Amegilla (Asaropoda) scoparia Leijs, sp. nov.

Leijs, Remko, Dorey, James & Hogendoorn, Katja, 2020, The genus Amegilla (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Anthophorini) in Australia: a revision of the subgenus Asaropoda, ZooKeys 908, pp. 45-122 : 45

Amegilla (Asaropoda) scoparia Leijs, sp. nov. Figure 20A-M

Specimens examined.

(45 males, 66 females).

Types.

Holotype, male, Beltana Station, SA (30.6179S: 139.3214E), 15 Jun. 2009, R & P Leijs, on Eremophila , SAMA 32-033613, RL1452.

Allotype, female, Andamooka Homestead, SA (30.7263S; 137.2015E), 29 Aug. 2016, R Leijs, on Eremophila , SAMA 32-033614, KR04604.

Paratypes, 3 females, Port Augusta Arid Lands Botanic Garden, SA (32.4630S; 137.7433S), 25 Sep. 2014, R Leijs, on Eremophila , SAMA KR01290-2; 1 female, Great Victoria Desert, SA (29.00673S; 130.2604E), 26/08/2015, R. Leijs, on Senna pleurocarpa , SAMA KR02653; 1 male, Great Victoria Desert, SA (29.3329S; 130.1971E), 26 Aug. 2015, R Leijs, from vehicle net, SAMA KR02652; 3 females, Great Victoria Desert, SA (28.9503S; 130.1445E), 01 Sep. 2015, R Leijs, on Senna pleurocarpa , SAMA KR02971-3; 2 males, 2 females, SAMA KR04601-3,5, same locality data as for allotype.

Diagnosis.

Male with wide rectangular patch of brown bristles on S4 and widely emarginated apicomedial area of S5, apex of S6 with conspicuous two-coloured y-shaped hair brush. Female paraclypeal marks absent, supraclypeal marks present, tibial scopa pale orange, T2 with band of black hairs anteriorly, process on S6 large transverse lineo-reticulate, not well defined posteriorly (Fig. 20L ).

Description.

Male (SAMA 32-033613, RL1452): Body length 15 mm, forewing length 11 mm, head width 4.9 mm.

Structure: Inner orbits of eyes slightly diverging above; head wider than long; clypeal protuberance in profile 0.93 × eye width; mandible with weak subapical tooth; F1 equal to combined length of next two flagellomeres; F1 0.93 × as long as scape; F2 0.68 × as long as F3; F3-F10 circa 1.5 × as long as wide; last flagellomere as long as F1; marginal cell length 0.75 distance from apex of cell to wing tip; cu-v of hind wing equal to length of second abscissa of M+Cu; S5 with apicomedial emargination 3.3 × as wide as deep; S6 with apicomedial emargination circa three times as wide as deep, covered in dense black bristles anteriorly flanked by dense branched orange hairs that form a median patch.

Genitalia: penis valves with slightly extended shoulders; volsella with circa 12 setae (Fig. 20H ); gonocoxa laterally with numerous small setae; apex of gonocoxa ventrally with small bilobed process (Fig. 20H ); outer gonostylus club shaped with dense setae on inner surface; inner gonostylus circa as long as outer gonostylus, apex slightly widened, bearing strong setae (Fig. 20G ); S7 (Fig. 20E ); S8 apex wide, emarginated, edges rounded, fine setae at apex and along the midline (Fig. 20F ).

Pubescence: Head white on labrum, mandibles, vertex and lower two-thirds of genae, some dark hairs below lateral ocelli, along eye margins and the clypeus; scutum, scutellum and metanotum light ochre brown with scattered longer dark hairs; mesosoma laterally and ventrally pale; fore leg with long orange hairs on outer surface; fore leg inner surfaces of tibia and tarsus with short dark brown to black hairs; mid femur with brown-black hairs, short and widespread on outer surface and longer on inner surface; mid tibia outer surface with orange hairs, inner surface almost bare, with long dark hairs; mid tarsus, hind leg outer surface of femur, tibia and metatarsus with long orange hairs; hind leg inner surface black; metasomal terga with orange erect branched hairs; T1 with narrow row of pale hairs on posterior margin; T2 anteriorly with erect black hairs, forming a black band about half the terga width; T7 orange on disk and two black patches at posterior corners; S1-S5 with fringes of pale hairs on posterior margins of S1 and S2; S2-S5 with lateral patches of long orange hair; S4 apicomedial area with broad, patch of strong simple black forward directed bristles, ½ - 2/3 of width of sternum (Fig. 20C ); S5 with long dark branched hairs around the apicomedial emargination and sorter thin simple pale hairs on disc; S6 with dense dark branched hairs on disc and dense long branched orange hairs posteriorly, forming a dense median patch.

