Andrena (Chrysandrena) rubricorpora, Wood, 2021

Wood, Thomas James, 2021, Fifteen new Andrena species from little-visited arid, Mediterranean, and mountainous parts of the Old World (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae), Zootaxa 4933 (4), pp. 451-492 : 465-466

Andrena (Chrysandrena) rubricorpora spec. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:97B1EC77-DC6A-4524-9407-19B452D037B2

HOLOTYPE: TUNISIA: Zaghouan Mts. [probably Parc National Djebel Zaghouan], 14.v.1993, 1♀, leg. J. Batelka ( OÖLM).

PARATYPE: TUNISIA: Same as holotype, 1♀ ( OÖLM) .

Description: Female: Body length 10 mm ( Figure 45 ). Head: Black, 1.1 times longer than wide ( Figure 46 ).

Clypeus domed, shallowly punctate, punctures separated by <0.5 puncture diameters basally and laterally, becoming sparser centrally, here separated by 1 puncture diameter; underlying surface shagreened, weakly shining ( Figure 47 ). Process of labrum weakly trapezoidal, corners rounded. Gena normal, as wide as compound eye; ocelloccipital distance equals width of lateral ocellus. Fovea short, ventrally not reaching level of antennal insertions, moderately broad, occupying ½ of area between lateral ocellus and compound eye, not separated from internal margin of compound eye. Gena, vertex, face, and scape with long, orange-brown plumose hairs, not exceeding width of scape. Antenna uniformly dark, A3 subequal to A4+5+6. Mesosoma: Scutum shallowly, weakly, and irregularly punctate, punctures separated by 0.5–2 puncture diameters, not clearly differentiated from underlying surface, this shagreened and weakly shining ( Figure 48 ). Scutellum densely and strongly punctured, punctures separated by <0.5 puncture diameters. Pronotum rounded, without humeral angle. Episternum and propodeum weakly rugose, underling surface shagreened, weakly shining, propodeal triangle narrow, poorly differentiated, basal half with weak rugosity. Episternum, propodeum, scutum, and scutellum with long, orange-brown plumose hairs, not exceeding length of scape. Legs basally dark, apical tarsal segments of front legs, all tarsal segments of mid legs, and tibiae and tarsi of hind legs orange, pubescence golden-orange. Hind legs with floccus, femoral and tibial scopa composed of strongly plumose golden-orange hairs ( Figure 49 ). Wings hyaline, venation and stigma orange, nervulus slightly antefurcal. Metasoma: Tergum 1 basally black, apical margin red, T2–5 entirely red, apical margins slightly lightened golden; tergal surface shagreened, weakly shining ( Figure 50 ). Terga finely and inconspicuously punctate with shallow punctures, punctures separated by 1–2 puncture diameters. Apical fringe of T5 and hairs flanking pygidial plate golden; pygidial plate narrow with upturned margins, centrally densely punctate.

Male: Unknown.

Diagnosis: Andrena rubricorpora is easily recognisable as a Chrysandrena because of its short, drop-shaped foveae, strongly plumose scopa, absence of a carina or projecting teeth on the hind face of the hind femur, and entire (non-emarginate) process of the labrum. It is the only known Chrysandrena species with a red marked abdomen, but it can also be separated structurally. It can be placed close to the species with orange hind tibiae ( A. hesperia Smith, 1853 , A. fulvago (Christ, 1791) , and A. fertoni Pérez, 1895 ), but can be separated by the punctation of the clypeus which is sparsely punctate and weakly shining (densely punctate, dull in A. hesperia ), and because it lacks apical tergal hairbands, and the scutum and terga are much less densely punctate, the discs of the terga in particular are almost impunctate, all punctures fine, weak and difficult to see (hair bands present, scutum and terga strongly and deeply punctate in A. fulvago and A. fertoni ).

Discussion: The subgenus Chrysandrena Hedicke, 1933 is polyphyletic, with the true Chrysandrena (species around Andrena fulvago ) strongly separated from the species around A. aegyptiaca Friese, 1899 ( Pisanty et al. 2020). This second group can easily be separated in the female sex by their weaker tergal punctation, smoother integument, and much longer, more elongate abdominal shape. Andrena rubricorpana is therefore found within the true Chrysandrena as it lacks this characteristic elongate body shape.

Etymology: The name is composed of rubri (ruber, red) + corpora (corpus, body) because of the red-coloured abdominal segments that immediately separate it from other Chrysandrena species.

Figures

FIGURES 45–50. Andrena rubricorpora spec. nov. 45. female profile, 46. female face, 47. female face detail, 48. female scutum, 49. female tibial scopa, 50. female terga.