Andrena colatorium, Wood, 2023

Wood, Thomas James, 2023, New Old World Andrena species, with a focus on Turkey (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae), Zootaxa 5266 (1), pp. 1-72 : 16-18

Andrena colatorium spec. nov.

(incertae sedis)

HOLOTYPE: TURKEY: Islahiye [İslahiye, 37.0246 oN, 36.6228 oE], 27.v.1996, 1♀, leg. Ma. Halada, OÖLM.

PARATYPES: TURKEY: Islahiye [İslahiye], 27.v.1996, 25♀, leg. Ma. Halada, OÖLM / TJWC ; Eskişehir, Sakari Ilica, near Gümele , 6–9.vii.1997, 1♀, leg. P. Průdek & M. Riha, OÖLM ; 40 km E Midyat / Mardin, 900 m, 25.v.1983, 1♀, leg. OÖLM .

Description: Female: Body length: 10–11 mm ( Figure 7A ). Head: Dark, 1.4 times wider than long ( Figure 7B ). Clypeus weakly domed, coarsely and irregularly punctate, punctures separated by <0.5–4 puncture diameters; clypeus medially with raised impunctate longitudinal midline; underlying surface smooth and shining. Process of labrum trapezoidal, twice as wide as long, apical margin strongly and deeply emarginate. Gena slightly exceeding width of compound eye; ocelloccipital distance equalling 1.5 times diameter of lateral ocellus. Foveae dorsally occupying two thirds of space between lateral ocellus and compound eye, ventrally extending well below antennal insertions; ventral two thirds filled with whitish hairs, dorsal one third filled with dark brown hairs. Face, gena, vertex, and scape with moderately long white hairs. Antennae basally dark, A4–12 ventrally covered with brownish-greyish scales; A3 slightly exceeding A4+5, shorter than A4+5+6. Mesosoma: Scutum and scutellum coarsely and irregularly punctate, punctures separated by 1–3 puncture diameters, underlying surface essentially smooth and shining but with very fine and subtle shagreenation ( Figure 7C ). Pronotum with humeral angle. Mesepisternum smooth and shining, covered with numerous large punctures, punctures separated by 0.5–2 puncture diameters. Dorsolateral parts of propodeum with surface microreticulate, underlying microreticulation overlain by fine network of raised reticulation; propodeal triangle defined laterally by weak carinae, internal surface covered by dense network of clearly raised rugosity. Mesepisternum with long white hairs, none equalling length of scape; scutum and scutellum with extremely short and scattered fine white hairs; propodeal corbicula incomplete, dorsal fringe composed of long whitish plumose hairs, internal surface with long white simple hairs. Legs dark, apical tarsal segments lightened dark reddish, pubescence whitish. Flocculus white, short and dense, femoral and tibial scopa white. Hind tarsal claws with short inner tooth. Wings hyaline, stigma and venation orange, nervulus antefurcal. Metasoma: Terga dark, tergal margins slightly lightened dark brown, apical rim lightened yellow-hyaline ( Figure 7D ). T2–4 with tergal margins clearly depressed. Terga densely and coarsely punctate, T1 on disc with large punctures, punctures separated by <0.5 puncture diameters medially, becoming sparser laterally, here separated by up to 1 puncture diameter; punctures becoming smaller on marginal area, here separated by 0.5 puncture diameters. T2–4 with discs and marginal areas with smaller punctures equivalent to size of those on marginal area of T1, punctures separated by 0.5 puncture diameters; underlying surface finely shagreened and shining; all terga with apical rim impunctate. T1–4 with short apical hair fringes of whitish hairs, simply lateral flecks on T1, becoming progressively wider, complete on T4. Apical fringe of T5 golden brownish with long overlying whitish hairs, hairs flanking pygidial plate golden brownish; pygidial plate triangular, apical margin narrowly rounded, dorsal surface with internal surface raised medially, raised area with obscure punctures, depressed marginal areas wide, impunctate.

Male: Unknown.

Diagnosis: Andrena colatorium belongs to an undescribed subgenus of Andrena that is best referred to as the relata -group that is relatively basal within Andrena (clade 7, Pisanty et al. 2022b) and members of which were previously lumped into the now defunct subgenus Poliandrena by Warncke due to their lack of obvious distinguishing characters. The group seems to lack any uniquely defining characters, and the exact limits of the subgenus must be robustly defined genetically, but provisionally associated females can potentially be recognised by the shape of the compact body and the shape of the clypeus, which has its apical margin slightly shorter than the apico-lateral corners of the clypeus, in frontal view the clypeus therefore forming a wide]-shape. Direct diagnosis is best made to specific species.

Andrena colatorium is most similar to A. macroptera Warncke, 1974 ( Iberia and Morocco), A. melaleuca Pérez, 1895 ( Algeria to Egypt), and A. melanota Warncke, 1975 (eastern Turkey) due to the slim metasoma with relatively coarse punctures, and more distantly related to A. corax Warncke, 1975 ( Iberia) due to the more ovoid metasoma with finer punctures. It can be separated from all these species due to the unique structure of the clypeus which is sparsely and irregularly punctate, with a raised longitudinal impunctate ridge medially, and the underlying surface is smooth and shining ( Figure 7B )–in comparison species the clypeus is regularly and densely punctate with the underlying surface shagreened and at most weakly shining. The scutum is also strongly and coarsely punctate with large shining interspaces, punctures separated by 1–3 puncture diameters ( Figure 7C )–in comparison species the scutal punctures are finer and more regular, separated at most by 2 puncture diameters, underlying surface shagreened to shining. Finally, the terga are strongly and coarsely punctate, punctures on disc of T1 are noticeably larger than those on T2–4, separated by at most 1 puncture diameter ( Figure 7D )–in comparison species terga either with fine punctures ( A. corax ) or with punctures on T1 not noticeably larger than those on remaining terga and usually noticeably less dense, separated by 1–2 puncture diameters.

Etymology: From the Latin noun colatorium meaning colander, as the strongly and densely punctured terga resemble this kitchen utensil. It is a noun in apposition.

Distribution: Turkey.

Figures

FIGURE 7. Andrena (incertae sedis) colatorium spec. nov. female. A. Habitus, lateral view, B. Face, frontal view, C. Scutum, dorsal view, D. Terga, dorsal view.