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Sclerogibba talpiformis
Photo#866234
Copyright © 2013
Diane Young
What have I got here? -
Sclerogibba talpiformis
San Marcos, Hays County, Texas, USA
November 15, 2013
Size: ~6 mm
I found this odd creature on dead palm leaves. It has enlarged front legs. I have no idea where to start. I have the specimen if someone wants it.
Images of this individual:
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Contributed by
Diane Young
on 15 November, 2013 - 7:57pm
Last updated 1 December, 2013 - 5:49pm
Sclerogibba talpiformis Benoit
Moved from
Sclerogibba
. ID'd from specimen. Thanks Diane.
Presence of two spurs on mid-tibiae and short hypostomal bridge make this Sclerogibba. Reddish fore-body, longitudinal furrow on propodeum, lack of a longitudinal furrow on the pronotum, widely separated lateral ocelli, and complete notauli indicate S. talpiformis.
…
Brad Barnd
, 1 December, 2013 - 5:50pm
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Moved
Moved from
Probethylus callani
.
…
Brad Barnd
, 24 November, 2013 - 1:27pm
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Moved tentatively
Moved from
Probethylus
.
Massimo Olmi says "I believe that your specimen is a Probethylus callani, mainly because of the brown gaster." But he also says we'd need to see the number of tibial spurs on the mid-leg (one in Probethylus vs two in Sclerogibba) to confirm. The length of the hypostomal bridge is also an important character. I think I only see one spur on the mid-leg, maybe you can check?
…
Brad Barnd
, 19 November, 2013 - 3:28pm
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I can clearly see..
two 2 spurs at the distal end of the mid tibia.
…
Diane Young
, 24 November, 2013 - 11:12am
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Thanks Diane
Then this must be a
Sclerogibba
species. There are two species recorded in
(
1
)
from Texas, S. talpiformis and S. africana, and I'm leaning towards the former. But hard to be sure.
…
Brad Barnd
, 24 November, 2013 - 1:25pm
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I could send it to you
just email me with your address.
…
Diane Young
, 24 November, 2013 - 2:20pm
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John Abbott at St. Edwards Univ.
has the specimen right now. I hope he was able to get a live shot today. He will send the specimen back to me soon and I'll check.
…
Diane Young
, 19 November, 2013 - 3:43pm
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Wow Diane!
A new family on BG!!!! Congrats!
…
Betsy Betros
, 17 November, 2013 - 2:24pm
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And...
All because someone was looking for tiny little psocids that few people look for! Again...congrats Diane!
…
Betsy Betros
, 17 November, 2013 - 4:48pm
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You have to put on your knee pads...
and get on your hands and knees to find creatures like this. Wow! I really heart BugGuide. Everybody really pumped up my ego. I'll keep looking for the rare ones!
…
Diane Young
, 17 November, 2013 - 5:08pm
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which means no more missing aculeate families, too!
congrats all. amazing find.
…
v belov
, 17 November, 2013 - 2:36pm
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Sclerogibbidae: Probethylus sp.
Moved from
ID Request
. This had me really stumped. A very Bethylid-like body, but the antennae were wrong. So I went back to a key to Hymenoptera families, and quickly realized what it was.
These are pretty rare. The only known species in the U.S. is from Arizona, and this may or may not be that species. They are known to be parasitoids of webspinners.
Congrats on adding a new family to BugGuide!
…
Brad Barnd
, 17 November, 2013 - 2:01pm
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I don't think this is the Arizona species
P. schwarzi is described as having 18 antennal segments. Color is light testaceous with a single dark band on the third abdominal segment and the base of the first abdominal segment being dark. Known from Arizona and Oklahoma (Shetlar 1973).
Yours looks like it has more antennal segments (~25??) and is colored differently. The neotropical P. callani is a closer fit, but its described coloration isn't quite like yours. There is a more recent paper by Massimo Olmi (A revision of the world Sclerogibbidae, 2005) which would probably be more informative, but I do not have a copy.
…
Brad Barnd
, 17 November, 2013 - 3:44pm
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yaaay!
i was waiting for a breakthrough... fascinating beast.
…
v belov
, 17 November, 2013 - 2:07pm
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This first image was posted much earlier,
so it is now on page 5 of ID Request
…
john and jane balaban
, 17 November, 2013 - 12:27pm
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Ah...
They were linked out of order. Silly of me not to have thought of that. Thanks!
…
Ken Wolgemuth
, 17 November, 2013 - 12:29pm
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Changed ...
I put the original back as first image
…
Robert Lord Zimlich
, 19 November, 2013 - 4:33pm
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Ichneumonoidea
It has too many antennae segments for bethylidae. Seems like the fact that it is apterous and has huge front legs should help narrow it down. An en face view would also help so the mouthparts can be seen.
…
twiztedminds
, 17 November, 2013 - 10:51am
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Those eyes seem huge!
We were thinking it would be Bethylidae, but couldn't find a match there.
…
john and jane balaban
, 17 November, 2013 - 9:09am
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Moved to ID Request
Moved from
Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies
.
Diane,
Indeed a strange creature. Despite lacking elbowed antennae, I suspect may be some tropical or subtropical ant. I moved to ID Request, where it can be seen by more people. Someone will surely recognize, as it's probably not to be confused with anything else.
…
Robert Lord Zimlich
, 16 November, 2013 - 8:10pm
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Is it just me...
...or has this image disappeared from ID Request?
When I view it, it says "Home ยป ID Request" at the top of the page, but if I look in ID Request, I see only the first two images. I'd be interested in knowing if anyone else is seeing (or rather not seeing) the same thing.
…
Ken Wolgemuth
, 17 November, 2013 - 12:10pm
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Hi Diane...
that is a weird one for sure!
…
Betsy Betros
, 15 November, 2013 - 10:06pm
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