Colletes inornatus 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 : 148-149

Colletes inornatus Cockerell, 1946

Figs 18, 19 , 42

Colletes inornatus: Cockerell 1945 (1946) : 836. Type locality: South Africa, Rapenburg, Cape Flats .

Diagnosis: Male best identified by the unique shape of S7 ( Fig. 18 ).

Description:

Female. Unknown.

Male.

Length 11–12 mm.

Vestiture: Face greyish white with a few, dark brown hairs intermixed along inner eye margins and on vertex; mesonotum with long, yellowish white hairs intermixed with longer dark brown hairs; mesosomal sides and legs yellowish white, scutellum and metanotum with long yellowish brown hairs, intermixed with few dark brown hairs on scutellum; T1 densely covered with long, erect, yellowish white hairs; disc of T2 with shorter concolorous hairs; discs of T3–T6 with long, erect, blackish hairs; moderately broad, white, posterior tergal hair bands on T1–T4, very narrow on T5; S2–S5 with dense, very long tuft like fringes laterally, disc of S5 covered with short golden, velveteen pilosity, S6 with a short, longitudinal row of short, reddish brown hairs laterally at base.

Integument: Completely black, except tarsi partly reddish to yellowish brown and terga narrowly translucent posteriorly; T1–T4 with bluish shine; malar area narrow, length about 1/3 width of mandibular base; clypeus with very dense (<0.2 pd) small punctures; facial fovea narrow, maximum width about antennal diameter; disc of mesonotum with fine scattered granulation, integument densely shagreened and dull, surrounding parts with dense (<0.2 pd) punctation; upper sloping part of propodeal triangle with short, longitudinal carinae anteriorly, scabriculous posteriorly, vertical part glabrous, anteriorly with 2 or 3 more or less transverse carinae; hind basitarsus modified, slightly curved, with prominent, short, reddish bristles on dorsal apical edge; discs of T1 and T2

with distinct, very fine, dense (<0.5 pd) punctation, punctures becoming much finer and indistinctly shallow towards posterior tergal depression; integument between punctures glabrous; shape of S7 as in Fig. 18 and shape of gonostylus as illustrated in Fig. 19 .

Type material examined: Colletes inornatus , ơ holotype: ‘B.M. Type Hym. 17.a.1415, Colletes inornatus Ckll. Type, S. Africa. R.E. Turner. 1920-424, Rapenburg. Cape Flats. 1-14.x.1920 ’ (BMNH).

Additional material examined: 3ơ. SOUTH AFRICA: Northern Cape: 1ơ Hondeklip Bay, Farm Diknek , 20.viii.1991, V . B. Whitehead ( CMK); 1ơ Engelsepunt 15 km NW Nieuwoudtville, 830 m, 24.ix.2003, K. Timmermann ( CMK) ; Western Cape: 1ơ Kunje Farm , 28 km SE Citrusdal, 760 m, 23–25.ix.2001, B. Danforth ( CMK) .

Distribution: Only three records from the entire winter rainfall area ( Fig. 42 ).

Flower visiting: Unknown.

Phenology: First record 20 th August, last record 14 th October.

Figures

Figs 18–27. Shapes of male S7 and gonostylus: (18, 19) C. albohirtus; (20, 21) C. aureocinctus; (22, 23) C. fasciatus; (24, 25) C. laticaudus; (26, 27) C. schultzei. Scale bar = 0.5 mm.

Fig. 42. Distribution of C. inornatus, C. karooensis, C. katharinae, C. knersvlaktei, C. latefasciatus and C. laticaudus.