Andrena (Taeniandrena) beaumonti Benoist, 1961

Wood, Thomas J., Ghisbain, Guillaume, Michez, Denis & Praz, Christophe J., 2021, Revisions to the faunas of Andrena of the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco with the descriptions of four new species (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 758, pp. 147-193 : 159-162

Andrena (Taeniandrena) beaumonti Benoist, 1961 stat. rev.

Figs 21, 23, 25, 27 , 29, 31, 33, 35

Andrena Beaumonti Benoist, 1961: 91 ( Morocco, between Asni and Arroud, 18 Jun. 1947, ♀).

Material examined

MOROCCO • 1 ♀; Tizi-n-Test, S; 1900 m a.s.l.; 29 Jun. 1987; M. Schwarz leg.; OÖLM • 1 ♀; same collection data as for preceding; TJWC • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; Oukaimeden ; 2700 m a.s.l.; 8 May 2015; K. Deneš leg.; OÖLM (illustrated Figs 21, 23, 25, 27 , 29, 31, 33, 35 ) .

Description

Male

MEASUREMENTS. Body length 11 mm ( Fig. 29 ).

HEAD. Dark, slightly as wide as long. Clypeus flattened, densely punctate, punctures separated by 0.5 puncture diameters, underlying surface shiny, without microsculpture. Gena, face, vertex, and scape covered with long whitish hairs that equal or exceed scape in length. Antennae dark, A4–13 slightly lightened grey below, A3 1.15 times as long as A4 ( Fig. 31 ).

MESOSOMA. Scutum shagreened and dull over majority of disc, becoming weaker centrally and posteriorly, here weakly shining, surface densely but shallowly punctured, punctures apically separated by 0.5 puncture diameters, centrally becoming sparser, here separated by 1–2 puncture diameters. Scutellum more uniformly shiny and densely punctate, punctures separated by 1 puncture diameter. Episternum and propodeum weakly reticulate, underlying surface weakly shining, propodeal triangle basally comparatively more strongly reticulate, this dispersing apically. All parts of mesosoma with long brownish (scutum and scutellum) to whitish (episternum and propodeum) hairs that exceed length of scape. Legs dark, apex of hind tibiae and entirety of hind basitarsi orange, pubescence whitish. Wings hyaline, venation orange, nervulus interstitial. METASOMA. Terga dark, apical margins impressed, strongly impressed on T3–5, covered in short, thick, and complete white hair bands ( Fig. 33 ). Terga densely punctate, punctures separated by 0.5–1 puncture diameters, underlying surface shagreened and dull basally, becoming weaker apically, T4–5 weakly shining. S8 columnar, parallel sided, apically slightly notched. Genitalia simple, gonocoxa with internal margins diverging apically, laterally with weak shagreenation, apical corners rounded ( Fig. 35 ). Penis valve relatively narrow, apically tapering, gonostyli with broad bases, apical blades clearly longer than wide.

Remarks

In his original description, Benoist (1961) drew a comparison between A. beaumonti stat. rev. and Andrena flavipes Panzer, 1799 , presumably because of the dense hair bands that help characterise this species. Warncke (1967) noted that this association was clearly incorrect at a subgeneric level, associating the bee with members of the subgenus Taeniandrena instead. On the basis of its large and dense puncturing, its golden hairs flanking the pygidial plate, and the orange metatarsi of the second pair of legs, Warncke (1967) associated this taxon with Andrena wilkella , but as a subspecies because of the unbroken hair bands on T3+4. He then went on to report A. wilkella beaumonti from Iberia ( Warncke 1976; see also Ortiz-Sánchez 2011, 2020), giving it a distribution of Morocco, Spain, and Portugal (see also Lhomme et al. 2020). However, genetic barcoding shows that A. beaumonti is distinct, and Moroccan material is also morphologically different from Warncke’s concept of A. wilkella beaumonti in Iberia, most obviously by lacking a shiny spot on the scutum that is well differentiated from the surrounding shagreenation. It can also be separated by the finer hairs on the scutum, the generally paler pubescence, and by the thicker and more complete hair bands on terga 2–4 ( Figs 20–27 ), meaning that A. wilkella beaumonti sensu Warncke in Iberia is actually undescribed (see below). The previously undescribed male of A. beaumonti can also be distinguished using the same characters (colour of pubescence, nature of tergal hair bands) and also by the length of A4 which is 1.15 times as long as A3, whereas in A. benoisti Wood & Praz sp. nov. (see below) it is 1.3 times longer ( Figs 30–31 ). There are also slight differences in the genitalia, with a comparatively narrower penis valve and more clearly separated gonocoxa ( Figs 34–35 ) in A. beaumonti .

Distribution

Morocco, from the High Atlas Mountains in the area south of Marrakesh. The village of Asni is found at a moderate elevation of 1200 m. It is not clear exactly where Arroud is because of changes in spelling practices, but it probably refers to the village Aroumd some 25 km SSE of Asni. Contemporary sampling locations of A. beaumonti stat. rev. are relatively close to Asni itself. Tizi-n-Test is some 60 km SW of Asni, and Oukaimeden is even closer, just 10 km to the SE. The site of Oukaimeden is at a much higher elevation of 3200 m, and the cluster of records in this region suggests that A. beaumonti is restricted to high-elevation sites flying in May and June.

Figures

Figs 20–27. 20, 22, 24, 26. Andrena benoisti Wood & Praz sp. nov. (TJWC). 20. Female profile. 22. Female face. 24. Female scutum. 26. Female terga. — 21, 23, 25, 27. Andrena beaumonti stat. rev. (TJWC). 21. Female profile. 23. Female face. 25. Female scutum. 27. Female terga. Not to scale.

Figs 28–35. 28, 30, 32, 34. Andrena benoisti Wood & Praz sp. nov. (TJWC). 28. Male profile. 30. Male antennae. 32. Male terga. 34. Male genitalia. — 29, 31, 33, 35. Andrena beaumonti stat. rev. (TJWC). 29. Male profile. 31. Male antennae. 33. Male terga. 35. Male genitalia. Not to scale.