Eufriesea insularis, Ayala & Gonzalez & Engel, 2022

Ayala, Ricardo, Gonzalez, Victor H. & Engel, Michael S., 2022, The first Pacific insular orchid bee (Hymenoptera, Apidae): A new species of Eufriesea from the Islas Marias, Journal of Hymenoptera Research 92, pp. 273-284 : 273

Eufriesea insularis sp. nov.

Figs 2 , 3-5 , 6 , 7

Diagnosis.

The new species is similar in appearance to other species in the Eufriesea coerulescens group, but with a noticeably darker integument with blue and purple iridescence and generally with black pubescence (Figs 2 , 3 ), but yellowish to black on TIV-VI (Figs 2 , 5 ), all of which contrasts with E. oliveri Gonzalez and Griswold and E. micheneri Ayala and Engel in which such setae are whitish. In addition, the new species has the glossa long, extending beyond SII (Fig. 2 ); the head, labrum, and clypeus metallic greenish but purple on the discal area of the latter (Fig. 7 ), and contrasting with the dark metallic blue of the rest of the head; the clypeus has strong elongate punctures that converge towards the midline, and which are stronger than those present on the bordering paraocular area; the clypeus has a prominent mediolongitudinal ridge, strongest in apical half of the clypeus (Fig. 7 ); frons doubly punctate, the largest punctures separated by about their diameter, between the small and large punctures the integument is smooth and shiny; exceptionally narrow impunctate and shiny area between torulus and inner ocular margin, width about one-fifth torular diameter; scape dark reddish brown, flagellum dark brown to nearly black, but flagellomeres I, II, and apical flagellomeres darker (Fig. 7 ); pronotum partially dark brown, and lateral margins of mesoscutum, axilla, and mesoscutellum dark brown to nearly black (Fig. 6 ); forewing hyaline and infumate throughout although darker in costal cell, along anterior margin of marginal cell (particularly apically), and slightly so in first submarginal cell (Fig. 3 ); lighter patch in second medial cell (Fig. 3 ); femora, metatibia (corbicula), and metabasitarsus dark brown to nearly black in some areas (Figs 2 , 4 ).

Description.

♀: Total body length 19.5 mm (19.5-19.9 mm). Head wider than long, length 5.4 mm (vertex-margin of clypeus) (5.4-5.7 mm), width 6.6 mm (6.5-6.6 mm); compound eye length 4.6 mm (4.6-4.8 mm), width 2.2 mm (2.1-2.2 mm); upper interorbital distance 2.7 mm (2.6-2.9 mm), lower interorbital distance 3.3 mm (3.3-3.5 mm), interorbital distance at tangent of upper third of compound eye length 3.6 mm (3.5-3.6 mm); glossa long, extending beyond SII, length 12.2 mm (12.2-12.6 mm); mandible black and robust, width at base 1.5 mm (1.5-1.6 mm), length 2.4 mm (2.4-2.5 mm); apical tooth largest, projecting beyond medial tooth, forming an orthogonal notch between teeth; labrum with coarse irregular punctures, with short elevated medial carinae, larger than sublateral carinae, sublateral carinae converging apically; distal extreme of labrum with subapical depression and distally and distal margin prominently covered with short pubescence; clypeus with elongate punctures (Fig. 7 ) that converge towards midline, such punctures stronger than those on remainder of face, integument between punctures shining, finely and microscopically imbricate, with prominent elevated medial ridge (Fig. 7 ); impunctate and shiny area between toruli and inner margin of compound eye, area between torulus and eye exceptionally narrow, about one-fifth torular diameter; frons doubly punctate, largest punctures separated by about their diameter, integument between punctures smooth and shiny; frontal line well defined between torulus and anterior margin of median ocellus (1.55 mm, 1.53-1.67 mm long); supraclypeal area with impunctate line extending to clypeal margin. Scape length 2.1 mm (2.1-2.2 mm), midlength width 0.33 mm (0.32-0.33 mm), apical width 0.41 mm (0.41-0.42 mm); pedicel length 0.30 mm (0.28-0.30 mm), flagellum length 3.8 mm (3.8-4.0 mm), width 0.40 mm (0.38-0.42 mm), flagellomere I length 0.45 mm (0.45-0.46 mm), flagellomere II length 0.32 mm (0.32-0.33 mm); distance between antennal torulus and compound eye 0.75 mm (0.75-0.81 mm), with punctures small and dense in respect to those of frons; torulus width 0.50 mm (0.49-0.51 mm), distance between antennal toruli 1.18 mm (1.18-1.21 mm). Ocellocular distance 0.60 mm (0.60-0.62 mm), ocellocular area impunctate; posterior distance between lateral ocelli 0.85 mm (0.85-0.93 mm), distance between medial and lateral ocelli 0.37 mm (0.37-0.44 mm), width of medial ocellus 0.40 mm (0.40-0.41 mm); interocellar furrow (sensu Engel 1999) and postocellar furrow present; integument between posterior ocellus and vertex with punctures denser in respect to frons. Gena with small punctures distinctly separated by shiny integument; gena width 1.10 mm (1.07-1.10 mm) at midlength of compound eye; vertex slightly elevated in facial view in respect to upper tangent of compound eyes. Mesoscutum width 5.5 mm (anterior inter-tegular distance) (5.5-5.7 mm), length 4.9 mm (4.9-5.1 mm); mesoscutum and mesoscutellum with dense punctation, punctures separated by less than a puncture width (Fig. 6 ), integument between punctures smooth and shiny; tegula with small and uniform punctation, although with some larger punctures along mesal margins, mesal margin demarcated by narrow furrow; mesoscutellum width 4.6 mm (4.3-4.7 mm), length 2.8 mm (2.8-3.0 mm); mesoscutellum slightly rounded in profile, with exceptionally weak medial depression, posterolateral angles rounded; propodeum posterior surface generally smooth, with only fine setigerous punctures; forewing length 15.2 mm (15.1-15.2 mm), width 4.8 mm (4.8-5.1 mm); jugal comb present at base of hind wing, setae of jugal comb longer than width of jugal lobe; distal area of hind wing homogeneously papillate. Metatibia medial length 5.9 mm (5.4-5.9 mm), width 2.8 mm (2.8-3.0 mm); metabasitarsus length on posterior margin 2.7 mm (2.7-3.0 mm), width at base 1.4 mm (1.3-1.6 mm). TI with punctures larger than those of remaining terga, with posterior marginal zone impunctate and longer than those of remaining terga; TII-IV with small, homogeneous punctation, distance between punctures similar to their diameter; TV-VI with punctation denser than on preceding terga; TII-IV with marginal zones short, narrow, impunctate (Fig. 5 ).

