Aulacus moerens (Westwood, 1868)

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Aulacus (Aulacinus) moerens Westwood 1868: 331.—Westwood 1874: 129; Schletterer 1889: 517.

Aulacinus moerens Kieffer 1902: 12.—Kieffer 1903: 481; Kieffer 1904: 6; Kieffer 1912: 349, 356; Hedicke 1939: 25.

Aulacus maerens Dalla Torre 1902: 1061 (unnecessary emendation)

Aulacus moerens (Westwood).—Smith 2001: 273; Jennings et al. 2004b: 19; Jennings 2010 [on-line checklist]; Turrisi 2017: 933; Jennings et al. 2018: 64.

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Figure 63. Aulacus moerens (Westwood), female, lateral habitus. Scale bar = 1.00 mm.

Figure 64. Aulacus moerens (Westwood), female, A, lateral head; B, frontal face; C, dorsal head; D, lateral mesosoma; E, dorsal mesosoma; F, inner metacoxa; G, fore wing. Scale bar = 1.00 mm.

Diagnostic description.

Aulacus moerens is one of a few species with distinctive general black body colouration with orange on the antenna and head with prominent raised transverse carina above toruli.

Female. Body size 10.5 (9.2–9.5) mm, ovipositor length 4.0 (3.2-3.9) mm, fore wing length 8.3 (7.5–8.5) mm (Fig. 63); colouration, black, legs and flagellomeres orange (except apical segments black); wings hyaline except for small indistinct brown infuscation of apex 1st marginal and 4th submarginal cell, hind wing veins spectral (Fig. 64G); head quadrate, width 1.3 (1.2) × length, postocular space 1.0 (0.7–0.8) × eye length in dorsal view (Fig. 64C), raised transverse carina above toruli, malar space 0.2 (0.2) × height of eye (Fig. 64A); length of scape (1.7–2.1) × pedicel length, 1st flagellomere (1.4–1.5) × length of scape, (0.6) × 2nd flagellomere; mesosoma length 1.4 (1.5) × height, mesoscutum in lateral view angular antero-dorsally (Fig. 64D), length 0.8 (0.7) × width in dorsal view (Fig. 64E); medial lobe with transverse carinae; ovipositor guide absent (FIg. 64F); ovipositor sheath length 0.5 (0.4–0.5) × fore wing length (Fig. 63); fore wing vein 2-Rs+M 0.6 (0.5–0.7) × 1-Rs+M, three hamuli equidistant (Fig. 64G); metasoma pyriform, T1+T2 length 1.5 (1.7–1.8) × width in dorsal view.

Aulacus moerens is superficially similar to A. flavicornis in general appearance but can be separated by the extent of orange colouration on the flagellomeres and tibia (tibia black in A. flavicornis), and body size larger, 9.2–10.5 mm (5.8-9.0 mm for A. flavicornis).

Material examined.

Holotype. AUSTRALIA – South Australia • ♀, “Adelaide [illeg.] 1865 (OUMNH).

Other material examined.

AUSTRALIA – South Australia • 1 ♀, Kangaroo Island, Flinders Chase National Park, Platypus Waterholes, 35°57.008S, 136°46.910E, 24.Oct.2007, D.A. Young leg. (CRG: 8552) • 1 ♀, Kangaroo Island, Boobook Hill Reserve, South Dudley Peninsula, 35.843710S, 137.947250E, R.V. Glatz leg., malaise trap, (CRG: 14176). – VIC • 1 ♀, McLaughlins Bend, Peechelba East, -36.155012, 146.238274, 9.Dec.2019, R. Richter, iNaturalist observation 36603021 • 1 ♀,Noojee, -37.891571, 145.999447, 4.Mar.2020, R. Richter, iNaturalist observation 39835954

Figure 63. Aulacus moerens (Westwood), female, lateral habitus. Scale bar = 1.00 mm.

Figure 64. Aulacus moerens (Westwood), female, A, lateral head; B, frontal face; C, dorsal head; D, lateral mesosoma; E, dorsal mesosoma; F, inner metacoxa; G, fore wing. Scale bar = 1.00 mm.

Distribution.

This species is known from several localities across South Australia and Victoria (Fig. 94).

Biology.

Unknown.