Rophites gruenwaldti Ebmer, 1978

Niu, Ze-Qing, Wu, Yan-Ru & Huang, Da-Wei, 2005, A Taxonomic Study On The Four Genera Of The Subfamily Rophitinae From China (Hymenoptera: Halictidae), Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 53 (1), pp. 47-58 : 53-55

Rophites gruenwaldti Ebmer, 1978

( Fig. 4 , A-E)

Rophites gruenwaldti Ebmer, 1978: 217 ; Ebmer & Schwammberger, 1986: 291.

Material examined. – 2 females, 1 male, China, Heilongjiang, Harbin, coll. not record, 2 Aug.1970 ; 4 females (one deposited in ZRC), China, Inner Mongolia, Ulanqab Meng, coll. Xiao-Ping Zhang, 27 Jul.1987 ; 1 male, China, Inner Mongolia, Xilin Gol Meng , coll. Yun-Hu Xu, 15 Jul.1987 ; 1 male, China, Inner Mongolia, Hinggan Meng , coll. Long Zhang, 6 Jul.1983 ; 1 male, China, Hebei, Tianjin, collector not recorded, 27 Aug.1978 .

Redescription. – Female: Body length 8.0–9.0 mm. Face, mesoscutum and metasomal terga black, without metallic reflections. Head as long as wide, narrower than mesoscutal width. Antennal socket placed on lower half of face, separated from upper clypeal margin by a little more than diameter of socket; upper end of subantennal suture directed towards lower margin of antennal socket. Flagellum 10 segmented; scape 3.67 times as long as its maximum width; F1 nearly as long as F2; F2 wider than long. Frons depressed, without longitudinal ridge medially; frontal carina absent; frons with modified hairs forming sharp and long spines; frontal spine 32–38 radixes. Apex of labrum rounded; labral process absent. Clypeus 2 times as broad as long, with dense, round and deep punctures throughout. Supraclypeus nearly shagreened. Epistomal suture between the anterior tentorial pits being only weakly arched. Labial palpus with the third segment on the same axis as the second and also rather broad basally, only the fourth being freely articulated, the second segment longer than the third or the fourth one, at least 5 times as long as the fourth one’s length. Maxillary palpus six-segmented. Mandible with 2 preapical teeth. Distance of lateral ocellus to vertex 0.57 times as long as that of lateral ocellus to eye; distance between lateral ocelli 0.86 times as long as that of lateral ocellus to eye. Gena narrower than eye. Forewing with 2 submarginal cells; the second submarginal cell as large as the first one; distal crossveins as strong as the first submarginal crossvein; basal vein slightly curved; marginal cell sharply pointed at distal end; distance from apex of stigma to apex of marginal cell less than that from apex of marginal cell to wing tip. Tegula not enlarged, yellowish brown. Dorsal surface of propodeum shorter than scutellum, 0.57 times as long as scutellar length, 1.14 times as long as metanotal length; dorsal enclosure of propodeum with longitudinal rugose sculptures, intersculptures shagreened. Mesoscutum with round and dense punctures, interspace 0.5 times as large as diameter of puncture. Episternal groove distinct and directed strongly downward below scrobal groove. Metasomal terga with 6 segments exposed, and with dense apical hair bands; posterior margin of metasomal terga reddish brown, transparent; T5 without longitudinal median zone; T5 with yellowish hairs; T6 with pygidial plate not margined by sharp carina. Middle tibial spur normal, 2/3 as long as basitarsus, pointed and curvetted apically, pecten obvious; hind basitarsus with apical process, the process without penicillus; hind trochanteral and femoral scopa reduced, femoral scopa usual; metabasitibial plate present.

Male: Body length 9.0–10.0 mm. Face, mesoscutum and metasomal terga black, without metallic reflections. Head nearly as long as wide. Distance of lateral ocellus to vertex 0.67 times as long as that of lateral ocellus to eye; distance between lateral ocelli 0.75 times as long as that of lateral ocellus to eye. Labial palpus with the third segment on the same axis as the second and also rather broad basally, only fourth being freely articulated, the second segment longer than the third or the fourth one, at least 5 times as long as the fourth one’s length. Maxillary palpus six-segmented. Antennal socket placed on lower half of face, separated from upper clypeal margin by a little more than diameter of socket; upper end of subantennal suture directed towards lower margin of antennal socket. Antenna filiform, long, reaching propodeum; flagellomere without special depressed area, lower surface without longitudinal groove; scape 1.88 times as long as the maximum width; F2 longer than wide, nearly as long as F3. Frons flattened, without longitudinal ridge medially; frontal carina absent. Mandible with 2 preapical teeth. Gena narrower than eye. Forewing with 2 submarginal cells; the second submarginal cell as great as the first one; basal vein slightly curved; distal crossveins as strong as the first submarginal crossvein; marginal cell sharply pointed at distal end; distance from apex of stigma to apex of marginal cell longer than that from apex of marginal cell to wing tip. Episternal groove not a real groove, but a shallow valley. Tegula not enlarged, yellowish brown. Dorsal surface of propodeum shorter than scutellum, 0.8 times as long as scutellar length, 1.6 times as long as metanotal length. Scutellum without lateral teeth on posterolateral extremities. Metasomal terga with 7 segments exposed, with dense apical hair bands; posterior margin of metasomal terga transparent; T5 normal, without lateral teeth; T7 not emarginate posteriorly; T7 with pygidial plate margined by sharp carina. Genitalia without lower gonostylus as appendage; gonostylus broader, partly or not separated from gonocoxite; inner surface of gonostylus without setae; volsella present, produced to a fingerlike hairy process, hairs longer and denser ( Fig. 4 , E). S2 without special structure; S3-S5 normal, without special structure; S4 without yellow hairs; S5 straight posteriorly, without lateral projections; S6 flattened, without blistershaped thickenings, with lower and piliferous median ridge, posterolateral margin with short, tooth-shaped projection ( Fig. 4 , B); S7 and S8 usually elaborate, large, heavily sclerotized, often separated. S7 furcated apically, not covered with long hairs; S7 with distinct dorsal lobes ( Fig. 4 , C); S8 weakly bilobed basally, with strong apical process ( Fig. 4 , D). Middle tibia normal, not broadened distally, outer surface not concave; middle tibia only with one spiniform process apically; middle femur, hind femur and hind tibia normal, not broadened.

The frons of female paratype borrowed from Ebmer with 33 radixes spines ( Fig. 4 , A), different from 22 radixes spines of the original description, and with 34 radixes spines of all the Chinese specimens from Heilongjiang (2f, 1970 coll.) and Inner Mongolia (4f, 1987 coll.) .

Distribution. – China: Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Hebei.

Figures

Figs. 4. Rophites gruenwaldti Ebmer, 1978: A, frontal view of female head; B, ventral view of male S6; C, ventral view of male S7; D, ventral view of male S8; E, dorsal view of male genitalia.