Andrena (Ulandrena) graciliata, Wood, 2023

Wood, Thomas James, 2023, New Old World Andrena species, with a focus on Turkey (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae), Zootaxa 5266 (1), pp. 1-72 : 51-52

Andrena (Ulandrena) graciliata spec. nov.

HOLOTYPE: CYPRUS: Limassol, Yermasoyia [Germasogeia], 8.iii.1979, 1♁, leg. L-Å. Janzon , OÖLM.

PARATYPES: CYPRUS: Limassol, Yermasoyia [Germasogeia], 6.iii.1979, 1♁, leg. L-Å. Janzon, OÖLM ; Limassol, Yermasoyia [Germasogeia], 15.iii.1979, 1♁, 1♀, leg. L-Å. Janzon, OÖLM ; Pissouri , 29.iii.1978, 2♁, leg. H. Teunissen, RMNH .

Description: Female: Body length: 7 mm ( Figure 29A ). Head: Dark, 1.2 times wider than long ( Figure 29B ). Clypeus domed, densely punctate, punctures separated by 1 puncture diameter, underlying surface microreticulate, weakly shining. Process of labrum trapezoidal, 2.5 times wider than long, apical margin truncate. Gena equalling width of compound eye; ocelloccipital distance equalling 1 diameter of lateral ocellus. Foveae dorsally occupying half distance between lateral ocellus and compound eye, slightly impressed, extending ventrally to lower margin of antennal insertions; filled with light yellowish-brown hairs. Face, gena, vertex, and scape with light brownish hairs. Antennae basally dark, A5–12 ventrally lightened by presence of orange scales; A3 exceeding A4+5, shorter than A4+5+6. Mesosoma: Scutum and scutellum densely and regularly punctate, punctures separated by 0.5 puncture diameters, underlying surface finely shagreened, shining ( Figure 29C ). Pronotum evenly rounded. Mesepisternum and dorsolateral parts of propodeum microreticulate, microreticulation overlain with fine network of raised reticulation; propodeal triangle laterally delineated by weak carinae in basal half, internal surface with fine and dense network of raised rugae with clear longitudinal raised midline. Mesepisternum with long whitish hairs, hairs not equalling length of scape, scutum and scutellum with very short light brown plumose hairs. Propodeal corbicula incomplete, dorsal fringe composed of sparse light brownish hairs, internal surface with scattered simple light brown hairs. Legs dark to dark brown, apical tarsal segments lightened dark orange, pubescence light brown. Flocculus sparse, composed of scattered long whitish plumose hairs, femoral and tibial scopae weakly plumose, light yellowish-brown. Hind tarsal claws with inner tooth. Hind tibial spur broadened submedially. Wings hyaline, stigma dark orange, venation orange, nervulus weakly postfurcal. Metasoma: Terga dark, marginal areas broadly lightened hyaline-yellow; tergal discs basally microreticulate to finely shagreened, weakly shining, regularly and finely punctate, punctures separated by 1–2 puncture diameters ( Figure 29D ). T2–4 with weak apical fringes of yellowish hairs, widely interrupted on T2, complete on T3–4, not obscuring underlying surface. Apical fringe of T5 and hairs flanking pygidial plate golden, pygidial plate rounded triangular, dorsal surface flat, featureless.

