward directing setae.
Metasoma. T1 globular, with sparse and well-defined punctures posteriorly; T1 covered by yellow-golden pubescence and some longer protruding setae. T2 with longer section with parallel sides, covered by intermediate-sized regular punctures. T2 lamella yellowish, transparent; T2/S2 notch wide and obtuse, T2/S2 suture short.
Males. Wing length: 6.1–6.8 mm. Colour. Resembles females, but with more yellow markings—clypeus entirely yellow or with faint, light brown, basal spot; mandible entirely yellow, inner orbit and interantennal area merged in yellow, gena predominantly yellow (Figure 49 aa). Yellow line underneath pronotal carina, anterior surface of mesopleuron, bilateral spot on metanotum (that can be reduced to reddish spots), coxa I (sometimes coxa II), femur I with yellow line. T2 and S2 with posterior yellow band, T3 and S3 with suffused yellow line that can be broken into remaining lateral spots on T3.
Head. Clypeus similarly shaped to R. novissima GIORDANI SOIKA; lateral margin straight, OC angle strong and acute, upes straight, apex flattened, not projecting beyond weakly developed juxtamandibular lobes (Figure 49 aa). Clypeal base and centre with larger, but poorly defined punctures. Clypeus, mandible, gena and inner orbit covered by very fine, silvery pubescence. Antenna stockier and less elongated—AF2 about twice as long as wide. Scape slightly widened, AF7–10 wider than long. Tyloids more developed, originate already at AF1 (as thin hyaline line on inner surface), somewhat asymmetrical, with more acute distal than proximal margin; more developed in distal segments. Terminal flagellomere elongated, less curved, not approaching right angle (Figure 49 bb).
Mesosoma. Tarsal spur I very well developed.
Metasoma. S7 flattened, without central concave area.
Male-female pairing strength. High, males are part of the type series, originating from the same colony.
Distribution. Botswana (78% of examined specimens), South Africa (13%), Zimbabwe, Angola, Mozambique.
Etymology. The name is given after the farm in which the holotype was collected, Macloutsie farm, Botswana, and is to be treated as a noun in apposition.
Similar species. This species is similar to R. mosichi sp. nov. and R. novissima GIORDANI SOIKA), with defining criteria listed in the key to species. The distribution pattern of the three mentioned species is seemingly allopatric, with R. macloutsie sp. nov. spanning across the largest areal (Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique and Angola), while the remaining two species are restricted to one or two countries only.
Females may resemble R. makore sp. nov., in which cases defining features include lack of apical spot (present in R. makore sp. nov.) and overall flattened clypeus (more convex in R. makore sp. nov.). Two females from Zimbabwe present a challenge, as they correspond to R. novissima GIORDANI SOIKA colour pattern. Unfortunately, their sequencing was unsuccessful, so their taxonomic status remains questionable; we consider them as uncommonly coloured R. macloutsie sp. nov.
Genetics. Two specimens were successfully genotyped, yielding two BIN designations (BOLD:ADR6228 from the South Africa and BOLD:ADR4353 from Mozambique). The position of this cluster is sister to R. macloutsie sp. nov. and R. novissima GIORDANI SOIKA branch. The phylogenetic relationship, corroborated by the morphological features, suggests that R. macloutsie sp. nov. and R. novissima GIORDANI SOIKA are more closely related, while R. mosichi sp. nov. is a more distant taxon.
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 100-101, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5626.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/15325272