Colouration: Integument mostly black; metatarsi and tarsi orange; scape pale yellow below; labrum pale yellow with brown dots in dorsolateral corners; clypeus pale yellow; supraclypeal area pale yellow; paraclypeal area pale yellow; mandible basal 3/5 ivory remaining part brown and black; proboscis orange-brown.

Female (SAMA 32-033614, KR04604): Body length 17 mm, forewing length 11.2 mm, head width 5.6 mm.

Structure: Inner orbits of eyes slightly diverging above; head wider than long; clypeal protuberance in profile 0.87 × eye width; mandible with subapical tooth; F1 equal to combined length of next 3.5 flagellomeres; F1 1.2 × as long as scape; F2 0.79 × as long as F3; F3-F10 1.3 × as long as wide; last flagellomere 0.56 × as long as F1; marginal cell length 0.73 × distance from apex of cell to wing tip; cu-v of hind wing equal to length of second abscissa of M+Cu.

Pubescence: Head white on face, vertex and genae, some darker hairs scattered on face and on vertex; scutum, scutellum and metanotum with greyish and scattered longer dark hairs; mesosoma laterally and ventrally with pale to white hairs; fore leg femur and tibia with long white hair and tarsus with pale orange hairs on outer surface; fore leg inner surfaces of tibia and tarsus with short orange hair; mid femur basally with short pale orange hair, posteriorly short dense and white, ventrally long greyish black; mid tibia outer surface with orange hairs, inner surface almost bare, with streak of long dark hairs; mid metatarsus outer surface with orange hairs, inner with streak of black hairs; mid tarsus remaining segments with orange hairs; hind leg outer surface of femur, tibia and metatarsus with long orange hairs; hind leg inner surface black; metasomal terga: T1 anteriorly with long erect white hairs intermixed with a few black hairs, a small patch of brown hairs in the lateral corners, posterior margins with shorter adpressed pale yellow hairs; T2 anteriorly with entire band of erect brown hairs; T3-T6 with semi-adpressed pale orange hairs, which are slightly darker at posterior margins, intermixed with sparse erect long brown hairs; T5 with dense patch of brown hairs apicomedially, T6 with strong brown-black hairs flanking the pygidial plate; S1-S5 with rows of black hairs on inner posterior margins, lateral corners paler.

Colouration: Integument mostly black, posterior margins of terga, and tarsi orange; scape black, apically brown; labrum pale yellow with brown dots in dorsolateral corners; clypeus yellow with brown horseshoe like mark (Fig. 20M ), supraclypeal area with yellow flat triangle; paraclypeal area black; mandible basal 3/5 ivory remaining part brown and black; proboscis orange-brown.

Remarks.

Some field observations on mating behaviour and nests can be found on the following link: http://davotrip.blogspot.com/2009/08/interesting-inverts-burrowing-bees.html.

Flower records.

Cassia charlesiana , C. luersenii , Senna glutinosa subsp. charlesiana , Petalostylis sp. ( Fabaceae ), Eremophila , E. gilesii , E. cf. georgei , E. maculata , E. longifolia ( Scrophulariaceae ), Goodenia maideniana ( Goodeniaceae ), Trichodesma zealanicum ( Boraginaceae ), Keraudrenia sp. ( Sterculiaceae ), Tecoma sp. ( Bignoniaceae ).

Distribution.

Central Australia, the northern limit of the distributions is just north of the tropic of Capricorn, Figure 20I .

Etymology.

The specific epithet refers to the wide brush of stiff setae apicomedially on S4 of the male.

Figures

Figure 20. Amegilla (Asaropoda) scoparia Leijs, sp. nov.