Amegilla (Asaropoda) flava (Friese, 1911)

Leijs, Remko, Dorey, James & Hogendoorn, Katja, 2020, The genus Amegilla (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Anthophorini) in Australia: a revision of the subgenus Asaropoda, ZooKeys 908, pp. 45-122 : 45

Amegilla (Asaropoda) flava (Friese, 1911) Figure 12A-M

Anthophora flava Friese, 1911: 448.

Asaropoda cygni Rayment, 1931: 179, syn. nov.

Asaropoda rickae Rayment, 1951: 75, syn. nov.

Specimens examined.

23 males, 32 females

Types.

Holotype of A. flava , female, Freemantle, Australia, Friese Collection, ZMB.

Holotype of A. cygni , male, Swan River, WA, LJ Newman, Agriculture (Dept) Western Australia 28865.

Holotype of rickae , female, Bolgart, WA, May 1909, ANIC.

Decision for synonymy.

Examination of the holotype of A. flava , which was synonymised with A. scymna by Brooks (1988) without stating the reason for doing so, indicated its close similarity to the type of A. rickae , especially with respect to black supraclypeal and predominantly black paraclypeal areas, the absence of black hairs anteriorly on T2 and tibial scopa colour. Rayment’s male and female types are not different from the male and female specimens from Mount Wedge, SA, for which the sexes were associated using DNA.

Diagnosis.

Male with rectangular patch of light brown bristles on S4 and emarginated apicomedial area of S5 circa as wide as deep. Female paraclypeal and supraclypeal marks absent, tibial scopa pale yellow or ochre, T2 without black hairs anteriorly, process on S6 large roughly striate and punctate, not well defined posteriorly (Fig. 12L ).

Redescription.

Male (WAM 5391): Body length 11.8 mm, forewing length 8.8 mm, head width 4.7 mm.

Structure: Inner orbits of eyes diverging above; head wider than long; clypeal protuberance in profile 0.57 × eye width; mandible with distinct subapical tooth; F1 equal to combined length of next 2.7 flagellomeres; F1 0.84 × as long as scape; F2 0.58 × as long as F3; F3-F10 1.23 × as long as wide; last flagellomere 0.63 × as long as F1; marginal cell length 0.72 distance from apex of cell to wing tip; cu-v of hind wing 0.6 × as long as second abscissa of M+Cu; S5 with apicomedial emargination parabolic shaped circa 2.3 × as wide as deep; S4 widely emarginated; S6 with apicomedial emargination circa 3.5 × as wide as deep.

Genitalia: penis valves with well extended shoulders; volsella slender with 12 long setae (Fig. 12H ); gonocoxa laterally with a few short setae; apex of gonocoxa with almost rectangular ventral lobe; outer gonostylus circa as long as penis valve base, with long inwards bended setae at inner surface and apex; inner gonostylus 0.6 as long as outer gonostylus, slightly rectangular shaped with long setae at apex (Fig. 12G ); S7 (Fig. 12E ); S8 broad with almost straight apex (Fig. 12F ).

Pubescence: Head white on labrum, clypeus, most of the genae and vertex; pale yellow on upper part of genae and, between eyes and antennal sockets, some intermixed black hairs on clypeus, around ocelli and vertex; scutum, scutellum and metanotum pale orange intermixed with black hairs; mesosoma laterally and ventrally pale orange, lighter towards venter; fore leg pale yellow; mid and hind legs black on inner surface and pale orange on outer surface; metasomal terga T1 anteriorly with long pale orange erect hairs intermixed with black hairs, posteriorly with adpressed pale orange hairs; T2-T6 with pale orange hairs; T2 anteriorly with entire narrow band of black hairs; T7 hairs brown; S1-S4 with fringes of long branched pale yellow hairs on posterior margins and openly spaced pale yellow simple hairs on disks; S4-S5 laterally with plumes of pale yellow hairs; S4 apicomedial area with two rectangular patches of anteromedially directed black bristles, together circa one third of sternum width; S5 with long brown branched hairs around the emargination; S6 with branched hairs medially and along anterior edges of marginal zone.

Colouration: Integument black-brown, posterior margins of terga and sterna translucent orange-brown; legs orange to brown; scape yellow below and dark brown above; flagellum brown below and dark brown above; labrum yellow with translucent dots near dorsolateral corners; clypeus yellow; supraclypeal and paraclypeal area yellow; mandible yellow at base black brown at tip; proboscis orange-brown.

Female redescription (WAM 5385): Body length 13 mm, forewing length 9.4 mm, head width 5.4 mm.

Structure: Inner orbits of eyes diverging above; head wider than long; clypeal protuberance in profile 0.59 × eye width; mandible with distinct subapical tooth; F1 equal to combined length of next 3.5 flagellomeres; F1 as long as scape; F2 0.8 × as long as F3; F3-F10 circa as long as wide; last flagellomere 0.47 × as long as F1; marginal cell length 0.70 distance from apex of cell to wing tip; cu-v of hind wing 0.63 × as long as second abscissa of M+Cu; S6 with broad parabolically raised area (Fig. 12L ).

Pubescence: Head grey-white on labrum, clypeus and lower part of genae, face, vertex and upper part of genae pale orange some intermixed black hairs on clypeus, around ocelli and vertex; scutum, scutellum and metanotum with pale brown hairs intermixed with black hairs, grey on top of scutellum, and between tegulae; mesosoma laterally under wing base and ventrally pale brown, white towards venter, propodeum white; darker between coxae; outer surface of fore leg pale brown, darker on inner surface; mid and hind legs black on inner surface and pale orange on outer surface; scopa pale yellow, metasomal terga T1 anteriorly with long pale orange erect hairs intermixed with black hairs, posteriorly with adpressed pale orange hairs; T2-T5 with pale orange hairs; T2 anteriorly without adpressed black hairs; T5 with brown prepygidial fimbria; T6 with strong brown hairs flanking the pygidial plate; S2-S4 with fringes of long branched pale yellow hairs on posterior margins and openly spaced pale yellow simple hairs on disks; fringes and disks sometimes with dark hairs medially.

Colouration: Integument black-brown, apart from: posterior margins of terga and sterna translucent orange-brown; legs orange to brown; scape and flagellum brown; labrum pale yellow with translucent dots near dorsolateral corners; clypeus with pale yellow inverted T-shape; supraclypeal area black; paraclypeal area black without yellow mark; mandible pale yellow at base black brown at tip; proboscis orange-brown.

Remarks.

The type of A. flava has a small yellow mark in ventral corner of the paraclypeal area, while in all other examined females the paraclypeal area is entirely black.

Flower records.

Eremophila ( Scrophulariaceae ), Eucalyptus oleosa, Melaleuca subfalcata ( Myrtaceae ).

Distribution.

Southern temperate Australia, Figure 12I .

Figures

Figure 12. Amegilla (Asaropoda) flava (Friese, 1911).