Thyreus aistleitneri, Straka, Jakub & Engel, Michael S., 2012

Straka, Jakub & Engel, Michael S., 2012, The apid cuckoo bees of the Cape Verde Islands (Hymenoptera, Apidae), ZooKeys 218, pp. 77-109 : 93-96

Thyreus aistleitneri sp. n. Figs 30-34

Holotype.

♀, Cabo Verde, Brava, Nova Sintra, Mte. Nha Preta, 700-880 m, 25.01.01 [25 January 2001], leg. Aistleitner (SEMC).

Diagnosis.

The new species can be recognized by the following combination of features: mesoscutum with plsa (anterior posterolateral mesoscutal) present and bor dering anterior portion of tegula, not meeting pls (posterolateral mesoscutal) posteriorly (Fig. 31); mesoscutellum coarsely punctate, with punctures dense, separated, at least on disc, by less than 0.5 times a puncture width; apicolateral corners of me soscutellum weakly pointed, forming angle of more than 40° (Fig. 33); ventral and ventrolateral pleura with distinct shiny interspaces among punctures; apical depression of fifth metasomal tergum with a few isolated punctures medially; fifth tergum with lateral white patches reduced, especially in comparison to patches on fourth and third tergum (Figs 30, 31, 34).

Description.

As described for Thyreus denolii (vide supra) except as follows: ♀: Total body length 11.3 mm; forewing length 8.3 mm. Head wider than long (length 2.9 mm, width 3.5 mm) (Fig. 32); upper interorbital distance 2.1 mm; lower interorbital distance 1.55 mm. Intertegular distance 2.7 mm; mesoscutellar posterior margin faintly sinuate, apicolateral angle projects as a prominent, broad spine and with a defined median emargination (Figs 31, 33). Apical depression of fifth tergum sparsely, but distinctly, punctate and setose. Pygidial plate relatively narrow, margins converging apically, slightly sinuate, apex narrowly rounded, surface imbricate, basal half with shallow, coarse punctures.

Mesoscutum with well-defined punctures separated by much less than a puncture width, punctures mediopically more spaced, separated by about 0.5-1 times a puncture width but more often less than a puncture width, integument between punctures smooth and shining; mesoscutellum, including axilla, with punctures separated by less than a puncture width, those laterally nearly contiguous (Fig. 33).

White patches on mesosoma as follows: deps (dorsal mesepisternal) and lpn (lateral pronotal) present; als (anterolateral mesoscutal) present but reduced; ms (median mesoscutal) faint; mls (mediolateral mesoscutal) present; plsa (anterior posterolateral mesoscutal) present along anterior half of border with tegula, not meeting pls (posterolateral mesoscutal) posteriorly; t (tegular) present and prominent posteriorly on tegula; pls (posterolateral mesoscutal) present, not extending laterally to meet plsa (anterior posterolateral mesoscutal); ps (parascutellar) and s (mesoscutellar) absent; deps (dorsal mesepisternal), hypm (hypoepimeral area), and lp (lateral propodeal) present, veps (ventral mesepisternal) absent (Fig. 31). Pleural white spot reduced to two separate spots (Fig. 30). Metasomal terga with prominent patches of appressed, plumose white setae as follows: first metasomal tergum with L-shaped patch laterally interrupted in middle and thus divided into two spots, one transverse at apicolateral margin and one triangular on tergal side; second metasomal tergum with reduced lateral patch transverse, slightly wider than twice as long, without rounded secondary anterior patch; third and fourth metasomal terga with rounded lateral patches; fifth metasomal tergum with lateral spot reduced to a few setae (Figs 30, 31, 34); pygidial plate with dark brown setae.

♂: Unknown.

Etymology.

The specific epithet is a patronym honoring Eyjolf Aistleitner, collector of the new species among many fine insects, and authority on the systematics of Lepidoptera .