Heriades currani Michener, 1943

Rojas-Arias, Laura, Griswold, Terry, Hinojosa-Díaz, Ismael, Morrone, Juan J. & Barajas, Ricardo Ayala, 2025, Neotropical bees of the genus Heriades Spinola, 1808 (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae: Osmiini) with description of nine new species, Zootaxa 5570 (2), pp. 201-259 : 226-228

Heriades currani Michener, 1943

( Figs. 2E, 14–15)

Heriades (Neotrypetes) currani Michener, 1943 . A new bee of the genus Heriades from Panamá. Psyche, Cambridge Entomological Club:109. Type locality: Panamá, Republic of Panamá, February to March 1915 (C. H. Curran) Holotype female: AMNH.

Heriades tayrona Gonzalez & Griswold, 2012 . New synonym.

Diagnosis. Tergal fasciae with rows of thin, white hairs ( Fig. 3L). Male: clypeus with hairs scarce and short in longitudinal middle areas, and on hypostomal area ( Fig. 15A); ocelli large ( Fig. 2C); scutum with large punctation; posterior margin of S5 with one line of capitate hairs ( Fig. 15E); S6 with one subapical, transverse line of capitate, erected, long hairs ( Fig. 15F); posterior margin of S1 truncate ( Fig. 2 Eb) and, in profile, a low ventral angle in more than one third of distance from apex to base ( Fig. 2 Ea). Female: outer surface of mandible with strong elevation at base of condylar ridge, slightly rounded in frontal view ( Fig. 15C) and with a smaller one at base of outer ridge fading in the surface, both with a Y-shaped; clypeus apical margin with two well defined tubercles with variation in size, or not well defined ( Fig. 15C); scutum with large punctures (0.3 times OD), in T3 small (0.4 times DOP as on scutum) and sparse (2.5 times DOP) ( Fig. 15D).

Additional material examined: COLOMBIA: Magdalena, Santa Marta, on road from Bastidas to Bahia Concha , 99 m, 11°15.874’N 74°09.924’W, 17/XII/2011, V. H. Gonzalez ( BBSL 1♂) . PNN Tayrona Neguanje , [10 m] 11°20’N 74°2’W, 4-23/V/2001, R. Henriquez ( USDA-ARS 1♀) . COSTA RICA: Guanacaste, S. Cañas. [19 m, 10.39166667 -85.14944444], 1, 5/III/1989, F. D. Parker ( BBSL 1♂ 1♀) . EJN 14km S Cañas , [19 m, 10.39166667 -85.14944444], 12/II, 16/III/1991, F. D. Parker ( BBSL 1♀) . Hacienda COMELCO 24 km. NW Canas, Inter-Am H’wy., 1130-1200 m, [10.3425 -85.29944444], 04/XII/1971, 04, 07/II/1972, E. R. Heithaus ( BBSL 2♀ 3♂) . Palo Verde Sta , 10 m, 10.396918 -85.323511, 18/XI/2001, R. Brooks ( KUNHM-ENT 1♀) . 21.7 Km NE Liberia , 520 m, 10.755658 -85.375528, 22/XI/2001, ( KUNHM-ENT 1♀) . Sugar Beach 3kmN Potrero , [26 m, 10.4775 - 85.78055556], 9/XI/1991, F. D. Parker ( BBSL 1♂) . Puntarenas, PU Puntarenas, 6 m, 9.978055556 -84.82194444, 01/III/1976, R. M. Bohart ( BBSL 2♀) . San José, 15 Km W, Alájuela , [1395 m, 10.06222222 -84.13166667], 10/ III/1985, 10/III/1985, W. Wcislo ( KUNHM-ENT 1♀) . MEXICO: Chiapas, Arriaga , 367, 5 m, 16.32131 -93.98320, 20/I, 13/III/2009, J. Mérida, C. Balboa, P. Sagot, M. Guzmán ( ECOAB 4♀ 2♂) . Tonalá , 407, 5 m, 16.1352 -93.6824, 09, 12/III/2009, ( ECOAB 4♀) . Oaxaca, Puerto Escondido , 10 m, 15.86694444 -97.09194444, 01/IX/1990, L. M. Godínez ( KUNHM-ENT 1♂) . San Pedro Tututepec , 64 m, 15.9487 -97.2825, 18/XII/2018, O. Caballero ( ECOAB 2♂) . Santa María Tonameca , 19 m, 15.6668 -96.5406, 28/I/2012, P. Sagot ( ECOAB 3♀ 1♂) , 30 m, 15.67066 - 96.5380, 29/I/2012, P. Sagot ( ECOAB 2♀) .

Distribution. This species was previously registered as present in Panamá and Costa Rica, but here we extend the distribution northwards to South Mexico, in the Pacific slope along the coast of Oaxaca and Chiapas, areas with tropical dry forest, basically in the Pacific Lowlands biogeographic province ( Morrone et al. 2022), and also south to Colombia with the synonymy of H. tayrona . There are also records from Cuba and The Española Island, but these females registered likely are a new species yet to be described ( Fig. 14). Altitudinal range: sea level to 1395 m.

Comments. The holotype female of H. currani has small tubercles on apical margin of clypeus, however there is variation in the size, as well as, on outer surface of mandible in females, and small differences in the tubercle on the basal point of outer ridge. Also, there are small differences in the width and length of the hairs in the tergal fasciae. In males, S5, S6 and the genital capsule are similar to H. tayrona Gonzalez & Griswold, 2011 , described from northern Colombia. As males from South Mexico have an intermediate ocelli size between H. currani and H. tayrona , and this was the only character upholding the species status of H. tayrona , it is here added as new synonym.