Hoplitis (Anthocopa) sedivyi, Müller, 2022

Müller, Andreas, 2022, New Moroccan bee species of the tribe Osmiini (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Megachilidae), Zootaxa 5188 (3), pp. 233-263 : 241-243

Hoplitis (Anthocopa) sedivyi spec. nov.

Holotype. MOROCCO: Drâa-Tafilalet : Dra valley, near Agdz, 4.3.2006, ♂ (leg. A. Müller, M. Widmer). Deposited in the Entomological Collection of ETH Zurich.

Paratypes. MOROCCO: Drâa-Tafilalet : 20 km NE Agdz, 5.4.1980, 1♀ (leg. K. Warncke) ; Tizi-n-Tinififft , 25km NW Agdz, 30°44ʹN/6°37ʹW, 1660m, 12.4.1996, 1♂ (leg. M. Schwarz) ; Dra valley , near Agdz, 4.3.2006, 1♂ (leg. A. Müller, M. Widmer) ; Tizi-n-Bachkoum , 10 km N Tazenakht, 1600m, 23.4.2008, 1♀ (leg. M. Herrmann) ; Souss-Massa : Tafraoute to Ait Baha, 800–1500 m, 20.4.2009, 1♀ (leg. A. Müller) ; Guelmim-Oued Noun : 2.75 km SW Ifrane Atlas Saghir, 29°12ʹ09ʹʹN/9°30ʹ19ʹʹW, 740m, 17.4.2017, 5♀ (leg. A. Müller) . Deposited in the Entomological Collection of ETH Zurich and the Oberösterreichisches Landesmuseum Linz .

Diagnosis. The 6.5–8 mm long female of H. sedivyi is characterized by the shape of the apical margin of the clypeus, which is medially prolonged into a short, regularly rounded, flat, sharp and polished projection lacking a median impression ( Fig. 17 ). Among the Moroccan H. ( Anthocopa ) species with a similar clypeal shape, H. sedivyi differs from the very similar H. widmeri spec. nov. (see below) by the prolonged rather than very short apex of the tibial spur of the fore leg ( Fig. 18 ) and the distinct rather than strongly blurred punctation of the supraclypeal area, from H. prazi spec. nov. (see above) by the black rather than orange mandibles, from H. lamina (Pérez) by the white rather than brownish scopa and from H. bubulca (Zanden) and H. ilamana (Zanden) by the smaller size (6.5–8 mm versus 7.5–10 mm) and the shorter second segment of the labial palpus (2.5x versus 3x as long as the first segment). The 7–9 mm long male of H. sedivyi is characterized by the following combination of characters: i) tergum 7 with two widely spaced, narrow, more or less parallel-sided and completely black teeth, which are about 2x as long as wide ( Fig. 19 ); ii) apical margin of sternum 5 emarginate and ciliated with very short yellowish-white hairs ( Fig. 19 ), which are medially about half as long as the maximum length of tarsal segment 4 of hind leg; iii) apical margin of sternum 4 emarginate and beset with dense fringe of long and inwardly directed yellowish hairs, which are about 3x as long as the dense, whitish and more or less straight pilosity at the apical margin of sternum 3 ( Fig. 19 ); iv) second segment of labial palpus about 2.5x as long as first segment.

Description. FEMALE ( Fig. 15 ): Body length 6.5–8 mm. Head: Head about 0.85x as long as wide. Distance between lateral ocellus and preoccipital margin 1.65–1.8x as long as ocellar diameter. Maximum width of genal area about 0.85x as long as maximum width of compound eye. Mandible three-toothed (basalmost tooth occasionally slightly emarginate suggestive of an additional tooth) and of black colour except for narrow dark reddish-brown preapical zone. Clypeus medially bulged and very densely punctured with usually only linear interspaces except sometimes for very small impunctate zone at its base; its apical margin polished and mostly impunctate, black and medially prolonged into short, regularly rounded, flat, sharp and polished projection lacking median impression ( Fig. 17 ). Supraclypeal area with distinct albeit dense punctation and small polished interspaces. Face and gena with whitish pilosity, which is suberect and rather sparse on frons and clypeus and appressed and rather dense on paraocular area and gena. Ventral side of mandible and gena beset with long, curved and whitish to yellowish bristles forming basket on underside of head; similar bristles also arise from dorsal side of mandible. Proboscis of medium length, when folded reaching slightly beyond posterior margin of coxae of fore legs; second segment of labial palpus about as long as compound eye and 2.4–2.5x as long as first segment.Antenna black; antennal segment 3 about 1.4x long as wide and about 1.75x as long as segment 4, segments 4–11 shorter than wide and segment 12 about 1.5x as long as wide. Mesosoma: Parapsidal line linear. Punctation of scutum, scutellum and mesepisternum very dense with usually only linear interspaces except for median part of scutellum, where interspaces may reach diameter of one puncture. Basal area of propodeum polished except for basal half, which is distinctly shagreened. Pilosity of mesosoma laterally whitish and dorsally yellowish white. Tegula brown to light brown except for black inner and anterior margin; its surface rather densely punctured except for central part, where punctation is usually more scattered. Stigma and veins of fore wing dark brown to black. Tibial spur of fore leg apically prolonged into long tip, which is 2–3x as long as basally wide ( Fig. 18 ). Tibial spurs of hind leg yellowish to brown, long and straight. Metasoma: Punctation of tergal discs basally and laterally rather dense with interspaces rarely exceeding diameter of one puncture and medially usually more scattered with interspaces reaching diameter of two, rarely three punctures. Marginal zones of terga 1–5 finer and more densely punctured than discs and covered with short, uninterrupted and dense white hair bands. Terga 2–3 basally constricted. Tergum 6 with sparse appressed white pilosity. Scopa white and plumose.

