Subfamily Pepsinae

Museums

Regional Maps

Introduction

The Australian Pespinae currently consists of 23 genera and 86 species. It contains such diverse elements as Iridomimus violaceus Evans, 1970, an ant mimic known only from a single specimen from South Australia, and Macromeris violacea Lepeletier, 1831, a large and beautiful wasp found throughout south–east Asia to India and Japan. It also contains some of the most recognisable pompilids, such as the large, orange and black species of Cryptocheilus Panzer, 1806 that prey on huntsman spiders (Araneae: Sparassidae).

Historically, several tribal names have been used within the Pepsinae. One of these, the Ageniellini, consists of wasps that construct or use pre–existing mud nests, and would include Auplopus, Phanagenia, Fabriogenia and Macromeris Lepeletier, 1831 from the Australian fauna. However, the confusing state of the literature on these wasps presents problems for researchers as three of the four genera―Auplopus, Fabriogenia and Phanagenia are not clearly discriminated enough to allow for accurate identification of Australian material.

Phanagenia was erected by Banks in 1933 for three species from the United States with spines on the underside of tarsomere five. In 1941 Banks erected Fabriogenia for the reception of two species from Australia also with spines on the underside of tarsomere five, but differing from Phanagenia by having a distinct malar space. In Banks’ key in the same paper, Auplopus (as Psuedagenia Kohl, 1884) differed from Phanagenia and Fabriogenia by lacking spines on the underside of tarsomere five. According to Townes (1957 p.140) Phanagenia differs from Auplopus by the presence of a brush of about 20 long stout bristles not divided into right and left groups on the mentum of the female, the absence of long erect hairs on the propodeum, the presence of a lateral crease on the first tergite and the presence of spines on the underside of the last tarsal segment, though he noted that the characters in his key applied only to the single western hemisphere representative (which is also the genotype) of Phanagenia. He also noted (p. 141) that the type of Fabriogenia might be referable to Phanagenia. Tsuneki (1989:5, 1990:3) also used the spines on the underside of tarsomere five to distinguish Phanagenia and Auplopus.

However, according to Shimizu (1994:22, 138) the spines on the underside of tarsomere five in Auplopus are present in a double lateral row or absent, providing no clear distinction between it and Phanagenia as suggested by Banks, Townes and Tsuneki. Shimizu (1994:36) also noted that the lateral crease used by Townes to separate Auplopus and Phanagenia was variably present or absent in Auplopus. Shimizu did not include Fabriogenia in his analysis and no author other than Townes (1957) has used the bristles on the female mentum as a character useful for distinguishing Phanagenia from other genera. All three names are used liberally throughout Australian museum collections on what appear to be congeners.

The problem of distinguishing the three genera in Australia is well illustrated by Faithfull (1994:12) in his paper on the mimicry by Trogodendron fasciculatum (Schriebers) (Coleoptera: Cleridae) of a pompilid wasp. Analysis of the three genera is needed to clearly define their limits in Australia.

The Australian Pepsinae also contains some of the least studied elements of the fauna. Most of the genera erected by Haupt (1937a)―Alococurgus, Dolichocurgus, Eremocurgus, Mimocurgus, Pachycurgus, Poecilocurgus and Xenocurgus, as well as Austrosalius Turner, 1917 and Derochorses Banks, 1941, have not been treated in the literature, except in the generic list of Pate (1946), since their description. They are in desperate need of attention.

Pepsis australis Saussure, 1867 and Sphictostethus nitidus (Fabricius, 1775) have erroneously been recorded from Australia. Additionally, Cryptocheilus modestus (Smith, 1856) has been listed as occurring in Australia, but the record is dubious and requires confirmation.

Excluded Taxa

Misidentifications

Pepsis australis Saussure, 1867 — Elliott, M.G. 2007. Annotated catalogue of the Pompilidae (Hymenoptera) of Australia. Zootaxa 1428: 1-83 [Date published 19 Mar. 2007]

Pepsis Fabricius, 1804 — Elliott, M.G. 2007. Annotated catalogue of the Pompilidae (Hymenoptera) of Australia. Zootaxa 1428: 1-83 [Date published 19 Mar. 2007]

Sphictostethus nitidus (Fabricius, 1775) — Elliott, M.G. 2007. Annotated catalogue of the Pompilidae (Hymenoptera) of Australia. Zootaxa 1428: 1-83 [Date published 19 Mar. 2007]

History of changes