Xylocopa (Neoxylocopa) augusti Lepeletier de Saint Fargeau, 1841

Montalva, José, Allendes, Juan L. & Lucia, Mariano, 2013, The large carpenter bee Xylocopa augusti (Hymenoptera: Apidae): New record for Chile, Journal of Melittology 2013 (12), pp. 1-6 : 2-4

Xylocopa (Neoxylocopa) augusti Lepeletier de Saint Fargeau, 1841

( Figs. 1–4 )

DIAGNOSIS: Females of X. augusti are large, robust bees, 23‒28 mm long, and can be distinguished easily from all other large carpenter bees in Chile, including X. bruesi , by the black body integument with conspicuous ferruginous setae along the sides and apex of the metasoma and the wings dark brown with violet iridescence ( Fig. 1 ). As in other species of Neoxylocopa Michener , males ( Fig. 2 ) are tawny and have two well separated tufts of setae on the ventral surface of the metatibia ( Brèthes, 1916; Hurd & Moure, 1961).

NEW RECORDS: Chile: 1♀, ( Metropolitan region ), Quinta Normal, Santiago (33°26′31.33″S, 70°40′54.16″W, 580 m. a.s.l), 24 Jan 2013, J.L Allendes-A. Figueroa (foraging on Passiflora coerulea L.); 1♀, idem, Vitacura (33°22′45.05″S, 70°32′27.81″W, 1200 m.a.s.l), 10 Feb 2013, J.L Allendes (foraging on Passiflora sp. L.); 1♀, idem, Vitacura, (33°22′45.05″S, 70°32′27.81″W, 1200 m.a.s.l), 20 Feb 2013, J.L Allendes (foraging on Cleome spinosa Jacq. ); 2♀♀, Quinta Normal, Santiago (33°26′31.33″S, 70°40′54.16″W, 580 m. a.s.l), 1 March 2013, A. Figueroa (foraging on Passiflora coerulea ). Specimens are deposited in the following institutions in Chile: Museo Nacional de Historia Natural , Instituto de Entomología of the Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencias de la Educación, and San Pedro Nolasco, Santiago .

FLORAL RECORDS IN CHILE: Specimens were collected foraging on flowers of Cleome spinosa Jacq. ( Cleomaceae ), Passiflora coerulea L. ( Passifloraceae ) and Passiflora sp. Several individuals (males and females) were observed at different locations in Santiago , mainly foraging on Alstroemeria pulchra Sims ( Alstroemeriaceae ), Agapanthus praecox orientalis F.M. Leight ( Agapanthaceae ), P. tucumanensis Hook. ( Passifloraceae ), Quillaja saponaria Molina (Quillajaceae) , Robinia pseudoacacia L. ( Fabaceae ), and Solanum crispum L. ( Solanaceae ).

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION: This species was previously known from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay ( Moure, 2007) ( Figs. 3, 4 ).

COMMENTS: It is well known that many introductions of carpenter bees are accidental, often caused by undetected nests inside of packaging structures in commercial imports (e.g., Hurd, 1978). This is probably the case for X. augusti . This species might have been introduced to Chile from the Atlantic coast facilitated by the high traffic flow between Mendoza ( Argentina) and Santiago (Chile) , via the trans-Andean passage. Presumably natural movement of bees from Chile to Argentina have also been documented in recent years, such as the cases of the non-native bumble bees Bombus (Megabombus) ruderatus ( Fabricius, 1775) and B. (Bombus) terrestris ( Linnaeus, 1758) (Roig-Alsina & Aizen, 1996; Torreta et al., 2006; Morales, 2007), as well as of several Chilean endemic species that have been reported in Argentina (Montalva & Ruz, 2010). Nevertheless, the possibility that X. augusti has gone undetected until now cannot be ruled out. More systematic surveys of local bee faunas are needed to detect newly adventive species, to monitor the spread of these species, and to assess their impact on the native biota.

Figures

Figures 1–2. Xylocopa (Neoxylocopa) augusti Lepeletier de Saint Fargeau. 1. Female. 2. Male on Passiflora sp. (Passifloraceae).

Figures 3–4. Distribution of Xylocopa (Neoxylocopa) augusti Lepeletier de Saint Fargeau. 3. New record in central Chile (Santiago, Metropolitan area). 4. South American countries (in gray) from which this species is currently known (Moure, 2007).