Xylocopa (Schonnherria) romeroi, Villamizar & Fernández & Vivallo, 2020

Villamizar, Germán, Fernández, Fernando & Vivallo, Felipe, 2020, Synopsis of the carpenter bee subgenus Xylocopa (Schonnherria) Lepeletier, 1841 (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Colombia, with designation of lectotypes and the description of two new species, Zootaxa 4789 (2), pp. 301-347 : 327-329

Xylocopa (Schonnherria) romeroi new species

( Figures 55–58 , 79 )

Diagnosis. Females can be recognized by the following combination of characters: large body size (body length~ 21mm); integument dark brown to black with blue highlights on head, mesoscutum and legs and green on mesoscutellum and metasoma; labrum with three basal tubercles of similar length; vertex and upper gena with fine and dense circular punctures; whitish hairs on face, lower gena, sides of T2–T5, S2–S5 and discs of T4 and T5; metasomal terga imbricate with short simple hairs barely noticeable on T2 and T3. Due the similar body length, punctation on metasoma and the whitish hairs on lateral sides of last terga, this species can be confused with X. lateralis . Nevertheless, X. romeroi n. sp. has scattered and fine punctation with impunctate areas on vertex and upper gena, whitish hairs on face, lower gena and discs of T4 and T5, wings dark brown with violet iridescence and distinct blue and green highlights on integument; while X. lateralis has denser and coarser punctation on vertex and gena, black hairs on face, gena and disc of terga, wings brown hyaline with weak violet iridescence and slightly bluish highlights on integument

Description. Holotype female ( Figs. 55–58 ). Measurements (mm): Approximate body length: 21; head width: 7.5; mesosoma width: 7.6; metasoma width: 11.5; forewing length: 19.4. Coloration: Integument dark brown to black with blue highlights on head, mesoscutum and legs and green on frontal carina, mesoscutellum and metasoma. Tegula black with blue highlights. Wings dark brown with violet iridescence. Pubescence: Mostly black except ferruginous on labrum, ventral surface of fore basitarsus and apex T6; whitish on lower gena and lateral sides of T2–T5 and S3–S5; whitish and black hairs inter-mixed giving a grayish appearance on face, propodeum, ventral surface of fore and mid femur, anterior half of T1 and discs of T4 and T5. Sparse and short plumose hairs on vertex and upper gena (0.4–0.6x OD), denser and longer on paraocular area and lower gena (1–4x OD). Mesosoma with dense plumose hairs on mesepisternum, scattered on posterior half of mesoscutellum and glabrous on mesoscutal disc and anterior margin of mesoscutellum. Metasoma with long, decumbent, simple hairs grouped in tufts on lateral sides; dense and short simple hairs on disc of T1 (0.1–0.3x OD), denser on lateral sides; discs of T2 and T3 with short simple hairs barely noticeable (0.1–0.2x OD), longer on T3; T4–T6 with simple hairs longer than anterior terga (0.3–0.7x OD); sterna with long simple hairs, denser and longer on apical segments. Surface sculpture: Fine and scattered punctures with impunctate areas on vertex and upper gena (1–3x puncture width); coarse, dense, circular to elliptical punctures on paraocular area and clypeus (1–2x puncture width), denser near antennal sockets and smooth on upper margin of clypeus as a “T” shape. Mesoscutum with coarse and uniform punctures (2–3x puncture width), denser towards tegula and smooth on disc; mesonotal line inconspicuous with less length to half of mesoscutum, parapsidial lines poorly defined; mesoscutellum with uniform and coarse punctures (2–3 puncture width), denser on posterior half. Metasomal terga imbricate (1–2x puncture width), sparser medially and smooth on distal margins; sterna disc with elongated punctures mainly on posterior area. Structures: Head broader than long (1.3: 1); compound eyes with similar inner margins; ratio of upper and lower interocular distances 0.8: 1; maximum interocular distance almost equal than eye length (1: 1); clypeus broader than long (2.3: 1) with the length almost equal to clypeocellar distance (1: 1); interalveolar distance almost equal than alveolocular distance (0.9: 1); interalveolar distance equal to alveolocellar distance (1: 1); vertex broad, lateral ocellus below supraorbital line (0.7x OD); interocellar distance less than ocellocular distance (0.7: 1); frontal carina at the same level of antennal sockets with similar size than scape length (0.3x OD); length of F1 longer than the summed length of F2 and F3 and almost equal than length of F2–F4 (0.9: 0.7: 0.9). Upper half of clypeus slightly elevated than level of paraocular area, with the upper margins of the epistomal suture differentiate in edges. Labrum broader than long, with three basal protuberances, middle tubercle slightly longer. Mesoscutellum rounded (lateral view). Metanotum and propodeum subvertical (lateral view).

Floral records. Unknown.

Type material. Holotype female with the following data label: Colombia, Restrepo , Vereda Río Bravo , 08-Feb- 1984, R. Ospina \ LABUN006388 \ 1071\ HY1673 ( LABUN) . Paratype female with the following data label: Cauca \ Xylocopa lateralis Say ? ♀ nov.\ MNCN _ Ent 242673 ( MNCN) .

Type locality. COLOMBIA: Valle del Cauca: Restrepo.

Etymology. This species is named in honor of the biologist Germán Villamizar Romero, father of the first author, in recognition of his educational work and support during the preparation of this manuscript.

Distribution in Colombia. ( Fig. 79 ). Cauca. Valle del Cauca: Restrepo.

Comments. Xylocopa romeroi n. sp. is one of the largest species of the subgenus that have the base of labrum with three tubercles of similar length and not a single, large, capitate tuberculum as can be found in other large species as X. auriventris n. sp., X. dimidiata , X. metallica and X. simillima .

This new species was collected approximately 100 years ago, remaining unstudied until now. A Colombian female from the department of Cauca contained in MNCN was identified by Dusmet-Alonso (1924) as X. lateralis from the association by similarity with a Mexican male. We examined that specimen and it corresponds to a female of X. romeroi n. sp. Curiously, Dusmet-Alonso (op. cit.) mentioned that the exemplar has strong violaceous highlights and only refers to the whitish hairs on lateral sides of last terga. The Mexican male was also examined and we think that it fits into the concept of X. caviventris than X. lateralis . However, its real identity can be solved with the study of more exemplars of that region.

The holotype and paratype were collected in the Pacific region (Pacific domain sensu Morrone, 2014) and the male is unknown.

Figures

FIGURE 79. Distribution records for Xylocopa romeroi n. sp., X. simillima and X. viridis in Colombia.

FIGURES 55–58. Female of Xylocopa (Schonnherria) romeroi n. sp. (Holotype) Fig. 55. Frontal view. Fig. 56. Detail of metasomal terga. Fig. 57. Dorsal habitus. Fig. 58. Lateral habitus. Scale bar 4 mm.