Aulacus belairensis Jennings, Austin & Stevens, 2004

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Aulacus belairensis Jennings, Austin & Stevens, 2004: 14.—Turrisi 2009: 51 (character states in phylogenetic analysis); Jennings 2010 [on-line checklist]; Turrisi 2017: 932; Jennings et al. 2018: 22.

Aulacus deansi Jennings & Austin, 2018: 34.—ABRS 2019 [on-line checklist]. syn. nov.

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Figure 7. Aulacus bamagensis Jennings & Austin, holotype female, lateral habitus. Scale bar = 1.00 mm.

Figure 8. Aulacus bamagensis Jennings & Austin, holotype female, A, lateral head; B, frontal face; C, dorsal head; D, lateral mesosoma; E, dorsal mesosoma; F, ovipositor guide; G, fore wing. Scale bar = 1.00 mm.

Diagnostic description.

Female. Body size 6.0 (4.6–6.9) mm, ovipositor length 7.6 (6.2–8.5) mm, fore wing length 4.5 (3.7–6.0) mm (Fig. 9); colouration black, head and anterior pronotum orange, metasoma mostly brown with variable amounts of orange, wings with indistinct infuscation from pterostigma, through to distal margins of 1st marginal, 4th submarginal 3rd discal and subdiscal cells (Fig. 10G), hind wing veins largely spectral, some pigmentation of Cu vein, ovipositor guide dark brown; head quadrate, width 1.3 × length, post ocular space 0.7 (0.6–0.8) × length of eye in dorsal view (Fig. 10C), raised transverse carina above toruli absent, malar space 0.2 (0.2–0.3) × height of eye (Fig. 10A); length of scape 1.3 (0.8–1.3) × pedicel length, 1st flagellomere 1.1 (0.9–1.8) × length of scape, 0.9 (0.7–0.8) × 2nd flagellomere; mesosoma length 1.4 × height (Fig. 10D), mesoscutum in lateral view rounded antero-dorsally , length 0.7 × width in dorsal view (Fig. 10E); medial lobe reticulate–rugose; ovipositor guide transverse, positioned distal (Fig. 10F); ovipositor sheath length 1.7 (1.4–1.7) × fore wing length (Fig. 9); fore wing vein 2-Rs+M 1.2 (1.1–1.2) × 1-Rs+M, three hamuli equidistant (Fig. 10G); metasoma pyriform, T1+T2 length 1.8 (1.8–1.9) × width in dorsal view, T1+T2 length 1.8 (1.9) × width in dorsal view.

Variation. Specimens from Mt. Dandenong, Victoria have more dark brown colouration dorsally on the head and less on the metasoma, and with varying amounts of dark brown on pronotum.

Material examined.
Holotype. AUSTRALIA – South Australia • ♀, “Belair N.P., 11-18.Feb.1996, J.T. Jennings”. (SAMA).

Paratypes. AUSTRALIA – South Australia • 1 ♀, Belair National Park, 10–17.Mar.1996, J.T. Jennings leg. (WINC) • 1 ♀, Belair National Park, Dec.1996, J.T. Jennings leg. (WINC)

Other material examined

AUSTRALIA – Victoria • 1 ♀, Holotype of Aulacus deansi, "Mt. Dandenong, Vict[oria]. 200 m II, 11-22". (ANIC) • 1 ♀, Paratype of Aulacus deansi, Mt. Dandenong, 300 m II, 13-29, no collector (AEI). – NSW • 1 ♀, Bendemeer, 26.Jan–9.Feb.2020, BP467 (SAMA) • 1 ♀, Bendemeer, -30.819, 151.142, 840 m, 9-23.Nov.2020, A. Goodwin, R. Noakes leg., BP459 (SAMA). – South Australia • 1 ♀, Belair NP, Gate 9, MT, 2-17.Feb.2008, J.T. Jennings leg., BP456 (SAMA).

Figure 7. Aulacus bamagensis Jennings & Austin, holotype female, lateral habitus. Scale bar = 1.00 mm.

Distribution. The species is known from three locations from south Eastern Australia (Fig. 88)

Biology

Unknown.

Notes.

The type specimens of A. belairensis and A. deansi exhibit only slight variations in coloration and body size. As these minimal differences constitute the distinguishing features between the two species, we synonymise A. deansi with A. belairensis.