Anoplius simulans (Cresson 1869)

Anoplius (Anoplius) simulans (Cresson)

Pompilus simulans Cresson, 1869, p. 367 (S, Mexico).

Pompilus interstitialis Cameron, 1893, p. 195 (♀, Panama; synonymy by Evans, 1966a).

Anoplius (Anoplius) simulans.—Evans, 1966a, p. 340.

It comes as a great surprise to find this species on Dominica. The previously known range extends from Central Mexico to Panama, where it occurs chiefly at moderate to high elevations. I have seen no other Antillean material of this species, and in fact the subgenus is represented in the West Indies only by A. bermudensis Banks and by the widely distributed neotropical species A. fulgidus Cresson. I am not aware that simulans has been collected in northern South America. In my 1966a paper I noted and figured variation in the male genitalia. The single male taken on Dominica has digiti similar to Figure 45 in that paper. Since Costa Rica males have digiti of this type (and Veracruz males slightly different digiti), it is my suspicion that simulans will be found to range at higher elevations through Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad, and other of the Lesser Antilles (rather than through the Greater Antilles). These areas have been poorly collected, and simulans appears to be a rare species in all parts of its range.

The two specimens from Dominica were both taken at moderate elevations: 1♂, South Chiltern, 18–19 August (Jackson); 1♀ Pont Cassé, 27–30 November (Spangler). The female keys out well in my 1966a paper, the male less well because of the fact that the pubescence is mainly dark, silvery only on the front and clypeus, somewhat cinereous on the coxae and the apical half of the abdomen. In all structural details, however, it agrees well with Central American males.