Integument generally dark metallic blue, with purplish hues (Fig. 2 ); mandible largely black; labrum and clypeus with metallic green, darker on former, and medially with purple iridescence, discal area mostly purple; supraclypeal area as on clypeus (Fig. 7 ); paraocular area and frons dark metallic blue; antenna dark reddish brown; flagellum dark brown to nearly black; gena and vertex with purple and yellowish iridescence; pronotum dark brown except dark metallic blue anteriorly; mes- and metepisterna dark metallic blue, with some purplish highlights; mesoscutum and mesoscutellum dark metallic blue with purple iridescence, but lateral margins of mesoscutum, axilla, and mesoscutellum dark brown to nearly black, without prominent highlights; propodeum dark metallic blue but more brown on posterior surface. Wings with veins dark brown, nearly black in some places, membranes hyaline and darkly infumate (Fig. 3 ), darker in costal cell, along anterior margin of marginal cell, and somewhat in first submarginal cell; second medial cell with distinct lighter patch (Fig. 3 ). Femora and tibiae dark reddish brown, with dark blue to purplish iridescence; probasitarsus and tarsi black; metafemur, metatibia, and metabasitarsus dark reddish brown to nearly black, darker on retrodorsal margin of metatibia (Fig. 4 ). Metasomal terga and sterna dark brown with dark blue, purplish, and greenish iridescence, posterior marginal zones brown to dark brown.

In general, pubescence dark, nearly black; setae particularly dense anteriorly on mesoscutum; abundant and uniform setae on mes- and metepisterna (Fig. 2 ). Metasomal terga IV-VI with yellowish pubescence in paratype (Fig. 5 ), black in holotype (Fig. 2 ); sterna with black pubescence.

♂: Unknown.

Holotype.

♀, México: Nayarit, Isla María Madre, Campamento 21 de marzo, 2-XII-1986 [2 December 1986], V. Melendez (IBUNAM, RA 392).

Paratypes.

1♀, same data as holotype but collected by L. Cervantes (IBUNAM, RA 1014). 2♀♀, same locality as holotype but collected X-1995 [October 1995] by I. Cuedriello (CUCSUR).

Etymology.

The specific epithet is the Latin adjective īnsulāris, meaning, "of or pertaining to an island", and refers to the restricted distribution of this species on the Islas Marías.

Distribution.

This species is known only from Isla Maria Madre, Nayarit State, México. This is the only species of the genus known from an island in the Pacific Ocean. The vegetation on the Islas Marías islands is primarily tropical dry forest, but a good part of the island has scrub, while the denser and higher arboreal vegetation is concentrated in canyons ( CONANP 2021).

Figures

Figure 2. Eufriesea insularis sp. nov., female holotype (IBUNAM RA 292), lateral habitus.

Figure 6. Eufriesea insularis sp. nov., female, dorsal view of mesoscutum and mesoscutellum.

Figures 3 - 5. Eufriesea insularis sp. nov., female 3 dorsal habitus 4 prolateral surfaces of metatibia and metabasitarsus 5 metasomal terga, showing punctation and color of pubescence.

Figures 7 - 10. Female facial views of representative species of the Eufriesea coerulescens species group of Eufriesea Cockerell 7 Eufriesea insularis sp. nov. (note the prominent mediolongitudinal ridge on the clypeus, unique among these species) 8 E. oliveri Gonzalez and Griswold 9 E. barthelli Gonzalez and Griswold 10 E. micheneri Ayala and Engel.