Paratetrapedia nordestina, Aguiar & Viana & Melo, 2021

Aguiar, Antonio J. C., Viana, Matheus Cavalcante & Melo, Gabriel A. R., 2021, A new species of the bee genus Paratetrapedia from northeastern Brazil mimic of the stingless bee Camargoia nordestina (Apidae, Tapinotaspidini), Revista Brasileira de Entomologia (e 20200102) 65 (1), pp. 1-7 : 2-5

Paratetrapedia nordestina sp. nov. Aguiar and Melo urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:3BFAFF51-14CB-4F4E-BA62-AB78D1412FAD ( Figs. 1 and 2 )

Diagnosis

Paratetrapedia nordestina sp. nov. belongs in the lineata species group and exhibits all diagnostic characters of this group (see below and Aguiar and Melo, 2011: 387). It differs from the remaining species of the group by the wing membrane blackish infumate, the integument mostly reddish orange, mesoscutum reddish orange with thin paleyellow stripes on disc; frons, vertex and upper paraocular area brownish black; pubescence on hind tibia and basitarsus mostly black; terga mostly reddish brown with a thin pale orange margin.

Comments

Paratetrapedia nordestina sp. nov. is a member of the lineata species group in Paratetrapedia . This species group has now six species and it is easily recognized by the convex supraclypeal area, the fine long hairs on lower margin of mandibles of males, pronotal collar of females with an obtuse lamella, S2 of males with a small tuft of long hairs on mid portion and hind basitarsus of males with a small acute spine on anterior margin, among other characters that support the monophyly of the group in the phylogenetic study of the genus ( Aguiar and Melo, 2011).

The specimens of Paratetrapedia nordestina sp. nov. collected in the RPPN Serra das Almas, at the border between Ceará and Piauí, were flying together with workers of the stingless bee Camargoia nordestina Camargo foraging on the same plants. Camargoia nordestina ( Fig. 3 ) has the same size and color pattern of P. nordestina sp. nov. Their color patterns agree in many in details, like the blackish wings, the blackish frons and legs, and the reddish orange metasoma with pale orange stripes on margins, suggesting that these species pertain to a mimetic complex.

Etymology

The species name refers to the region where this species occurs and also to its mimetic partner Camargoia nordestina .

Description

Holotype male. Body length: 9.5; wing length: 7.0; maximum head width: 2.65; intertegular distance: 1.85. Color. Integument mostly reddish to yellowish orange, except for: mandibles, gena and labrum pale white; clypeus and supraclypeal area yellowish orange; scape pale orange; pedicel and F1-F11 reddish brown; frons disc with a very narrow reddish yellow line; frons and vertex blackish; hind tibia and basitarsus dark reddish brown, almost black; paraocular area with a wide pale yellow mark occupying almost two-thirds of its length. Pronotum, mesepisternum, scutellum, metanotum, propodeum and metapostnotum yellowish orange; mesoscutum disc reddish, with narrow yellowish orange stripes on disc and lateral margins, bordering most of the lateral thirds. Metasoma mostly yellowish orange with faint brown stripes on tergal margins. Wing veins black, membrane darkly infumate and with dense cover of black microtrichiae. Pubescence. Pubescence pale yellow to blackish. Lower margin of mandibles, gena, ventral mesepisternum, fore and mid trochanter, and proximal portion of fore tibia with very long and thin setae, ca. 1.5x mandible maximum width. Labrum, clypeus, lower paraocular area and frons with inconspicuous pubescence, with scattered short simple erect setae; upper paraocular area, antennal scrobe, vertex and upper gena with dense short plumose pubescence. On mesoscutum and scutellum composed only by dense velvet plumose pale orange pubescence; posterolateral portions of scutellum with two to three long simple erect setae, and a very small inconspicuous tuft of plumose setae; axilla of scutellum with numerous long pale yellow simple setae; metapostnotum with numerous short plumose pale yellow setae; T1-T4 with a very short marginal band of plumose hairs on posterior lateral margins; T5 and T6 with a complete marginal band of dense plumose hairs on margin; T7 with apex completely covered by dense plumose pubescence. S2 with a small, isolated tuft of long simple setae on mid portion, and longer fringes on lateral thirds; S3 with a deep concave area covered by short plumose hairs; S4 with a dense fringe of long plumose hairs composing convergent bands on lateral portions; S5 and S6 with only a small tuft of plumose hairs on posterolateral borders; hind tibia and hind basitarsus with dense plumose blackish hairs. Sculpture. Clypeus and supraclypeal area with dense and deeply concave coarse punctures, ca. <0.5–1 pd; supraclypeal area strongly convex; frons with dense coarse punctures, ca. 2–5 pd; mesoscutum with dense fine minute punctures, almost contiguous; mesepisternum with numerous coarse punctures, ca. 0.5–1 pd; metapostnotum with numerous fine punctures, ca. 1 pd. Structure and measurements. Head approximately 1.2x wider than long (2.65:2.1); compound eyes ca. 2.5x longer than wide (1.8:0.6), inner orbits strongly convergent below (upper distance 1.5, lower distance 1.15); clypeus 1.8x wider than long (1.0: 0.6); lower third of frontal line thinly carinated; frons strongly convex, and antennal scrobe and upper paraocular area concave; scape length: 0.7, maximum width, 0.24; length of the first three flagellomeres 0.2, 0.15, 0.22, respectively; gena in lateral view 0.5x as wide as eye width (0.3; 0.6); scutellum disc slightly convex, mostly flat; hind wing with 11 hamuli; mid tibial spur finely serrate, 0.5x as long as basitarsus; T2 maximum width ca. 0.5x metasoma length. Hind basitarsus with a small acute spine on inner surface of proximal third.