Male: Body length: 6 mm ( Figure 30A ). Head: Dark, 1.3 times wider than long ( Figure 30B ). Clypeus yellowmarked in apical half, sometimes with yellow markings extending onto lower paraocular area ( Figure 30C ). Clypeus weakly domed, punctate, punctures separated by 0.5–1 puncture diameter, underlying surface shagreened, weakly shining. Process of labrum rectangular, twice as wide as long. Gena equalling width of compound eye; ocelloccipital distance slightly exceeding 1 diameter of lateral ocellus. Gena ventrally with long white hairs, equalling length of scape, hairs becoming golden-brown on face, vertex, and scape. Antennae basally dark, A5–13 ventrally lightened by presence of dark orange-brown scales; A3 subequal to A4+5. Mesosoma: Scutum and scutellum irregularly punctate, punctures separated by 0.5–2 puncture diameters, underlying surface laterally shagreened and weakly shining to more or less smooth and shining medially. Pronotum evenly rounded. Mesepisternum and propodeum structurally as in female. Mesepisternum with long whitish-brown hairs, longest hairs exceeding length of scape, hairs on scutum, scutellum, and propodeum becoming golden-brown. Legs dark brown, tarsi lightened orange, pubescence light brown. Hind tarsal claws with inner tooth. Wings hyaline, stigma dark orange, venation orange, nervulus interstitial. Metasoma: Terga structurally as in female ( Figure 30D ). T2–5 with weak apical fringes of golden hairs, not obscuring underlying surface. S8 long, columnar, moderately broad, apex truncate, ventrally densely covered with golden hairs. Genital capsule elongate triangular, gonocoxae with inner margins forming more or less 90 o angle, gonostyli narrow, medially constricted, apically spatulate, dorsal surface densely punctate, punctures confluent ( Figure 30E ). Penis valves broad, occupying majority of space between gonostyli, gradually tapering apically, with raised longitudinal part medially constricted.

Diagnosis: Andrena graciliata can be recognised as an Ulandrena due to the female hind tibial spur which is broadened submedially, the male face with yellow markings ( Figures 30B–C ), and the complex male genital capsule ( Figure 30E ). It is closest to A. acerba Warncke, 1967 which is known from Greece, Turkey, Armenia, and Iran ( Wood & Monfared 2022).

The two taxa can be separated by the male genital capsule ( Figure 30E ), with A. graciliata having the inner margins of the gonocoxae forming 90 o angles (forming obtuse angles in A. acerba , Figure 30F ), the gonostyli are medially constricted with a clear angle in their outer margin (gonostyli with outer margin more or less straight, not constricted in A. acerba ), and the apical parts of the gonostyli are narrower, with a less pronounced inner margin, and with a more clearly and densely punctate dorsal surface, punctures confluent (gonostyli with apical parts broader, with a somewhat raised inner margin, and with sparse and obscure punctures dorsally, punctures separated by 1 puncture diameter).

Females should be identified against confidently determined comparative material. In direct comparison, females of A. graciliata have finer and more delicate tergal punctation than A. acerba . Moreover, the tergal discs of A. graciliata are finely shagreened to basally microreticulate, with tergal punctures thus almost disappearing into this background shagreen. In contrast, A. acerba is obscurely to weakly shagreened (with at most a very narrow strip of microreticulation at the base of T2), and individual punctures are clearly visible against the comparatively smooth tergal structure. The two species can also be separated by their consistently different body size, with A. graciliata females measuring 7 mm and males 6 mm (9 mm and 8 mm in A. acerba ), as well as their allopatric distribution, A. acerba never having been reported from Cyprus ( Gusenleitner & Schwarz 2002). This is similar to the situation with A. (Ulandrena) abbreviata Dours, 1873 sensu lato, which has a wide distribution from south-eastern Europe to Central Asia, and A. (Ulandrena) polemediana Mavromoustakis, 1956 which is restricted to Cyprus. In this case, A. polemediana is consistently smaller, has finer punctation, and has small differences in the genital capsule (shorter gonocoxal teeth).

Etymology: Feminine form of the Latin gracilis (meagre, slim) with the suffix– ta indicating that it is an adjective; the name is in reference to the slimmer and more elongate gonostyli compared to those in the sister species A. acerba .

Distribution: Cyprus.

Figures

FIGURE 29. Andrena (Ulandrena) graciliata spec. nov. female. A. Habitus, lateral view, B. Face, frontal view, C. Scutum, dorsal view, D. Terga, dorsal view.

FIGURE 30. Andrena (Ulandrena) graciliata spec. nov. male. A. Habitus, lateral view, B. Face, dark form, frontal view, C. Face, light form, frontal view, D. Terga, dorsal view, E. Genital capsule, dorsal view. Andrena (Ulandrena) acerba Warncke, 1967. F. Genital capsule, dorsal view.