PA RATA RUM A, A NEW GENUS OF NEOTROPICAL 
CRABRONINI (HYMENOPTERA, SPHECIDAE)* 
By Lynn S. Kimsey 
Department of Entomology, 
University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA 
Crabronini are a diverse group of wasps that are found world 
wide. Typical members of this tribe can be recognized by the single 
forewing submarginal cell, large cuboidal head and ventrally con- 
verging eyes. 
The new genus, Parataruma, is found in lowland neotropical 
forest in widely separated localities. This distribution can probably 
be explained in several ways. Most of the neotropical lowland forest 
has been poorly collected, and much of it has been destroyed. In 
addition, these wasps are small and darkly colored, making them 
difficult to observe. 
Specimens were obtained from the following institutions: British 
Museum of Natural History, London (BMNH); Museum of Com- 
parative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 
(MCZ); Entomology Museum, University of California, Davis 
(UCD), and the U.S. National Museum, Washington, D.C. (USNM). 
Parataruma Kimsey, new genus 
Generic diagnosis 
Head (figs. 3, 4): Eyes asetose, inner orbits converging strongly 
below; scapal basin smooth or finely sculptured, laterally margined 
by carinae; genal carina well-developed, following ocular margin to 
vertex; orbital foveae absent; occipital carina well-developed, 
flanged and foveate; antennal sockets touching each other and ocu- 
lar margin; male flagellomeres II— III modified; palpal formula 6:4; 
mandibles with a tooth on inner margin and single apical notch; 
ocelli large, 1.5 times as wide as antennal sockets, forming an iso- 
lateral triangle. 
Thorax (fig. 1): Pronotal collar with transverse anterior and 
posterior carinae, sharply angulate laterally; scutum longitudinally 
*Manuscript received by the editor March 22, 1982 
169 
