Centris (Centris) obscurior Michener, 1954

Bossert, Silas, Monzón-Sierra, José, Zack, Richard S., García, Ana Cristina & Murray, Elizabeth A., 2023, Melittological notes from Guatemala (Hymenoptera: Anthophila), 1. New country records for Centris Fabricius (Apidae) and Zikanapis Moure (Colletidae), Insecta Mundi 2023 (22), pp. 1-8 : 2-4

Centris (Centris) obscurior Michener, 1954

( Fig. 1–4 )

Material examined. GUATEMALA, Alta Verapaz, Pamac Reserve, 1507 m alt., 15.419014 −90.606941, 15. VI. 2021, leg. S. Bossert & R. S. Zack, deposited WSUC [voucher code WSUC 00000001], 1♀.

Distribution. Centris obscurior was originally described from a single location in Panama ( Michener 1954). A GBIF query ( GBIF 2022a) for the species returned 60 georeferenced entries, 18 from Panama (3 localities), 18 from Mexico (8 localities, all of which are in Chiapas), and 24 from Costa Rica (13 localities). The DiscoverLife database ( Ascher and Pickering 2022) lists three additional country or regional centroids without specifying the records or specimen repositories: Honduras, Colombia, and the state of Minas Gerais in Southeastern Brazil. The latter represents a significant distributional outlier and deserves further study. Because of the reported records north (Chiapas, Mexico) and south ( Costa Rica) of Guatemala, the species likely has a continuous distribution in Central America, and the presented record fills the gap for Guatemala.

Comment. The single female specimen was collected at a water puddle formed by a mid-morning rain shower, where it was observed collecting water.

Figures

Figures 1–4. Centris obscurior. 1) Female habitus in lateral view. 2) Female habitus in dorsal view. 3) Female habitus in frontal view. 4) Known distribution of Centris obscurior in Guatemala. Scale bars next to photographs indicate 1 mm length.