Colletes cardiurus Cockerell, 1946, 1945

Kuhlmann, Michael, 2007, Revision of the bees of the Colletes fasciatus-group in southern Africa (Hymenoptera: Colletidae), African Invertebrates 48 (2), pp. 121-166 : 135-136

Colletes cardiurus Cockerell, 1946

Fig. 40

Colletes cardiurus: Cockerell 1945 (1946) : 839. Type locality: South Africa, Matjesfontein .

Diagnosis: Among the species with a normal scopa the following combination of characters is unique in the female: small size with elongate malar area (malar area about as long as width of mandibular base) and narrow, poorly developed posterior tergal hair bands.

Description:

Female.

Length 10 mm.

Vestiture: Face white to greyish white with blackish brown hairs intermixed on vertex; mesonotum with short, yellowish to greyish white hairs intermixed with numerous longer blackish hairs; mesosomal sides and legs yellowish to greyish white, scutellum and metanotum with short, yellowish brown hairs intermixed with longer blackish hairs; scopa dark brown dorsally and yellowish ventrally; hind basitarsus with very long, dark brown bristles dorsally; T1 loosely covered with long, erect yellowish white to white hairs; disc of T2 with few, very fine, whitish hairs; discs of T3–T5 with successively longer, short, erect, blackish hairs; very narrow white posterior tergal hair bands occur on T1–T3, even narrower on T4; T2 without basal tomentum; S2–S5 with long, scattered, brownish hairs.

Integument: Completely black, except tarsi and ends of tibiae reddish brownish; terga posteriorly slightly translucent, dark reddish brown; malar area elongate, length about width of mandibular base; clypeus with dense (0.2 pd), fine punctation, punctures elongate; integument between punctures glabrous; facial fovea slightly broadened, maximum width about 1–1.2× antennal diameter; disc of mesonotum with scattered (2–3 pd), relatively coarse punctation, integument glabrous, surrounded by dense (<0.5 pd) punctation; upper sloping part of propodeal triangle with short longitudinal carinae, vertical part superficially shagreened and slightly dull; disc of T1 with indistinct, shallow, fine and scattered (2–3 pd) punctures, punctures becoming finer (but a bit more distinct) and denser towards posterior tergal depression; disc of T2 with very fine, but more distinct and dense (0.5–1 pd), punctation; integument between punctures glabrous.

Male. Unknown.

Type material examined: Colletes cardiurus , ^holotype: ‘B.M. Type Hym. 17.a.1420, Colletes cardiurus Ckll. Type, Cape Province, Matjesfontein, 6–15.x.1928, S.Africa.R.E. Turner.Brit.Mus. 1928-480’ (BMNH). Additional material examined: 2^. NAMIBIA: 1^Klinghart Mts, 5.x.1980, V.B. Whitehead (CMK). SOUTH AFRICA: 1^. Northern Cape: Port Nolloth, 40 km N, 11.ix.2001, B. Danforth (CMK).

Distribution: Only known from three locations in the winter rainfall area from southwestern Namibia to the Cape region ( Fig. 40 ).

Flower visiting: Unknown.

Phenology: First record 11 th September, last record 15 th October.

Figures

Fig. 40. Distribution of C. abnormis, C. albohirtus, C. aureocinctus, C. bokkeveldi, C. cardiurus and C. cyanonitidus.