Pasites maculatus Jurine

ROZEN, JEROME G. & ÖZBEK, HIKMET, 2003, Oocytes, Eggs, and Ovarioles of Some Long-Tongued Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea), American Museum Novitates 3393, pp. 1-36 : 20-22

Pasites maculatus Jurine

Rozen (1986b) described the oviposition habits and egg of this species based on observations and collections from Pakistan.

MATURE OOCYTE (figs. 44–47): Length 1.20–1.35 mm (N = 11); maximum diameter immediately behind operculum 0.35 mm; egg index 0.47 (dwarf). Operculum oval, longer than broad (fig. 45); flange surrounding entire operculum, turned down over oocyte, not in same plane as operculum (fig. 44); opercular surface usually with 3 or 4 rounded tubercles (fig. 45), but these tubercles varying in size from one oocyte to another and sometimes not visible; oocyte approximately symmetrical around its gently down­curving long axis (outcurved surface dorsal), tapering to narrowly round posterior end, its dorsal surface with numerous transverse folds (fig. 44); micropyle a simple median pore with duct through chorion at anterior end of operculum (figs. 45, 47). Chorion clear, smooth except for opercular tubercles, untinted (operculum tinted, presumably by dye from the label ink, as a result of preservation) seen through stereomicroscope; that of operculum thicker than elsewhere; by SEM examination, chorion of operculum without polygonal pattern (but see Rozen [1986b: fig. 5] for the opercular surface of egg of same species from Pakistan); chorion of rest of oocyte under SEM examination smooth where covering transverse folds, but extensive area anterior to folds and ventrally finely pitted, fibrous, lacelike, as seen in figure 46.

MATERIAL STUDIED: One female, Turkey: Erzurum, Atatürk University Campus , VII­ 10–2001 (J.G. Rozen) at nest entrance of Pseudapis .

REMARKS: Oocytes whose chorion, especial­ ly the flange ( Rozen, 1986b), was visible through the follicular tissue were considered mature. The variation in size of the opercular tubercles did not appear to be a function of the maturity of the oocytes since a mature oocyte without tubercles was the lowest in its ovary.

The transversely folded dorsal chorionic surface of the oocyte has also been noted for Oreopasites vanduzeei ( Rozen, 1986a: fig. 1), O. linsleyi (above), Ammobates carinatus ( Alexander and Rozen, 1987: fig. 4), and ‘‘ Parammobatodes ’’ orientana, above. Thus, five members of the Ammobatini share this unique feature, which no doubt signifies that each bends its egg into a ‘‘U’’ when ovipositing (see Rozen, 1986b: fig. 6). Interestingly, both species of Sphecodopsis (Pseudodi­ chroa), in the same tribe, do not bend their eggs (Rozen and Michener, 1968: figs. 8–12).

The ovarian formula, whether 4:4 or 4:5, for Pasites maculatus and 4:4 for ‘‘ Parammobatodes ’’ orientana, below, is unusual for the Nomadinae, which tend to have more ovarioles than 4 per ovary, the plesiomorphic number for the Apidae ( Alexander, 1996; Michener, 2000; Rozen, in press).

Sphecodopsis (Pseudodichroa) capensis (Friese)

The egg of this species and the following one were described and illustrated by Rozen and Michener (1968). The egg index of 0.72 (table 1) categorizes it as small. The index was calculated by taking the median value (1.65 mm) of the range of egg lengths given by Rozen and Michener (1968: table 2) and dividing it by the mean intertegular distance (2.30 mm) of the seven females associated with their study and housed in the American Museum of Natural History.

MATERIAL STUDIED: Two eggs, Republic of South Africa: Cape of Good Hope Peninsula, Kommetjie , X­29–XI­ 9–1966 (J.G. Rozen, C. D. Michener) from nests of Scrapter longula (Friese) .

Sphecodopsis (Pseudodichroa) fumipennis (Bischoff)

The egg index of 0.67 (table 1) of this species categorizes the egg as small. The index was calculated by taking the median value (1.95 mm) of the range of egg lengths given by Rozen and Michener (1968) and dividing it by the mean intertegular distance (2.95 mm) of the three females associated with their study housed in the American Museum of Natural History. Because they described the egg in some detail, it is not redescribed here, except to add that the incurved surface is dorsal. However, SEM examination of two eggs (figs. 48–51) shows the strong polygonal pattern of raised borders that seems responsible for the rigidity of the chorion (fig. 48), and the multipored micropyle (fig. 51) was revealed near the anterior edge of the smooth opercular flap of an egg that had apparently eclosed.

MATERIAL STUDIED: Two eggs, Republic of South Africa: Cape of Good Hope Peninsula, Kommetjie , X­29–XI­ 9–1966 (J.G. Rozen, C.D. Michener) from nests of Scrapter crassula Cockerell .

APIDAE : APINAE: MELECTINI

Eggs/oocytes of the following melectine taxa have been described and/or illustrated: Thyreus japonicus Friese ( Iwata, 1955) , T. lieftincki Rozen ( Rozen, 1969) , Zacosmia maculata (Cresson) (Torchio and Youssef, 1968) , and Xeromelecta californica (Cresson) (Torchio and Trostle, 1986) . We describe here the mature oocytes/eggs of Melecta and Thyreomelecta kirghisia and provide additional information on T. lieftincki and X. californica . So far as known, eggs of all melectines are elongate, curved, and either parallel­sided or tapering gradually from the anterior end toward the posterior end, with the front end somewhat more broadly rounded than the posterior end (e.g., figs. 52, 53). Most appear dull and somewhat opaque whether in alcohol or dry, and none have chorionic ornamentation beyond the dull chorion as seen under stereoscopic examination. The differences between them by SEM examination seem slight, involving microstructure of the chorion (compare fig. 56 with fig. 59).