Centris (Xanthemisia)

Vivallo, Felipe, Vélez, Danny & Fernández, Fernando, 2013, A new species of Centris (Xanthemisia) Moure, 1945 from South America with a synopsis of the known species of the subgenus in Colombia (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Centridini), Zootaxa 3694 (1), pp. 81-91 : 82

The subgenus Centris (Xanthemisia) in Colombia

According to Smith-Pardo (2003), the species of Centris (Xanthemisia) that occur in Colombia are C. bicolor Lepeletier, 1841 , C. ferruginea and C. rubella Smith, 1854 . The first species is often confused with C. lutea , because both share the color patterns of integument and pubescence and have distribution records in countries bordering Colombia. Both species are differentiated by characteristics of the integument of the clypeus and labrum, besides the extension of the yellow setae on mesosoma. In C. lutea the yellow pubescence is on the mesoscutum and mesoscutellum, while in C. bicolor it is also extended to part of the mesepisternum. Centris lutea is widely distributed in South America, mainly in Brazil (Friese, 1900a, b; Lutz & Cockerell, 1920), extending northward, with records from Venezuela (Friese, 1900a; Lutz & Cockerell, 1920), Panama (Michener, 1954; Snelling, 1984), Costa Rica (Snelling, 1984) to Mexico (Friese, 1900a, b; Cockerell, 1906; Lutz & Cockerell, 1920; Snelling, 1984; Ayala et al., 1996). On the other hand, C. rubella is a junior synonymy of C. ferruginea (Ducke, 1910) , which has been registered in Brazil (Lepeletier, 1841; Smith, 1854, 1874; Ducke, 1901b, 1902a, b; Friese, 1900b, 1923), Panama (Snelling, 1984), Peru (Moure, 1944) and Venezuela (Cockerell, 1919).

The study of the material housed in the main entomological collections of Colombia resulted in the identification of three species of Centris (Xanthemisia) , including one previously undescribed species. The other two were C. ferruginea and C. lutea , the last also a new distribution record for Colombia. No confirmed records for C. bicolor from Colombia were found.