Ruizantheda venezuelana, Coelho & Engel, 2018

Coelho, Beatriz W. T. & Engel, Michael S., 2018, A new group of species within the bee genus Ruizantheda, with a revised key to the males of the genus (Hymenoptera: Halictidae: Caenohalictini), Zootaxa 4415 (3), pp. 513-532 : 519-521

Ruizantheda venezuelana n. sp.

( Figures 5 , 12 , 21 , 43 )

Diagnosis. Head wider than long ( Fig. 5 ); mesotrochanter with strong pointed keel ventro-proximally ( Fig. 12 ); metapostnotum with very fine anastomosed rugae medially; S5 with broad, weakly U-shaped gradulus ( Fig. 21 ); penis valve with apex slightly rounded and outer lateral expansion weakly bilobed ( Fig. 43 ).

Description. Male. Size. Length approximately 10.0 mm. Forewing length 8.0 mm. Intertegular distance 1.7 mm.

Colour. Head and mesosoma bright green, with faint blue highlights on face and mesepisternum. About apical one third of clypeus with yellow transverse band. Mandible dark brown with reddish apex. Labral basal area and center of labral distal process yellow, brown elsewhere. Antenna blackish, flagellum lighter below than above. Legs dark brown, pro- and metacoxae, pro- and mesofemora with faint green-blue highlights. Metasoma brown, discs of T1–5 with blue-green tints. Pygidial plate brown.

Pubescence. Compound eyes with dark setae, approximately as long as ocellar diameter. Face with long, plumose, whitish setae, less-branched brownish setae on frons and some on vertex, dark setae on clypeus. Lower paraocular area with strip of short, plumose, white setae along inner margin of compound eye. Mesosoma with yellowish-white setae and some yellowish-brown setae intermixed, anterior margin of mesoscutum with whitish setae. Legs with whitish setae, yellowish-white on tarsi. Discs of T2–6 with semi-decumbent to decumbent, yellowish setae. Posterior marginal zones of T3–4 with a few simple, decumbent, short setae. Apicolateral lobes of S4 with tuft of branched setae and about 10 stout, simple, recurved setae on margin; a few plumose setae elsewhere. S5 with patch of short, decumbent setae, more conspicuous in lateral view, arising from inside U-shaped gradulus and extending toward apical margin.

Structure. Head wider than long ( Fig. 5 ). Ratio of upper to lower interocular distances about 1.2. Malar area linear. Mandible simple. Labral distal process in form of a minute inverted triangle. Epistomal sulcus forming obtuse angle. Clypeus projecting nearly two-thirds of its total length below lower orbital tangent. Ocellocular area concave. Vertex slightly expanded behind ocelli. Frons slightly depressed. Preoccipital ridge rounded. Antenna unmodified, F2 1.6× length of F1. Profemur swollen. Mesotrochanter with strong pointed keel ventro-proximally, with apex bluntly rounded ( Fig. 12 ); femur greatly swollen, ventrally flattened; mesotibia slightly swollen with flat, minutely ridged ventral area and minute distal tooth on outer surface; mesobasitarsus less than two-thirds length of mesotibia, unmodified. Hind leg unmodified. S4 shortened medially, largely hidden under S3, with transverse median depression and apical margin shallowly emarginate. Apical margin of S5 very shallowly emarginate, with broad, weakly U-shaped gradulus, ending before apical margin ( Fig. 21 ). Gradulus of S6 interrupted medially. S7 with median apical process angulate, short and without setae. S8 with median apical process broad and trapezoidal shaped, apical margin bearing weak, membranous lateral lobes, separated by a thin medial surface, lobe rounded medially. Pygidial plate oval.

Genitalia ( Fig. 43 ). Basal region of gonobase with W-shaped in ventral view. Gonocoxae with outer margins divergent and convex near apex; inner dorsal margins progressively divergent, at about midpoint becoming slightly curved and much more divergent. Basal region of gonostylus with rvl sclerotized, long, more than one-half length of gonocoxite and rounded apically, with simple setae at extremity, overlapping those of opposing gonostylus; with broad median projection formed by a sclerotized area that partially borders a translucent and inflated region; inner lobe present. Mgl crescent-shaped with outer surface expanded medially, and with scattered, very short setae. Ogp large, terminating before apex of mgl, with a row of many long, plumose setae arising at juncture of ogp with mgl, outer margin less sclerotized, extending to ventral region and laterally forming a less-sclerotized, inflated area with cuticular wrinkles; clump of median, erect, plumose setae at base of ogp. Penis valve strongly arched in lateral view; strong, main, central dorsal ridge; apex slightly rounded; outer lateral expansion weakly bilobed, obtusely angulate between two sections, and without projection posteriorly; prong very narrow, extending past volsella posteriorly. Volsella medio-apical margin strongly emarginate; basal region slightly truncate.

Sculpture. Upper paraocular area and frons densely punctate, with fine, contiguous punctures and setal bases intermixed, separated by 2–4 PD. Lower paraocular area with coarse punctures separated by 1–3 PD. Supraclypeal area with punctures separated by 1-3 PD, small impunctate area medially. Clypeus with coarse punctures separated by 1–3 PD, denser laterally. Face with surface between punctures microreticulate, weaker on clypeus. Mesoscutum with setal bases separated by 3–8 PD centrally. Mesoscutellum with a few coarse setal bases centrally, becoming more densely punctured posteriorly and laterally (2–4 PD), surface with appearance bright. Pre-episternum with setal bases separated by 2–4 PD. Mesepisternum with setal bases separated by 3–6 PD. Metapostnotum with widely angulate triangular area defined by microareolate sculpture and very fine anastomosed rugae medially not reaching posterior margin, becoming short and longitudinal laterally. Surface between setal bases reticulate throughout mesosoma. Discs of T2–3 with fine punctures separated by 2–3 PD, slightly sparser on apical margins, surfaces reticulate.

Distribution. Ruizantheda venezuelana n. sp. is presently known only from Venezuela.

Type material. Holotype male ( SEMC), “ VENEZUELA: Mérida \ Mérida, 18.5 km NE, Páramo la Culata\ 8° 44´34´´ N, 71 S 44 W, 2950m \ 25 MAY 1998; J.Ashe, R.Brooks, R.Hanley\ VEN 1 ABH 98 127” and “ HOLOTYPE \ Ruizantheda venezuelana \Coelho & Engel” [red label]. Specimen lacking right flagellomeres.

Etymology. The specific epithet refers to the occurrence of the species in Venezuela.

Figures

FIGURES3–8. Male heads. 3, Ruizantheda nigra n. sp; 4, R.colombianan. sp.; 5, R.venezuelana n. sp.; 6, R. baeri (Vachal); 7, R. pilosa n. sp.; 8, R. gaullei (Vachal).

FIGURES 11–13. Male legs. 11–12, mesofemur and mesotrochanter: 11, Ruizantheda colombiana n. sp.; 12, R. venezuelana n. sp. 13, hind leg of R. colombiana n. sp.

FIGURES 20–25. Male metasomal sterna. 20–21, S4–5: 20, Ruizantheda nigra n. sp.; 21, R. venezuelana n. sp. 22, S2–4, R. gaullei (Vachal). 23–24, S3–6: 23, R.baeri (Vachal); 24, R. pilosa n. sp. 25, S5, R. gaullei.

FIGURES 42–44. Male. 42–43, genital capsule, ventral view; 44, gonostylus, ventral view. 42, Ruizantheda nigra n. sp.; 43, R.venezuelana n. sp.; 44, R. colombianan. sp.