i 3 2 z. bouCek 



The G7G^4S-Group 



The main characters are mentioned elsewhere (p. 148). The group is close to 

 the African ^nco/or-group but is less homogeneous. Its species have a moderately 

 broad body, with subhorizontal and generally longer ovipositor, the propodeal 

 median carina is mostly missing or vague (at least in females), the hind femur is 

 less inflated, hind tibia without dorso-lateral keel, its apical spine still shorter 

 but with concave tarsal side (not straight as in the tricolor-group treated above). 



The group may be divided into the gigas-subgroup (see the Mediterranean species, 

 p. 149), the intermedia-subgroup, the histrio-subgroup and the raima/a-subgroup, 

 differing from the former mainly in the subcorneal elevated dorsellum; this is 

 bidentate in the gigas-subgroup and the intermedia-subgroup, weakly convex in 

 the /j^no-subgroup. Only L. miniata Klug and L. incarnata Westwood belong 

 here. 



Leucospis miniata Klug 

 (Text-fig. 158) 



Leucospis miniata Klug, 1834 : Dec. 4 : [25], pi. 37, fig. 1, $. Holotype 9, Egypt: 'Dscheil 

 el Achterie' nr Alexandria (MNHU, Berlin) [examined]. 



From the original description it is clear that Klug had only one specimen, the 

 holotype in the present sense. It is a relatively dark-coloured female, with the 

 propodeum only narrowly orange in the middle and the first tergite with two oblique 

 subtriangular spots. Shipp (1894a : 16), who apparently examined Westwood's 

 type of L. rufonotata rather carelessly, put the latter in synonymy with miniata, 

 which was rightly refuted by Masi (1935 : 39) and Mader (1937 : 160-161). They 

 pointed out that Schletterer's concept of the two species was sound, with which 

 I concur. I can confirm as right also Berland's identification of North African 

 specimens (1934& : 174) questioned by Bytinski-Salz (1963). 



Schletterer (1890 : 210-212) redescribed L. miniata and discussed its relationship. 

 Superficially there is a great resemblance to the orange form of L. gigas Fabricius, 

 but (apart from the dorsellum) in the female the ovipositor is shorter, it does not 

 reach the very base of the fourth tergite, the latter tergite being dorsally almost 

 as long as the fifth. There is also some difference in the orange pattern: in miniata 

 the central quadrangular macula on the mesoscutum nearly touches the scutellum 

 but the latter has at base a black triangular spot, whilst the metanotum and 

 propodeum are extensively orange (the latter parts mostly black in gigas). 



L. miniata and L. gigas are compared mainly because their distribution areas in 

 North Africa are very similar, but otherwise L. miniata is much closer to the South 

 African L. incarnata Westwood, as may be seen already from the key. In both 

 sexes of L. miniata the puncturation of the body is much denser (about as dense 

 as in L. gigas) and generally finer, including the lateral depressed streaks of 

 metanotum; the pubescence is generally very short and dense, for example on 

 the disc of the pronotum (which is so densely punctured that it shows no interspaces 

 between punctures) the hairs are only about half as long as width of the flagellum 



