Description of a new species of Leptochilus ( Neoleptochilus ) Blüthgen , 1961 ( Hymenoptera : Vespidae : Eumeninae ) from India

A new species, Leptochilus (Neoleptochilus) hassani is described from India and compared with similar already described species: Leptochilus (Neoleptochilus) insitivus Gusenleitner, 1976 and L. (N.) umerolatus Gusenleitner, 2006. A checklist of the species of Leptochilus (Neoleptochilus) from the Indian subcontinent is also provided.

species including one species from India (Dover 1925;Gusenleitner 1973Gusenleitner , 1976Gusenleitner , 1994Gusenleitner & 2006. Members of this genus build their nest in pre-existing cavities in plant stems, shells, rocks, hard soil, old nest burrows of other wasps, beetle burrows in wood. In this paper a new species, namely Leptochilus (Neoleptochilus) hassani, is described from Maharashtra, India and compared with a similar already described species. A checklist of the species of Leptochilus (Neoleptochilus) from the Indian subcontinent is also provided.

Material and methods
The specimens were studied and photographed using a Leica Stereo microscope with LAS software version 3.6.0. The types of the new species described here are deposited in the 'National Zoological Collections' of the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata (NZC).

Description of a new species of Leptochilus (Neoleptochilus)
Blüthgen, 1961 (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae) from India 1.50x its length medially, with coarse punctures (except sparse punctures laterally); mandibles on inner side with four teeth; frons, vertex and temple closely, strongly and uniformly punctured, diameter of punctures greater than the distance between punctures; POL 1.03x OOL (Image 3); diameter of anterior ocellus 0.45x as long as the distance between anterior ocellus and posterior ocelli; cephalic foveae absent; temple 0.81x as wide as eye in profile (measured through its ocular sinus); interocular distance 1.50x greater on vertex than at clypeus; occipital carina complete and narrowed ventrally. Antennal scrobe 1.36x farther from each other than from eyes, granulately punctured; scape 4.47x as long as F1; F1 0.94x as long as F2, 1.07x as long as wide; flagellomeres widening towards apex except last antennal article; apical antennal article 1.22x as long as its maximum width. Mesosoma (Image 4): Anterior face of pronotum uniformly sculptured in front and distinctly slanting; pronotal carina absent on dorsal side, present on the lateral margin of pronotum; posterior face and lateral sides of pronotum, mesoscutum and scutellum strongly and closely punctate, diameter of punctures greater than the distance between punctures; median length of mesoscutum 0.93x its maximum width; metanotum cristate, without tubercles, vertical portion with few scattered punctures; mesopleuron closely punctured except large area of epicnemium and posterior margin smooth; epicnemial carina absent; upper metapleuron transversely striated, lower metapleuron with few weak transverse striations and sparse punctures. Propodeum (Image 6) vertical, medially concave, closely and strongly punctured except lateral sides towards metapleuron impunctate; submarginal carina projecting as a small rounded lobe above propodeal valvula. Tegula punctured, not evenly rounded posteriorly, emarginate adjoining parategula and surpassing apex of latter; axillary fossa oval, not slit-like. Midtibia with one spur. Forewing (Image 5) with pterostigma 5.83x prestigma, second submarginal cell not petiolate, basally more or less truncate, first and second recurrent veins both received in submarginal cell II.
Metasoma (Images 7 & 8): T1 without transverse carina, with large punctures, diameter of punctures greater than the distance between punctures, transverse yellow apical band smooth, maximum width of T1 1.2x its median length in dorsal view; T1 0.63x narrower than T2; T2 as long as wide in dorsal view; T2 and S2 with distinct but less strong punctures, the diameter of most of the punctures greater than interspaces.

Description
Holotype female (Image 1): Body length (H+M+T1+T2) 5.66mm; forewing length 4.5mm. Body black with red, reddish-brown and pale yellowishwhite to white markings. Red markings: Petiole except narrow apical transverse white band. Reddish-brown markings: Mandible except at base black, apical spot on pointed lamella of submarginal carina of propodeum and propodeal valvula. Yellowish-white to white markings: Inner side of scape, a very small spot on upper part of temple near to eye margin, a medially broadly interrupted transverse band on pronotum, outer half of tegula, a medially interrupted transverse band on scutellum at its lower half, a narrow transverse band at the apex of T1, a broad transverse band at the apex of T2, a small spot at middle of posterior apex and broad spot at lateral corners of posterior apex of S2. Legs coloured as follows: Reddish-brown except all coxa and trochanter black, distinct yellow spots on apex of outer side of fore femur, small yellow spots on base of outer side of fore tibia, small yellow spots on outer side of mid and hind tibia. Outer side of mid and hind tibia darker. Wings almost hyaline, slightly infumated at upper margins; stigma black; veins dark brown. Body with rather sparsely to moderately dense fine silvery white pubescence, minute on metasoma and more pronounced on head and mesosoma.
Head: 1.11x as wide as long in front view (Image 2); clypeus slightly convex, the extreme apex with two teeth, the area in between them roundly incised, the distance between teeth less than (0.74x) the distance between antennal toruli, maximum width of clypeus characters. But it distinctly differs from L. (N.) insitivus in having: (1)