Hylaeus (Gnathoprosopis) euxanthus ( Cockerell, 1910 )

Montalva, José, Dudley, Leah S. & Houston, Terry F., 2019, First record of Hylaeus (Gnathoprosopis) euxanthus (Hymenoptera: Colletidae) in Chile, Journal of Melittology 2019 (91), pp. 1-4 : 2

Hylaeus (Gnathoprosopis) euxanthus ( Cockerell, 1910)

( Fig. 1 )

IDENTIFYING FEATURES: ♂: mostly black, nonmetallic body; pronotum yellow, propodeal enclosure bordered laterally by distinct carinae and very coarsely areolate, contrasting with more finely sculptured areas to either side; paraocular area, clypeus, labrum, malar area, and mandibles yellow; vertex, frontal ocellus area, and frons black; scape yellow; flagellum usually completely yellow-brown. Legs yellow. A pair of relatively large spines on 3 rd sternum in larger males.

♀: mostly black, nonmetallic body; pronotum yellow, propodeal enclosure bordered laterally by distinct carinae and very coarsely areolate, contrasting with more finely sculptured areas to either side; paraocular area, malar area yellow and, unlike male, clypeus, labrum, malar area, and mandibles black; vertex and frons black; antennae usually completely yellow-brown. Legs black except hind femora and tibiae usually yellow over at least 1/4 of their length.

NEW RECORDS: Chile: 2♀♀, 4♂♂, (Metropolitan region), Providencia, Santiago Jardín Botánico Chagual (-33.4074365, -70.605679), 10 Oct 2009, J. Montalva; 3♀♀, 6♂♂, ( Metropolitan region ), Providencia, Santiago Jardín Botánico Chagual (-33.4074365, - 70.605679), 17 Oct 2009, J. Montalva; 4♂♂, Ñuñoa, Campus Juan Gomes Millas, Universidad de Chile (-33.4660436, -70.5979008), 24 Oct 2009, J. Montalva; 1♂, (Valparaíso), Viña del Mar , Jardín Botánico Nacional -33.04807, -71.5022451), 25 Nov 2014, J. Diego Reyes Arellano. Specimens are deposited in the following institutions in Chile: Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, Instituto de Entomología Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencias de la Educación, Jardín Botánico Chagual and Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso. Photographic records of the species also exist, showing expansion throughout the Metropolitan region .

REMARKS: The mechanisms promoting the arrival of this species to central Chile are unknown, but we believe nests could have been carried in commercial wooden pallets, as has occurred with other recently introduced bees in Chile ( Montalva et al., 2015). Hylaeus euxanthus was recently reported from New Zealand (Ministry for Primary Industries, 2015), a country directly in the path of commercial traffic between Australia and Chile. The various collection dates, localities, and frequency of encounters suggest that H. euxanthus is naturalized in central Chile.

Figures

Figure 1. Male of Hylaeus (Gnathoprosopis) euxanthus (Cockerell) at the Chilean Botanical Garden.