Scrapter carysomus Davies, 2005

Davies, G. B. P., Eardley, C. D. & Brothers, D. J., 2005, Eight new species of Scrapter (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Colletidae), with descriptions of S. albifumus and S. amplispinatus females and a major range extension of the genus, African Invertebrates 46, pp. 141-141 : 155-158

Scrapter carysomus Davies , sp. n.

Figs 9–12

Etymology: Gr. karykrous (nut-brown); Gr. soma (body). In reference to the orangishbrown vestiture covering the mesosoma.

Holotype ơ: SOUTH AFRICA: Northern Cape: Nieuwoudtville, Farm Glen Lyon (31°24'03"S: 19°08'04"E), 700 m, 30.viii.2003, M. Kuhlmann ( SANC) . Paratypes: 4 ơ from type locality and Nieuwoudtville Flower Reserve collected between 27.viii.2003 and 7.ix.2003 ( MKPC) .

Description:

Male.

Measurements (n = 1): head length 2 mm, head width 2.3 mm, lower interocular distance 1.6 mm, upper interocular distance 1.6 mm, interantennal distance 0.6 mm, antennocular distance 0.4 mm, length of clypeus 1.8 mm, length of eye 1.5 mm, width of eye (lateral view) 0.5 mm, width of gena (lateral view) 0.6 mm, length of facial fovea 0.4 mm, maximum width of facial fovea 0.1 mm, mesoscutum length 1.3 mm, mesosoma length 2.5 mm, forewing length 6.3 mm, length of pterostigma 1 mm, maximum width of pterostigma 0.2 mm, length of marginal cell beyond pterostigma 0.8 mm, length of marginal cell 1 mm, length of free-part of marginal cell 0.6 mm.

Vestiture: Generally appears orange-brown when viewed with light microscope. Clypeus with long, white, rather thick, appressed hairs. Supraclypeal area, frons, paraocular area and gena sparse (integument easily visible), greyish, erect hairs. Scape hairs white, long, erect and weakly plumose. Vertex with sparse, yellow-brown, erect hairs. Mesoscutum, scutellum and metanotum with sparse (integument easily visible), yellowbrown or orange-brown, erect, weakly plumose hairs. Mes- and metepisternum with sparse, weakly plumose, yellow-white hairs. Propodeum densely covered (integument obscured) with thick, strongly plumose, erect hairs. T1–T5 with short, sparse, inconspicuous white hairs on tergal discs, laterally terga with longer white hairs; no posterior hair bands on tergal premarginal lines; visible part of T6 disc covered in stout, sub-erect, plumose, black hairs. S1 covered throughout in longish, white hairs. S2–S6 with sparse, white hairs and weak, posterior, white bands.

Integumental colour: Mainly black. Orange-brown patch on anterior side of protibia. Medio- and distitarsus of all legs dark yellow-orange. F1 entirely black, F2–F11 dorsally black, ventrally yellow-orange, ventral yellow-orange colouring increases in size from tiny dot on F2 to + of flagellomere on F11.

Head: Head robust and ‘box-shaped’. Clypeus with dense punctation (interspace 0.5–1 × puncture diameter) and finely reticulate sculpture, no clypeal sulcus. Clypeus and supraclypeal area protuberant. Supraclypeal area anterior face generally smooth, shiny and punctureless (small band of fine reticulation ventrally). Paraocular area, frons and vertex with fairly dense punctation (interspace 0.5–1 × puncture diameter). Upper paraocular area, frons and vertex conspicuously carinulate. Frontal line very weak, almost absent. Facial fovea shiny, shallow, ovoid and easily discernable from surrounding integument. Inner eye orbits straight, proportion of lower to upper interocular distance equal. Gena with fairly dense punctation (interspace 0.5–1 × puncture diameter) and carinulate, eye slightly narrower than gena (0.8:1). Vertex rounded in anterior profile. F1 elongate. Antenna rather short, reaching tegula.

Mesosoma: Mesoscutum with reticulate sculpture and sparse punctation (interspace 1–2 × puncture diameter), median line and notaulus shallowly impressed. Scutellum sculpture similar to mesoscutum, but punctation denser. Metanotum with very dense punctation (interspace <0.5 × puncture diameter). Mes- and metepisterna with rough, reticulate surface, almost carinulate over mesepisternum, episternal groove straight, broadly pitted throughout. Propodeum weakly angulate with coarse, velvety black integument, propodeal triangle with irregular carinae on basal area, rugose sculpture between carinae, posteriorly rugose, reticulate pattern, margins of triangle indistinctly pitted.

Metasoma: Tergal discs with finely reticulate sculpture and sparse punctation (interspace>1.5 × puncture diameter). T2 fovea ovoid.

Terminalia: Gonoforceps narrowish, tapering posteriorly, hairy, ventrally with transparent membrane, penis valves long and narrow ( Fig. 9 ). S6 medio-posteriorly extended with rear margin slightly concave and hairy, anteriorly strongly concave ( Fig. 10 ). S7 concave and hairy posteriorly (hairs yellow, plumose) ( Fig. 11 ). S8 not very hairy, few whitish plumose hairs, sub-truncate anteriorly ( Fig. 12 ).

Legs: Metabasitibial plate entire. Claws deeply cleft.

Female. Unknown.

Diagnosis: S. carysomus is a medium-sized black bee with noticeable orange-brown mesosomal vestiture and protuberant clypeus. S. carysomus is also characterised by its entire metabasitibial plate, reticulate mesoscutum, lack of a clypeal sulcus, punctureless anterior face of supraclypeal area, carinulate vertex and frons. In Eardley’s (1996) key, S. carysomus exits at S. niger , however, S. carysomus differs from S. niger in the deeper concave posterior margin to S7, straighter inner margin to gonocoxite, shorter posterior process to S8, elongate F1, entire metabasitibial plate, slightly shorter wing, and orange-brown (versus pale yellowish) mesosomal vestiture. These are subtle differences, but collectively they argue for a new species. S. carysomus is also very similar to S. capensis , particularly in the brownish mesosomal vestiture, but differs (1) in the shape of S8, lacking the deep cleft anteriorly in the disc of S. capensis (see Eardley 1996, fig. 96), (2) by lacking the coarsely reticulate mesoscutum of S. capensis , (3) by having a protuberant clypeus, (4) in having a weakly angulate propodeum and (5) in having very different vestiture on S2, S3, lacking the short, plumose hairs characteristic of S. capensis .

Distribution: Only known from the Nieuwoudtville area, Northern Cape (Succulent Karoo biome).

Biology: Specimens have been collected in Renosterveld from late August to early September, suggestive of an early spring bee. Renosterveld is a fynbos-like shrubland growing on clay-rich soils, and is characterised by the renosterbos (= rhinoceros bush) Elytropappus rhinocerotis (L.f.) Less. ( Asteraceae ). One of the paratypes was collected on an Oxalis species (Oxalidaceae).

Figures

Figs 9–12. Scrapter carysomus sp. n., terminalia: (9) genitalia (dorsal and ventral views), (10–12) S6–S8. Scale bar = 0.4 mm.