Megommation amazonicum, Gonçalves, Rodrigo B. & Santos, Leandro M., 2010

Gonçalves, Rodrigo B. & Santos, Leandro M., 2010, Notes and new species of the halictine genus Megommation Moure (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Augochlorini), Zootaxa 2685, pp. 57-64 : 58-60

Megommation amazonicum n. sp.

( Figs. 1–3 , 7 )

Diagnosis. M. amazonicum can be easily separated from M. insigne by the metallic body coloration and by the mesosoma pubescence, with fewer appressed setae ( Figs. 1–3 ). The head morphology is quite distinctive, with a less-bowed clypeus and supraclypeal area, resembling the head of a Megalopta ( Fig. 2 ).

Description. Female. Structure: Total body length 15 mm; fore wing length 10 mm. Head wider than long (length 4.5 mm; width 5.6 mm). Labrum with basal elevation orbicular and oblique. Clypeus wider than long, distal half extending below lower tangent of compound eye; supraclypeal area distinctly wider than long. Frontal line carinate between antennae, becoming a weakly impressed line shortly above level of antenna. Fl longer than wide, longer than F2; apical flagellomere longest. Distance from lateral ocellus to compound eyes less than one ocellar width. Gena slightly narrower than compound eye in profile. Median and parapsidal lines not strongly impressed; intertegular distance 3.3 mm. Mesoscutellum longer than metanotum, shorter than metanotum and basal area of metapostnotum combined. Basal area of metapostnotum longer than metanotum. Vein cu-a confluent with m+cu before 1a. medial cell, 1m-cu confluent exactly on 2rs-m.

Color and sculpturing: Mandible amber with brown apex. Clypeus almost entirely light brown, except for green highlights on upper corners; weak punctures widely spaced over reticulate integument. Supraclypeal area brown, less sculptured than on clypeus, with some small punctures intermixed. Remainder of head metallic green except for the area close to the internal angles of the compound eye; face covered with minute punctures, separated by twice the width of a puncture on average; punctures weaker and smaller on gena; postgena finely imbricate. Antenna light brown. Pronotum reddish-brown. Mesoscutum dark metallic olivegreen; minutely punctate, on disc punctures separated by two to three puncture diameters; integument between punctures minutely reticulate. Tegula light brown, translucent. Mesoscutellum and metanotum similar in coloration to mesoscutum, but punctation denser. Basal area of metapostnotum not punctured or striate, but distinctly micro-reticulate, coloration as on mesoscutum. Mesepisternum dark olive-green, with punctures very irregularly distributed, and metepisternum with more fine punctures. Legs light brown. Wings faintly smoky without greenish reflections, veins and pterostigma pale with subcosta darker. Propodeum colored as remainder of mesosoma; lateral and posterior surfaces weakly punctured with reticulate integument between. Metasoma dark metallic green with some brown, especially on apical margins of terga. Sterna dark brown on basal half to light brown on apical one half. Pubescence: Head densely covered by yellow appressed or suberect setae, long setae (longer than one ocellar diameter) absent, except on post gena. Mesoscutum with fairly dense, short setae among which are scattered long, simple setae; a few appressed setae on lateral corners and posterior margin. Pleura with scattered, moderately, long, branched setae. Propodeal lateral surface with longer setae, its branches half of total length; posterior surface with setae as on pleura. Apex of protibia outer surface, one-fourth of mesotibia outer surface and one half of metatibia outer surface with patch of black setae ( Fig. 1 ); hairs otherwise yellow-orange. Tl with long, simple hairs on anterior surface. T2–T5 with suberect, simple, yellow-orange setae. Sterna with long, apically curved setae along apical borders.

Male unknown.

Type material. Holotype female ( MPEG) “ BRASIL – PARÁ \ I. DO COMBU \ 19.X.1989 \ R. B. NETO ” “ MPEG ” “ Hymenoptera : Apocrita\ Aculeata: Apoidea\ Halictidae \ Incorporação 7.VI.1999 ”. Specimen in good condition.

Figures

FIGURE 7. Map of distributions of Megommation insigne (squares) and M. amazonicum n. sp. (circle).

FIGURES 1 – 3. Megommation amazonicum n. sp., holotype female (1) lateral habitus; (2) frontal view of the head; (3) antero-posterior view of the head.