Actenosigynes mantiqueirensis, Silveira, Fernando A., 2009

Silveira, Fernando A., 2009, A synopsis of Actenosigynes Moure, Graf & Urban, 1999 (Hymenoptera: Colletidae) — new species, possible oligolecty and biogeographic comments, Zootaxa 2292, pp. 15-24 : 17-21

Actenosigynes mantiqueirensis sp. nov.

( Figs. 2 a–d, 3)

Diagnosis. Actenosigynes mantiqueirensis can be readily distinguished from the only other species in the genus by its entirely black-pubescent mesosoma ( Fig. 2 a,d) (ferruginous dorsally in A. fulvoniger — Fig. 1 a,d) and by the light-yellow pilosity on the terga ( Fig. 2 a,d) (entirely black in A. fulvoniger— Fig. 1 a,d). Other characters distinguishing these species are given in the identification key and (in italics) in the description, below.

Description. Female (holotype):

Measurements (mm): Approximate body length: 10.0; maximum head width: 4.25; forewing length: 8.0; Length of 1st, 2nd and 3rd submarginal cells measured on their posterior margins: 1.24, 0.46 and 0.86; F1 (length × width) = 0.18×0.21; F2 = 0.12×0.20; F3 = 0.12×0.20; F4 = 0.18×0.20; F8 = 0.20×0.22; F9 = 0.20×0.22; F10 = 0.33×0.21.

Structure: mandible bidentate; basal area of labrum triangular with a central, elliptical depression; clypeus gently convex, not protuberant, with a weak, longitudinal, central depression; clypeoantennal distance slightly larger than diameter of antennal socket; inner eye margin slightly concave, eyes slightly converging bellow, except for upper end, converging above; ocelloccipital distance slightly larger than ocellar diameter; interocellar and ocellocular distances about 1.7 ocellar diameters; vertex gently convex in facial view, not raised behing ocelli; malar area linear; scape surpassing lower margin of mid ocellus; surface of metapostnotum depressed in relation to lateral areas of propodeum; pygidial plate rounded apically, lateral margins diverging approximately in a 60º angle.

Body color: body black except apical half of mandible, dark ferruginous (interrupted by blackish area); and distitarsi light ferruginous. Veins and pterostigma light ferruginous, except Sc+R, brown; wing membrane hyaline with yellowish hue especially basally and on marginal cell.

Pubescence: black, except brownish gray on face, light yellow on T2–T6, marginal fringes of S4 and S5, on disc of S6 and laterally on margin of S3. On lateral surface of mandible, labrum and submarginal groove of clypeus long, simple, stiff, semi-erect to erect; on face, genae, and vertex, fine and plumose, on disc of clypeus intermixed with fine, simple hairs, finer and shorter on vertex; on mesosoma, similar to face, but longer on anterolateral angles of mesoscutum, posterior fringe of scutellum, mesepisternum (shorter, very fine and simple ventrally), and propodeum, relatively dense but not entirely hiding body surface; on front leg, long, shortly branched on coxa, forming a fringe of long branched hairs on posterior edge of trochanter and femur, formed by shorter, simple, stiff, semi-erect bristles on inner and outer surfaces of tibia and on whole basitarsus, of shortly branched bristles on posterior surface of tibia; on mid leg, with finer, shorter, simple, erect hairs on ventral surface of trochanter, otherwise, similar to front leg; on hind leg, femoral and tibial scopae formed of long, stiff, gently curved hairs, short-branched on basal half, unbranched on apical half; on terga, very fine and appressed, short and very sparse on T1, shorter and denser on disc of T2, longer and denser on margin of T2 and on disc and margin of other terga; on S2–S5 forming a brush of relatively long, semi-erect, stiff bristles restricted to the apical half of the sterna, less developed on S5, which is also fringed by long, densely plumose hairs; on S6 forming a discal tuft of fine, poorly branched hairs.

Body surface: apical margin of clypeus impunctate, separate from disc by a narrow, very finely and very densely punctate groove; disc of clypeus, supraclypeal area and frons coarsely and densely punctate, interval between punctures less than their diameters, crowded on the longitudinal, central depression of the clypeus; on paraocular area moderately coarse and densely punctate; on vertex, including interocellar space, finely and densely punctate, except for dull, irregular, impunctate area between eye and lateral ocellus, which narrowly extends behind ocellus; on mesoscutum, finely and densely punctate; on scutellum, moderately coarsely and very densely punctate; on mesepisternum, anterior to mesepisternal sulcus, moderately coarse and very densely punctate, distance between punctures less than a puncture diameter; posteriorly, moderately coarsely and moderately sparsely punctate; on metepisternum, minutely, somewhat inconspicuously punctate, punctures microtuberculate; on lateral areas of propodeum, somewhat irregular and dull, punctation similar to that of mesepisternum, slightly denser, with finer punctures scattered among the moderately coarse ones; basal area of metapostnotum transversely rugose, posterior surface with central longitudinal microreticulate area; metapostnotum separated from lateral surface of propodeum by a row of wide, deep pits, wider on upper lateral area, much narrower laterally; on terga, minutely punctate, very sparse (≥ 10 dp) on T1, sparse (≥ 3 dp) on T2, dense (≈ 1 dp) on T2–T5; on basal area of sterna, impunctate, densely microreticulate, on S2 almost microrugulose, on S3–S6 shiny microreticulate; on wide apical area of S2–S6, finely but densely punctate. Surface between punctures, except where otherwise noted above, polished and shiny.

Va r ia ti o n: the irregular impunctate area between the superior eye margin and the lateral ocellus varies in size among the paratypes and its surface can be relatively smooth but dull (as in the holotype), shiny microreticulate or smooth and shiny.

Male unknown.

Holotype. Female: “ Faz[enda]. Tião Loreano; APA Fernão Dias; S[erra]. Mantiqueira; 13441-39731” “Gonçalves MG; BRASIL 25/10/2006; F. A. Silveira” and “ Actenosigynes mantiqueirensis ; Silveira sp. nov.; HOLOTYPUS ” (deposited at UFMG).

Paratypes. Three females, collected with the holotype. Their labels are identical to the ones with the holotype, except that their top labels, carry one of the following record numbers: 13441-39732, 13441-39733 and 13441-39734 (deposited at UFMG, DZUP and UKANS, respectively).

Etymology. The species is named after the mountain chain, “Serra da Mantiqueira,” located on the borders of the Brazilian states of Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, and where the type series was collected.

Distribution. Known only from its type locality, in the municipality of Gonçalves, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Probably occurs all along the Serra da Mantiqueira, including also areas in the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and, maybe, in other nearby mountain ranges.

Flight activity. The type series was collected in October, in the beginning of the rainy season.

Comments. The arrangement of sternal pilosity on both species of Actenosigynes, as dense, wide, marginal bands, and the way the pollen is held in the holotype of A. mantiqueirensis ( Fig. 2 c) suggests that females may actively use them to collect and/or carry pollen from flowers, despite the fact that the scopae in the hind leg appear to be normal, comparatively to other Paracolletinae , and fully functional.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Female of Actenosigynes fulvoniger (Michener, 1989) — a) habitus, dorsal view; b) head, frontal view; c) metasoma, ventral view (notice the dull integument of sternal discs); d) habitus, lateral view.

FIGURE 2. Female of Actenosigynes mantiqueirensis sp. nov., holotype— a) habitus, dorsal view; b) head, frontal view; c) metasoma, ventral view (notice the shiny integument of sternal discs); d) habitus, lateral view.