On the Hymenoptera collected by Mr. Robert Shelford at Sarawak, and on the Hymenoptera of the Sarawak Museum
P. Cameron’s 1902 monograph in the Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society presents a comprehensive taxonomic account of Hymenoptera collected by Robert Shelford of Cambridge University in Sarawak, Borneo, and from the Sarawak Museum collection. The paper describes an extensive array of new genera and species across numerous families, establishing that Bornean hymenopteran fauna remained vastly underdocumented following F. Smith’s 1857 treatment of Wallace’s collections.
Summary
Cameron’s work spans the major aculeate and sawfly families, with the heaviest concentration in Ichneumonidae, where he erects several new genera—Siphimedia, Charitopimpla, Bodargus, Diapetus, Acleasa, Fislistina, Chrysocryptus, Latteva, Friona, Lactolus, Buodias, Maraces, and Zonojoppa—each founded on distinctive morphological characters such as areolated median segments, pectinated claws, or unusual wing venation (pp. 43–73). The Braconidae section introduces the genus Shelfordia (named for the collector) and describes multiple new species of Myosoma and Iphiaulax, the latter separated by the extent and form of the central keel on the second abdominal segment (pp. 32–41).
The remaining families receive more concise but still substantial treatment. Mutillidae yields seven new species, several from Kuching at lowland elevations, distinguished by combinations of pubescence colour, abdominal banding, and wing venation (pp. 73–81). Scoliidae includes Dielis borneana, a large 45 mm species from Bajong and Santubong with distinctive rufous abdominal markings (p. 85). The Anthophila section describes new species of Nomia, Coelioxys, Megachile, Protoanthidium, Xylocopa, and Trigona, the last including several species of the stingless bee genus collected at elevations up to 3,600 feet at Matang (pp. 114–131). A supplementary section on p. 132 adds further new species of Nomia, Megachile, Sphex, Cerceris, Scolia, and Mutilla.
The paper’s taxonomic methodology follows the descriptive conventions of the period, with Latin diagnoses followed by English descriptions, and species are frequently compared to previously described forms from India, Malaya, and Europe to establish their distinctness.
Key Findings
- The paper describes at least 60 new species and 12 new genera across Tenthredinidae, Evaniidae, Braconidae, Ichneumonidae, Ophionidae, Mutillidae, Scoliidae, Pompilidae, Sphegidae, Vespidae, Eumenidae, and Anthophila (pp. 29–140).
- Dielis borneana is recorded at 45 mm in length, making it one of the largest Scoliidæ described from the region, collected at Bajong and Santubong (p. 85).
- The genus Shelfordia is erected in Braconidae, characterized by a narrow median area on the mesonotum, longitudinally striated abdominal segments, and a keeled front; the type species S. ruficeps has a 22 mm ovipositor (pp. 35–37).
- Zonojoppa violaceipennis is distinguished by uniformly violaceous wings, a stoutly keeled scutellum, and an excavated areola, placing it among the Joppini (pp. 71–73).
- Xylocopa Shelfordi is described from Matang at 3,600 feet, with both sexes united based on matching hair-band patterns; the male agrees in pubescence arrangement with X. perversa Weid. from Java (pp. 128–129).
- Trigona species are recorded from Kuching and Sarawak at low elevations, including T. erythrogaster (7 mm) and T. flavistigma (8 mm), the latter a male with rufo-testaceous coloration and a distinct yellowish wing tint (pp. 129–131).
Conclusion
Cameron’s paper stands as a foundational inventory of Bornean Hymenoptera, demonstrating that the fauna of Sarawak contained an extraordinary number of undescribed taxa, particularly among the smaller parasitic families. By establishing new genera with precise diagnostic characters and providing detailed morphological descriptions, the work laid the groundwork for subsequent regional faunal studies and highlighted the need for further collection in the smaller Ichneumonidæ, Braconidæ, Oxyura, and Chalcididæ groups, which Cameron noted must still contain an immense number of undiscovered species (p. 29).
Context
- The Sarawak Museum collection, assembled partly through Shelford’s fieldwork and earlier collectors such as Hose, served as a key reference point for Bornean entomology in the early twentieth century and remains part of the MBRAS archival holdings.
- The paper situates itself in the lineage of F. Smith’s 1857 description of Wallace’s Hymenoptera, acknowledging that very little had been published on Bornean species in the intervening forty-five years (p. 29).