Tetragona korotaii, Nogueira & Oliveira & Oliveira, 2022

Nogueira, David Silva, Oliveira, Favízia Freitas De & Oliveira, Marcio Luiz De, 2022, Revision of the Tetragona clavipes (Fabricius, 1804) species-group (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini), Zootaxa 5119 (1), pp. 1-64 : 56-58

Tetragona korotaii sp. nov. Nogueira

Figs. 12 , 20

Diagnosis ( Table 2 ): paraocular maculation as T. clavipes and T. quadrangula , with the widest part of the maculation below the upper portion of the epistomal suture, narrowing obliquely upwards towards compound eyes, with the narrowest portion of the maculation to the bottom reaching the inferior tangent of the antennal socket. Malar area yellow (black in other species of clavipes group). Metatibia yellowish-brown, with brown maculation on posterior third. Terga black with contrasting yellow apical third. Sparse setae on T2–T5. It is the only species of the T. clavipes group with just branched hairs on T6 (branched setae and branched hairs mixed in other species).

Description: holotype worker (probably a callow specimen).

Coloration: integument predominantly yellowish-brown. With yellow paraocular maculation from just above the tentorial fovea to the compound eye, on the bottom line of the antennal socket. Clypeus, supraclypeal triangle, labrum, radicle, scape and yellow malar area. Gena black. Mandible yellow with apical area reddish-brown.Condyles yellow. Pedicel dark brown. Flagellum dark brown with yellowish-brown in ventral view of F2 to F11. Pronotal lobe yellow. Propodeum, mesepisternum, metepisternum and scutellum yellowish-brown. Epimeron brown. Axilla yellow. Legs and tarsomeres yellowish-brown. Metatibia with posterior half brown with translucid maculations. Tegula yellowish-brown. Pterostigma and wing venation yellowish-brown, C vein brown. Wing membranes hyaline. T1 yellowish-brown with a brown maculation on sides. T2 and T3 dark brown with 1/3 apical yellow, with longitudinal band brown. T4 dark brown with 1/3 apical yellow. T5 dark brown with apical band yellow. T6 yellowish-brown with two dark brown maculations joined on basal area. Sterna yellowish-brown.

Punctation: predominantly smooth and shiny.

Pubescence: frons with yellow simple hairs (0.11 mm) and yellow branched hairs (0.05 mm); some hairs behind genal area with curved apex (0.22 mm). Malar area with very short setae (0.02 mm). Scape with sparse yellow simple setae (0.08 mm). Vertex with yellow long simple setae (0.25 mm). Clypeus in lateral view with yellow simple setae (0.10 mm). Supraclypeal area with simple (0.10 mm) and branched setae (0.06 mm). Labrum with yellow simple setae (0.22 mm). Coxae with yellow simple hairs: procoxa (0.17 mm), mesocoxa (0.17 mm) and metacoxa (0.36 mm). Mesocoxa with some hairs with curved apex. Trochanters with yellow simple hairs with curved apex: protrochanter (0.20 mm), mesotrochanter (0.22 mm) and metatrochanter (0.32 mm). Basal area of profemur with yellow simple hairs with curved apex (0.26 mm), apical area with short erect hairs (0.04 mm). Basal area of mesofemur with yellow simple hairs with curved apex (0.21 mm), apical area with short erect hairs (0.04 mm). Metafemur with erect hairs on basal area (0.17 mm) and apical area (0.08 mm). Protibia (0.11 mm) and mesotibia (0.19 mm) with yellow simple setae. Metatibia with branched and simple hairs (0.49 mm) on posterior border; basal half of external face with simple hairs more abundant than apical half. Basitarsi with yellow simple setae: probasitarsus (0.32 mm), mesobasitarsus (0.13 mm) and metabasitarsus (0.24 mm). Mesoscutum with erect setae (0.23 mm) with some branches and short branched hairs (0.07 mm). Mesoscutellum with yellow simple hairs (0.27 mm) and short yellow branched hairs (0.07 mm). Propodeal triangle glabrous; sides of propodeum with long simple hairs (0.35 mm), and short branched hairs (0.07 mm). Mesepisternum with simple hairs (0.32 mm) and branched hairs (0.08 mm). Metepisternum with yellow simple hairs (0.28 mm). T1 practically glabrous with basal area with some short hairs (0.03 mm). T2 with basal half glabrous and with simple decumbent setae on 2/3 apical area (0.08 mm). T3 with simple erect setae (0.09 mm), some with a branch. T4 and T5 with yellow simple and branched setae (0.11 mm and 0.14 mm, respectively). T6 with yellow branched setae (0.11 mm). Sterna with yellow simple hairs (0.36 mm: 0.34 mm: 0.29 mm: 0.30 mm: 0.21 mm = length of S1, S2, S3, S4 and S5, respectively).

Structures: body length 5.51 mm. Head 1.25x wider than long (1.97 mm: 2.48 mm, length and width, respectively). Length of compound eye 4.44x breadth (1.60 mm: 0.36 mm, length and width of the compound eye, respectively). Inner orbits concave, converging downwards. Maximum interorbital distance greater than the length of the eyes (1.79 mm: 1.60 mm). Flagellum diameter 2.37x of the malar area (0.08 mm: 0.19 mm). Clypeus with width 1.84x its length (0.63 mm: 1.16 mm = length and width of clypeus respectively). Clypeus-ocellar distance 1.13 mm. Alveolorbital distance 2.18x interalveolar distance (0.48 mm: 0.22 mm = alveolorbital distance and interalveolar distance, respectively). Vertex slightly convex. Ocellorbital distance greater than interocellar distance (0.45 mm: 0.40 mm). Scape length 5.3x its width (0.97 mm: 0.18 mm). Flagellum width larger than pedicel width (0.19 mm: 0.13 mm = flagellum and pedicel width, respectively). Mandible with the first tooth wider than the second. Spine of protibial strigillae (0.03 mm). Mesotibial spur 0.29 mm long. Metatibia with rounded corbicula; length of metatibia 2.82x its width (2.63 mm: 0.93 mm). Metabasitarsus 2.08x longer than broad (0.77 mm: 0.37 mm) and with posterior bord angled and projected. Intertegular distance 1.33 mm. With 5 hamuli on posterior wing.

Male: unknown.

Etymology: in honor of Korotai, a local resident, knowledgeable about bees, who assisted in the collection of bees carried out in Coeroeni ( Suriname) in partnership with Dr. Ayrton Vollet-Neto.

Comments and discussion: even if there is only the holotype as a representative of the species, the differences found in it seem sufficient to separate it from the other species of the T. clavipes group. The malar area is yellow, T2 – T5 have sparse setae and besides not being as abundant as on the terga of the other species, and there is just branched hairs on T6 .

Geographic distribution ( Fig. 12 ): Suriname (Coeroeni).

Biological notes: unknown.

Type material: holotype from Coeroeni ( Suriname), in good condition. Data labels: Suriname, Coeroeni , Sipaliwini, 2°19’56.0”N 56°46’19.5”W, / On flower, A. Vollet-Neto leg. (Kwamala) / KWAMALA ( MPEG) .

Figures

FIGURE 12. Records of the occurrence of clavipes species-group of Tetragona Lepeletier & Serville, 1828. Scale in kilometers.

FIGURE 20. Holotype of Tetragona korotaii sp. nov. from Coeroeni (Suriname). Metatibia (A), head in frontal view (B), metasoma in dorsal view (C) and body in lateral view. Scales: 0.5 mm (A, B and C) and 1 mm (D).