Megachile argentata schmiedeknechti Costa, 1884

Praz, Christophe J. & Benon, Dimitri, 2023, Revision of the leachella group of Megachile subgenus Eutricharaea in the Western Palaearctic (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Megachilidae): A renewed plea for DNA barcoding type material, Journal of Hymenoptera Research 95, pp. 143-198 : 143

Megachile argentata schmiedeknechti Costa, 1884

Megachile Schmiedeknechti Costa, 1884: 169, ♀ ♂, [Italy, Sardinia].

Megachile xanthopyga Pérez, 1895: 25, ♀ ♂, "Sassari [Italy, Sardinia]". Lectotype ♀ (MNHN), by present designation (see below). Paralectotypes ♀ (MNHN), by present designation.

Type material.

Lectotype ♀ (MNHN) of M. xanthopyga , a female in good condition labeled as follows: 1. " MNHN Paris EY33616" [printed, with QR-code]; 2. [blue circular disc]; 3. “Sassari” [handwritten, presumably by Pérez]; 4. "Museum Paris Coll. Pérez 1915" [printed]; 5. "Lectotype Megachile xanthopyga des. Baker 1991" [printed and handwritten on red paper]; 6. " Megachile schmiedeknechti det. van der Zanden 1995" [printed]. This lectotype designation has not been published and is accepted here. Two additional females from Sassari, each with a label "paralectotype M. xanthopyga des. Baker 1991" are designated as paralectotypes. The type locality of M. xanthopyga is not given in the original description. In his handwritten catalogue (available at https://science.mnhn.fr/catalogue/ey-bib-perez1), Pérez indicates under M. xanthopyga "Bonifacio, Sassari, ♀ mai-août, ♂ mai-juillet".

Note.

We did not examine type specimens of M. schmiedeknechti and do not know whether syntypes exist. The identity of the species is clear from the original description. The date of the original description of M. schmiedeknechti is unclear; its first, very brief description in Latin was published in the "Rendiconto dell’Accademia delle Scienze fisiche e matematiche, fascicolo 12, anno XXIII, dicembre 1884"; it is unclear if this volume was printed in 1884. A longer description, including a description in Italian, was published in 1885 ( Costa 1885a) in a separate book ("Tipografia della Reale Accademia delle Scienze Fis. e Mat., Napoli"). A third description, only in Latin, in the "Bulletino della Società Entomologica Italiana" ( Costa 1885b).

Other material.

18 specimens from France (Corsica), Italy (Sardinia) and Malta (Suppl. material 1) .

Distribution.

Restricted to Malta, Corsica, and Sardinia.

Geographic variation.

The Maltese populations have the vestiture bright red orange (Fig. 17 ), while the Corso-Sardinian populations yellowish orange (Fig. 18 ).

Note.

As noted above, it is possible that the superficially similar appearance of the Maltese and Corso-Sardinian populations is the result of independent convergent evolution. Our genetic analyses did not suggest a close relationship between these populations (although no nuclear sequence data was available for the Maltese populations). Awaiting additional genetic results, we continue to refer the Maltese populations as M. argentata schmiedeknechti .

Figures

Figures 15 - 24. Megachile argentata 15 female metasoma of northwestern African populations, M. argentata argentata 16 female metasoma of European, Levant, Turkey and Central Asian populations, M. argentata argentata 17 female metasoma of Malta populations, M. argentata schmiedeknechti 18 female metasoma of Corsican and Sardinian populations, M. argentata schmiedeknechti 19 female metasomal tergum 4 20 female vertex 21 apex of female clypeus 22 male front tarsi 23 male metasomal sterna 3 - 5 24 male genitalia.