THE FIRST RECENT SPECIES OF PROTOMUTILLA 
(HYMENOPTERA: MUTILLIDAE ; MYRMOSINAE) 1 
!: By Denis J. Brothers 2 
During a recently completed study of the higher classification of 
the aculeate Hymenoptera (Brothers, 1974), my attention was drawn 
to a female specimen from India representing a species of Myrmo- 
sinae (considered a subfamily of Tiphiidae by many authors, e.g., 
Krombein, 1940) but showing marked similarities to Nanomutilla 
(a member of the Mutillidae often included in the Myrmillinae) . 
This situation is reminiscent of that found by Bischoff (1915) for 
seven female specimens in Baltic amber. All of these have the well- 
developed pro-mesonotal suture characteristic of the Myrmosinae, 
but in addition “die Tiere weisen Beziehungen zu verschiedensten 
Gattungen auf, so zu Myrmilla, Nanomutilla , Mutilla s. str. etc.” 
Bischoff described the genus Protomutilla to include these seven 
species, and considered it best placed in the “Mutillinae”, although 
intermediate between this taxon and the “Myrmosinae” (which he 
considered to be a member of the Mutillidae). He listed the most 
characteristic features of the genus as: the distinctly developed pro- 
mesonotal suture, the transverse first abdominal (metasomal) seg- 
ment, the lack of a pygidial area, the usually longitudinally striate 
sculpturing of the mesonotal region, and the absence of long pubes- 
cence. In addition, all of his specimens have the posterolateral angles 
of the mesosoma acute or dentate. The Indian specimen possesses 
all these characters except for that of the mesonotal sculpturing 
(absent in some of Bischoff’s species also). The form of the postero- 
lateral angles of the propodeum differentiates this genus from the 
others with a well-developed pro-mesonotal suture, so that the Indian 
specimen seems best considered to represent a modern species of 
Protomutilla. Placement of this genus in the Myrmosinae is sup- 
ported by the almost straight and well-differentiated hind margin 
of the pronotum and also by the presence of a well-developed carina 
dorsally on the hind coxa (a character not mentioned by Bischoff), 
although this is not as markedly lamellate as in most other myrmosines. 
Contribution number 1538 from the Department of Entomology, University 
of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045. 
2 Present address: Department of Entomology, University of Natal, Pie- 
termaritzburg, South Africa. 
Manuscript received by the editor January 21, 1974. 
268 
