Andrena (Chrysandrena) palaestina Pisanty & Scheuchl

Pisanty, Gideon, Scheuchl, Erwin & Dorchin, Netta, 2016, Eight new species of Andrena Fabricius (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Andrenidae) from Israel—a Mediterranean hotspot for wild bees, Zootaxa 4189 (3), pp. 485-515 : 494-495

Andrena (Chrysandrena) palaestina Pisanty & Scheuchl n. sp.

( Figs. 4, 12 C, 13C)

Female ( Fig. 4 A). Body length: 6–7 mm.

Color. Head and mesosoma black. Posterior side of flagellomeres black-dark brown; anterior side of 1 black, 2–3 black to orange, 4–10 orange ( Fig. 4 B–C). Legs dark brown. Wings transparent, veins brown. Tergal discs dark brown; marginal zones light brown ( Fig. 4 D). Sterna brown; basal part of sterna 2–4 and sometimes 5 with darkened medial line.

Pubescence. Head, mesosoma and legs with sparse, long, brightly coloured and strongly plumose hair. Clypeus, scape, vertex, supraclypeal and genal areas with more or less white hair ( Fig. 4 B–C). Paraocular areas, frons and upper part of foveae with reddish-brown hair ( Fig. 4 B–C). Mesosoma with white hair ( Fig. 4 A, C). Propodeal corbicula incomplete, posterodorsal margin with long white plumose hairs. Surface of corbicula with sparse, simple white hairs. Legs with white to light brown hair; flocculus and scopa with long, strongly plumose white hairs. Tergal discs with short and thin inconspicuous hairs; marginal zones 2–4 with white hair bands, discontinuous in 2, almost continuous in 3, continuous in 4 ( Fig. 4 D). Prepygidial fimbria beige-golden ( Fig. 4 D). Apical parts of sterna with medium to long white hairs, longer and more plumose towards marginal zone.

Head ( Fig. 4 B–C). Broader than long ( Fig. 4 B). Labral process more or less trapezoidal, not much broader than long, apex notched to almost blunt. Clypeus broader than long, almost flat, very shiny, basal half shagreened, apical half almost smooth; puncture size medium, distance between punctures 1–3 puncture diameters, puncture density decreasing apically. Facial foveae occupying 1/3 of paraocular area, slightly tapering downwards, extending from level of lower end of lateral ocellus to middle of antennal socket ( Fig. 4 B–C). Distance of fovea from lateral ocellus 1–1.5 ocellus diameters ( Fig. 4 C). Flagellomere 1 as long as 2+3+4; 2 equal to or slightly shorter than 3; 2–5 broader than long ( Fig. 4 B). Ocelloccipital distance 1 ocellus diameter ( Fig. 4 C).

Mesosoma ( Fig. 4 C). Dorsolateral angle of pronotum not to weakly elevated. Mesonotum and scutellum very shiny, discs very smooth, sparsely and shallowly punctured, puncture size small to medium, distance between punctures 1–4 puncture diameters. Propodeal triangle shiny but roughened and rugose. Mesepisternum finely alveolate, impunctate. Propodeal corbicula reticulately shagreened, impunctate. Hind leg pretarsal claws minutely bidentate. Submarginal crossvein 1 meeting marginal cell 2–3 vein widths from stigma. Recurrent vein 1 meeting submarginal cell 2 at its distal half. Nervulus antefurcal.

Metasoma ( Fig. 4 D). Terga shiny, finely punctured; 1 smooth, sparsely punctured, distance between punctures 3–5 puncture diameters; 2–4 shagreened basally and smooth apically, more densely punctured, distance between punctures 2–3 puncture diameters. Pygidial plate flat, central area very densely punctured, distance between punctures less than 1 puncture diameter.

Male ( Fig. 4 E). Body length: 6 mm.

Color. Head and mesosoma similar to female (clypeus black) ( Figs. 4 F–H). Legs dark brown to black. Tergal discs brown to black; marginal zones light brown ( Fig. 4 E). Sterna brown.

Pubescence. Head, mesosoma and legs with sparse, long, strongly plumose hair. Clypeus, supraclypeal area, scape, frons, vertex and genal area with white hair; paraocular area with brown hair ( Fig. 4 F). Mesosoma and legs with white hair. Metasoma similar to female ( Fig. 4 E).

Head ( Figs. 4 F–H). 1.4 times as broad as long ( Fig. 4 F). Clypeus flat, much broader than long, very shiny and almost smooth except at apical margin, finely punctured, distance between punctures 2–3 puncture diameters. Flagellomere 1 strongly compressed ventrally, almost as long as 2+3+4; 2–3 much broader than long, 4 weakly so, 5 square ( Fig. 4 G). Ocelloccipital distance 1.3 ocellus diameters ( Fig. 4 H). Genal area 1.2 times as broad as compound eye. Preoccipital ridge not carinate.

Mesosoma ( Fig. 4 H). Pronotum with weakly elevated dorsolateral angle, lateral part not carinate. Mesonotum shiny, its periphery shagreened and shallowly punctured, distance between punctures 1.5–2 puncture diameters, puncture size medium; center of mesonotum very shiny, almost smooth and impunctate. Scutellum shiny, very smooth except at posterior margin, more strongly and coarsely punctured than mesonotum, distance between punctures 1.5–3 puncture diameters. Rest of mesosoma similar to female.

Metasoma. Similar to female, terga 2–4 somewhat smoother and more sparsely punctured, distance between punctures 3–4 puncture diameters.

Genitalia and hidden sterna ( Figs. 12 C, 13C). Gonocoxites connected. Dorsal lobe of gonocoxite distinct, tooth-shaped. Gonostyli shovel-shaped, suddenly broadening apically. Penis valves spade-shaped ( Fig. 12 C). Sternum 8 columnar, narrow, apex suddenly broadened ( Fig. 13 C).

Differential diagnosis. A. palaestina is smaller than most other species of Chrysandrena. It resembles A. aegpytiaca Friese and A. alluaudi Benoist by the mostly smooth and shiny cuticle and strong dorsal gonocoxite lobe. However, it differs from them by the smaller body size, dark metasoma (partly reddish in A. aegyptiaca , at least in females), almost flat clypeus (more convex in A. aegyptiaca and A. alluaudi ), unmodified female abdominal apex (prepygidial fimbria broadened and pygidial plate truncated and longitudinally striated in A. alluaudi ), ventrally compressed flagellomere 1 in the male (more rounded in A. aegyptiaca ), and narrow sternum 8 in the male (broader in A. aegyptiaca ).

Flight period: February–March.

Flower records: none; all specimens but one collected from pan traps.

Etymology. The species name is derived from Palestine, one of the historic names for the Land of Israel.

Holotype: Ƌ, ISRAEL: Kefar Menahem , 1.5 km S, 6.ii.2010, G. Pisanty [ SMNHTAU].

Paratypes: ISRAEL: Lakhish , 2 km E, 5.ii.2016, G. Pisanty (1Ƌ); Lakhish, 2.5 km ENE, 21.ii.2013, T. Shapira (5♀) ; Lakhish , 2.5 km ESE, 21.iii.2012, T. Shapira (1♀) ; Netiv Halamed Heh , 24.ii.2009, G. Pisanty (1♀) [ES, OLML, SMNHTAU].