Afrepipona resoluta, Selis, 2025

Afrepipona resoluta sp. nov.

( Figs 8 View FIGURE 8 , 62E View FIGURE 62 )

Afrepipona segregata Selis & Carpenter, 2024 : ♀, figs 17C, E (part., misidentification).

Diagnosis. Belonging to the group of Malagasy Afrepipona with slender appearance (mesosoma 1.55× as long as wide) and sharply separated and reflexed lamellar margin of T2 ( Fig. 8E View FIGURE 8 ), in which it is distinguished by the evenly converging sides of clypeus, the short lamellar margin of T2 ( Fig. 8E View FIGURE 8 ) and the dense metallic pubescence of mesosoma ( Fig. 8C View FIGURE 8 ).

Type material examined. HOLOTYPE: ♀ labelled “ CASENT / 2153867 // MADAGASCAR: Tulear / Prov. Beza Mahafaly Res / Parcelle I near res. sta. / 165m, 20–24 Dec 2002 / 23°41.19'S 44°35.46'E / col. R. Harin’Hala // CASLOT 024550 / malaise in dry, deciduous / forest MA-02-14A-45 // Afrepipona resoluta / HOLOTYPUS ♀ / Det. Marco Selis 2024 [red label]” ( CAS, code CASTYPE21740) GoogleMaps . PARATYPES: same locality as holotype, 9–20.IX.2002, 1♀ ( MSVI, code CASENT8600808 ); Tulear , Berenty Special Reserve, 8 km NW of Amboasary, 25.006667S 46.303333E, 85 m, 25.II–7.III.2003, leg. M. Irwin, F. Parker & R. Harin’Hala, 1♀ ( CAS, code CASENT2153801 ); Tulear, Garten Bistro du Sud, 19–21.X.1996, leg. M. Madl, 1♀ ( NHMW) GoogleMaps .

Description. Female holotype ( Fig. 8B View FIGURE 8 ). Body length 6.5 mm; fore wing length 5.5 mm.

Head 1.15× as wide as high. Clypeus in frontal view 1.15× as wide as long, apical margin subtruncate and 0.3× as wide as clypeus, apical teeth right-angled with rounded apex; clypeus in lateral view barely convex, almost smoothly passing into frons. Vertex 2.1× as long as ocellocular distance, almost flattened and sloping only on posterior third; cephalic foveae very fine and close to each other, housed in a small and barely differentiated transverse area, placed somewhat closer to ocellar triangle than occipital carina. Gena 0.65× as wide as eye at bottom of ocular sinus; occipital carina complete, fine and weak on vertex, thick and shortly lamellate on gena, distinctly bent in lower half. Flagellum short and thickened towards apex, F1 1.05× as long as wide and 1.2× as long as F2, F2 subquadrate, F3–F9 transverse and becoming progressively wider. Mesosoma 1.55× as long as wide, in lateral view shallowly depressed dorsoventrally. Pronotum with weakly convex and barely converging sides; pronotal carina complete and shortly lamellate on dorsal portion, weakly projecting on humeri; pretegular carina absent. Mesoscutum with fine indication of notauli on posterior margin. Scutellum wider than long, almost evenly convex from side to side, flattened on disc, anterior margin crenulate with larger median pit; axillary fossa small and elliptical, about half as large as ocellus. Metanotum very weakly obliquely sloping, almost horizontal, with somewhat inflated anterior margin. Tegula longer than wide, outer margin evenly convex, posterior lobe slightly acute with pointed apex and not equaling parategula; parategula digitiform and evenly curved. Mesepisternum smoothly passing into pronotum above; epicnemial carina absent but indicated by a shallow fold of surface. Propodeum short, in lateral view obliquely sloping from posterior margin of metanotum, dorsal faces almost smoothly passing into metanotum; dorsal faces of propodeum nearly vertical and forming an even surface with posterior face, not meeting behind metanotum; lateral faces of propodeum very shallowly depressed, dorsally margined by blunt lateral carina; posterior face of propodeum flattened, forming two pits above propodeal orifice, mid-line with longitudinal fovea covering about the dorsal third; submarginal carina of propodeum completely fused with propodeal valvula but forming a blunt angle posteriorly. T 1 in dorsal view semicircular, wider than long, anterior margin evenly rounded; T 1 in lateral view strongly convex but not divided in two distinct faces; apical margin of T1 with hyaline border. T 2 in dorsal view about as long as wide and with convex sides, slightly wider than T1; preapical area of T2 depressed and coarsely punctate, followed by very shallowly reflexed translucent lamella, lamella shorter than ocellar diameter. S2 evenly convex in lateral view, with shallow but distinct basal longitudinal furrow and translucent apical margin.

Head and mesosoma with deep punctures separated by less than their diameters, interspaces much wider on gena, metanotum, propodeum and mesepisternum; clypeus micropunctate and silky-shiny, with scattered fine punctures and few larger punctures above apical margin; tegula sparsely micropunctate and shiny, almost smooth on disc; lateral faces of propodeum with scattered fine punctures. T1 with oblique shallow punctures, larger and deeper on sides; T2 with small oblique punctures, deeper basally and on sides and becoming very fine on disc, preapical depressed area with a series of large coarse punctures; T3–T5 with fine deep punctures basally and dense coarse punctures apically; S1 with coarse and irregular longitudinal ridges on posterior half; S2 with scattered fine punctures separated by several times their diameter; S3–S5 similar to respective tergites but punctures less evident. Covered in short pale metallic pubescence, silvery-golden on head and mesosoma, dust-like and brassy on metasoma, pubescence generally dense and partly hiding the underlying surface on clypeus and parts of mesosoma; short apically bent setae on face and sides of mesosoma.

Dark reddish-black, darker on dorsal side of mesosoma; following parts pale to vivid yellow: mandible, clypeus, broad band on inner eye margin reaching lateral ocelli, broad subtriangular marking from clypeus to anterior ocellus, U-shaped marking on vertex, most of gena and hypostoma, anterior band on pronotum reaching ventral corner of lateral faces, small spots on sides of scutellum, anterior half of metanotum, tegula except central spot, irregular markings on posterior half of mesepisternum, spots above propodeal valvula, apical band on T1 partly running along lateral sides, apical bands on T2–T5, most of T6, S1 except median spot, apical band and very large lateral spots on S2, apical bands on S3–S5, ventral face of all coxae, elongate spots on outer face of fore and mid femora, small spot at apex of hind femur, anterior line on fore tibia. Wings hyaline with weak orange tinge along costal margin.

Male. Unknown.

Variability. The extension of the yellow pattern is variable, especially markings on vertex, scutellum, metanotum and mesepisternum can be strongly reduced to absent. The paratype from Beza Mahafaly (CASENT8600808) is particularly dark, lacking spots on vertex, mesepisternum, propodeum and S2. The specimen originally described as female of A. segregata ( Selis & Carpenter 2024: 45) is slightly smaller (body length 6.1 mm, fore wing length 5.0 mm), has a ferruginous patch in the middle of clypeus and has irregular yellow spots on S2, but is otherwise nearly identical to the holotype.

Distribution. Madagascar: Toliara ( Fig. 62E View FIGURE 62 ).

Etymology. The species epithet comes from the Latin adjective “ resolutus, - a, - um ”, which can be roughly translated to “solved”, in reference to the solved identity of this species, previously misidentified as the female of Afrepipona segregata .