MALE ( Fig. 16 ): Body length 7–9 mm. Head: Head about 0.75x as long as wide. Distance between lateral ocellus and preoccipital margin 1.6–1.7x as long as ocellar diameter. Maximum width of genal area about 0.75x as long as maximum width of compound eye. Mandible three-toothed and of black colour except for narrow dark reddish-brown preapical zone. Apical margin of clypeus medially serrate. Face and gena including ventral side covered with rather long whitish pilosity, which surpasses clypeal margin. Proboscis of medium length, when folded reaching slightly beyond posterior margin of coxae of fore legs; second segment of labial palpus about as long as compound eye and about 2.5x as long as first segment. Antenna black to dark brown; antennal segment 3 about 1.1x as long as wide and 1.2x as long as segment 4, segments 4–12 slightly shorter than wide to about as long as wide and segment 13 about 1.5x as long as wide. Mesosoma: Parapsidal line linear. Punctation of scutum, scutellum and mesepisternum very dense with usually only linear interspaces except for median part of scutellum, where interspaces may reach diameter of one to two punctures. Basal area of propodeum polished except for basal half, which is distinctly shagreened. Pilosity of mesosoma laterally whitish and dorsally yellowish white. Tegula brown to light brown except for black inner and anterior margin; its surface rather densely punctured except for central part, where punctation is more scattered. Stigma and veins of fore wing dark brown to black. Tibial spur of fore leg apically prolonged into long tip, which is about 2x as long as wide. Tibial spurs of hind leg light brown to brown, long and more or less straight. Metasoma: Punctation of tergal discs rather dense with interspaces reaching diameter of one to two punctures. Marginal zones of terga 1–5 finer and more densely punctured than discs and covered with short, uninterrupted and dense white hair bands. Terga 2–3 basally constricted. Tergum 6 sparsely covered with appressed whitish pilosity, its apical margin dark to weakly translucent, nearly impunctate, medially evenly rounded and laterally with distinct tooth. Tergum 7 with two widely spaced, narrow, more or less parallel-sided and completely black teeth, which are about 2x as long as wide ( Fig. 19 ). Apical margin of sternum 1 straight to slightly rounded and more or less covered with whitish hairs. Apical margin of sternum 2 evenly rounded and beset with moderately long and sparse whitish pilosity not forming dense hair band ( Fig. 19 ). Apical margin of sternum 3 almost straight to medially very shallowly emarginate and beset with dense, whitish and more or less straight pilosity, which is slightly shorter than pilosity at apical margin of sternum 2 ( Fig. 19 ). Apical margin of sternum 4 emarginate in its median half and beset with dense fringe of long and inwardly directed yellowish hairs, which are about 3x as long as pilosity at the apical margin of sternum 3 ( Fig. 19 ). Apical margin of sternum 5 emarginate in its median third and ciliated with very short yellowish-white hairs ( Fig. 19 ), which are medially about half as long as maximum length of tarsal segment 4 of hind leg. Sternum 6 at base with pair of translucent flaps and preapically with roundish, impuncate and more or less polished impression ( Fig. 19 ). Gonoforceps dorsoventrally flattened, its dorsal surface increasingly turning inwards towards slightly widened and bevelled apex and its maximum width slightly less than apical width of penis valve. Penis valve parallel-sided in its medium third, apically widened and reaching apex of gonoforceps.

Distribution. Southern Morocco from the Drâa-Tafilalet region in the north over the Souss-Massa region to the Guelmim-Oued Noun region in the south.

Pollen hosts. Polylectic ( Tab. 1 ); pollen hosts include Asteraceae ( Carduoideae, Asteroideae ), Antirrhineae (Plantaginaceae) , Convolvulaceae and Brassicaceae .

Nesting biology. The species nests in self-excavated burrows in the ground as revealed by the discovery of a nest in horizontal, hard-packed soil in southern Morocco in spring 2017.

Etymology. The species is dedicated to the Swiss biologist Claudio Sedivy, who participated in several bee excursion to the Maghreb and to Cyprus.

Figures

FIGURES 10–19. Hoplitis (Anthocopa) prazi: 10: Female, 11: Male, 12: Clypeus and mandibles of female, 13: Terga 5–7 of male, 14: Sterna 2–6 of male. Hoplitis (Anthocopa) sedivyi: 15: Female, 16: Male, 17: Clypeus and mandibles of female, 18: Tibial spur of fore leg of female, 19: Sterna 2–6 of male.