Anoplius imbellis Banks 1944

Transcont. in U. Austr. and Transit. Zones south at higher altitudes to Costa Rica.

Nests in soil near still water.

Anoplius (Anoplius) imbellis Banks
Anoplius imbellis Banks, 1944, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 94: 169 [Type: 2, Oregon: Corvallis (HAS) (CAS, no. 5954)]. — Dreisbach, 1950, Amer. Midi. Nat., 43: 583, 590.
Anoplius imbellis var. major Dreisbach, 1950, ibid., pp. 581-582 [Type: $, Virginia: Falls Church, 29 June (NB) (MCZ, no. 28, 389)]. Synonymy by Evans, 1951.
Anoplius (Anoplius) imbellis Evans, 1951, Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc, 76: 348350. — Evans, 1956, Ent. News, 67: 8-9.
Anoplius subimbellis Dreisbach, 1952, Amer. Midi. Nat., 48: 155-156 [Type: $, Virginia: Falls Church, 11 July (NB) (MCZ, no. 29, 331)]. Synonymy by Evans, 1956.
Female. — Length 5-10 mm. Black; wings lightly to moderately infuscated, darker along outer margin; pubescence dark, usually slightly bluish or violaceous, sometimes silvery on sides of lower front. Body moderately hairy, the propodeum always with some rather long, black hairs. Clypeus 2.3-2.5 X as broad as high, truncate below. MID .53-. 61 X TFD; eyes converging very little if at all above, UID .90-1.05 X LID (usually about .97); POL usually slightly less than OOL. Third antennal segment subequal to or slightly longer than first two together, equal to from .65 to .85 X UID. Front basitarsus with two spines in the upper row, these spines thick but not more than half as long as the width of the tarsus; lower row with one of the spines nearly as long as the width of the tarsus. SMC3 narrowed by at least half above, often subtriangular, the third intercubital vein strongly arched.
Male. — Length 5-9 mm. Black; wings subhyaline or lightly infuscated, dark apically; pubescence sometimes wholly dark, more often silvery, cinereous, or light brown on parts of the head, pleura, and leg-bases; propodeum with a few erect hairs; venter with some strong setae on S3 and with strong brushes of hair on S4 and 5, these brushes continuous as seen in lateral view, also continuous across the sternites, although much shorter medially than laterally. Clypeus 2.2-2.5 X as wide as high; MID .57-.61 X TFD; UID 1.0-1.12 X LID; POL usually slightly less than OOL. Antennae slender, third segment 2.5-3.0 X as long as thick, subequal to or slightly greater or less than fourth segment. Last segment of front tarsus strongly lobed on inner margin. Abdomen with prominent ventral hair-brushes, as described above. SGP rather weakly elevated medially, tapering evenly to a narrowly rounded apex, the margin beset with an even row of thick bristles. Genitalia with the parameres generally slightly shorter than the digiti, with a strong squama bearing large bristles; digiti angled somewhat mesad apically, the tip acute or subacute, the surface covered with short or moderately long setae (see fig. 112 in Evans, 1951, also fig. 24 in Dreisbach, 1950, and fig. 23 in Dreisbach 1952).
Distribution. — This species has a remarkably wide range, occurring from Alaska and Northwest Territories to North Carolina and, at moderate to high elevations, to Costa Rica. Marginal records from north of Mexico were presented by Evans, 1951. (Map 61.)
Mexican and Central American specimens examined. — 17 2 2 , 55 $ S. Nuevo Leon: 1 2, Galeana, 5-6000 feet, 2 Aug. 1939 (R. Haag) [MCZ]. Sonora: 1 2 , Campo Utah, 20 Aug. 1953 (B. Malkin) [CAS]; 1 S , 8 mi. S Peon, 295 mi. S Nogales, 15 Nov. 1955 (E. Bay) [CU]. Baja California: 1 2,3 $ $ , Descanso, Sept. 1955 (RMB) [UCD]; 1 $ , Sierra San Pedro Martir, 6500 feet, 29 May 1958 (W. Patterson) [CIS]. Guanajuato: 1 $ , Yuriria, 6500 feet, 7 Aug. 1962 (HEE) [MCZ]. Mexico: 1 2 , 22 $ S , 34 km. W Toluca, 8500 feet, 9 Aug. 1962 (HEE) [MCZ, ENAC, USNM];
• Anoplius (Anopliu5) imbellis Banks (also transcontinental in U.S.)
5 6 $, Vails de Bravo, 6500 feet, 3 Aug. 1962 (HEE) [MCZ]. Morelos: 1 5 , Tepoztlan, 20 Aug. 1956 (RRD) [MSU]; 1 8 , Lagunas de Zempoala, 9200 feet, 11 Aug. 1962 (HEE) [MCZ]; 6 2 9, 14 8 8 , Cuernavaca & vie., Mch.-May (HEE, FDP, LS) [CU, MCZ, UCD]; 2 $ 8, Las Estacas, 3000 feet, 6 April 1959 (HEE) [CU, MCZ]. Puebla: 1 2,1 $ , 5 mi. NE Teziutlan, 4700 feet, 27 June 1953 [KU]; 1 S, Puebla, 3 July 1952 (EG & CM) [CIS]. Veracruz: 1 $ , Jalapa, 28 Sept. 1961 (RRD) [MSU]. Chiapas: 3 2 2, San Cristobal las Casas, 26 April1 May 1959, 7500 feet (HEE) [CU, MCZ]. Guatemala: 2 2 2, Lake Atitlan, 6000 feet, 27 Feb. 1932 (C. N. Ainslie) [USNM]. Costa Rica: 2 $ 8 , Corralillo Irazu, Jan.-Feb. 1924 (F. Tristan) [ANSP].
Variation. — This species shows no noteworthy geographic variation except that females from Chiapas and Guatemala have the pubescence rather strongly bluish, almost as intense as in loluca. One notes some slight variation in the length of the parameres, the length of the setae on the digiti, and the degree to which the tips of the digiti are drawn out into a point, but this variation appears to bear no strong correlation with geography. A partial appreciation of this variation can be obtained by comparing the figures cited above.