Female (paratype DZUP 027626)

Body length: 8.0; wing length: 7.5; maximum head width: 2.75; intertegular distance: 1.9. Color. Similar to male, labrum, mandibles and gena slightly pale orange; T1 disc pale orange, lower third of vertical surface and distal third reddish orange; T2-T6 disc pale yellow, and marginal area reddish orange. Pubescence. Similar to male, except for clypeus with very short simple hairs, inconspicuous (ca.0.4x F2 diameter); lower third of gena with long straight simple setae, ca. 2x F2 diameter; mesoscutum with velvet pubescence intermingled by sparse very short erect simple setae; posterolateral portion of scutellum with only one long simple erect setae; posterolateral margins of scutellum with short tufts of plumose hairs, shorter than F2 diameter; metapostnotum with very short pubescence, very inconspicuous; T5 with marginal band of short appressed simple hairs complete throughout the margin. Sculpture. Similar to male, clypeus and supraclypeal area with dense coarse punctures, almost contiguous; antennal scrobe and lateral portions of frons with fine minute punctures (ca. 0.2 pd); frons disc with dense coarse punctures (ca. 0.3 pd); mesoscutum and scutellum with dense fine minute punctures, almost contiguous, intermingled by very sparse minute punctures; metapostnotum with fine minute punctures ca. 1-2 pd, lateral margins mostly smooth; mesepisternum with numerous coarse punctures, ca. 1 pd. Structure and measurements. Head approximately 1.2x wider than long (2.8:2.25); compound eyes ca. 2.5x longer than wide (1.87:0.52), inner orbits strongly convergent below (upper distance 1.5, lower distance 1.3); clypeus 1.8x wider than long (1.25:0.55); lower third of frontal line thinly sulcate; frons strongly convex, and antennal scrobe and upper paraocular area concave; scape length: 1.25, maximum width, 0.2; length of the first three flagellomeres 0.25, 0.10, 0.15, respectively; gena in lateral view 0.5x as wide as eye width (0.4; 0.7); scutellum disc slightly bilobate, mostly flat; hind wing with 9 hamuli; mid tibial spur finely serrate, 0.5x as long as basitarsus; T2 maximum width ca. 0.8x metasoma length (4.35; 4.0).

Type material

Holotype male (DZUP), “DZUP\ 027627” “ Brasil, Ceará, Crateús,\ Serra das Almas \ 05.1417º S 40.9162º W,\ 626m, 23.v.2014,\ G. Melo & B. Rosa ”; paratypes: 2 females ( DUZP), same data of holotype except “DZUP\ 027628” and “DZUP\ 027626”; 1 male ( UFMG), “Cristiano Castro PI\ S das Confusões \ Brasil 01.04.2007 \ C. Schlindwein leg.” “33949 UFPE” “L189\ Malpighiaceae ” .

Distribution

The species is only recorded for the states of Ceará and Piauí, in the semi-deciduous forests.

Conservation status and threats

Despite being known from only two locality records, which places the new species in a condition as data deficient (DD), it is associated with the semideciduous forests of northeastern Brazil. These forest formations currently suffer high rates of conversion to coal, pasture and other agricultural areas, making us to believe that the new species is highly threatened on sites outside the conservation areas.

Figures

Figure 1 Holotype of Paratetrapedia nordestina sp. nov.

Figure 2 Paratype female of Paratetrapedia nordestina sp. nov.

Figure 3 Camargoia nordestina, worker from Crateús, collected in the same flowers of P.nordestina.