Andrena (Tarsandrena) palliata, Wood, 2023

Wood, Thomas James, 2023, New Old World Andrena species, with a focus on Turkey (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae), Zootaxa 5266 (1), pp. 1-72 : 46-50

Andrena (Tarsandrena) palliata spec. nov.

HOLOTYPE: MONGOLIA: Arkhangay prov., 90 km NE Tsetserleg , 48.0503 oN, 102.4169 oE, 1400 m, along small river, 24.vii.2004, 1♁, leg. J. Straka, OÖLM.

PARATYPES: CHINA: Tian Shan, 2000–3000 m, Urumqi 70 km Houxia, 24.vii.1991, 7♀, leg. M. Snižek, OÖLM ; MONGOLIA: Arkhangay prov., 90 km NE Tsetserleg , 1400 m, along small river, 24.vii.2004, 2♁, 1♀, leg. J. Straka, OÖLM ; Arkhangay, 90 km NE Tsetserleg , 1400 m, 27.vii.2005, 1♁, 3♀, leg. M. Kadlecová & J. Halada, OÖLM / TJWC ; Arkhangay, 25 km NE Tsetserlg , 1730 m, 23.vii.2004, 1♁, leg. J. Straka, OÖLM .

Description: Female: Body length: 10–12 mm ( Figure 27A ). Head: Dark, 1.2 times wider than long ( Figure 27B ). Clypeus domed, regularly punctate, punctures separated by 0.5–1 puncture diameter with exception of broad impunctate longitudinal midline; underlying surface smooth and shining. Process of labrum trapezoidal, twice as wide as long, apical margin somewhat truncate, with weak and shallow median emargination. Gena slightly exceeding width of compound eye; ocelloccipital distance almost 2 times diameter of lateral ocellus. Foveae dorsally occupying just over half space between lateral ocellus and compound eye, poorly defined, ventrally slightly extending beyond antennal insertions; filled with dark brown hair. Face, gena, anterior part of vertex, and scape covered with moderately long black hairs, none equalling length of scape; vertex posteriorly with long golden-brown hairs, not strongly intermixing with black hairs anteriorly. Antennae dark, A3 exceeding A4+5, slightly shorter than A4+5+6. Mesosoma: Scutum and scutellum densely punctate, punctures separated by <0.5 puncture diameters over majority of disc, becoming slightly sparser medially, at most separated by 1 puncture diameter; underlying surface shagreened and weakly shining anteriorly and laterally, smooth and shining medially ( Figure 27C ). Pronotum with humeral angle. Mesepisternum shagreened, with hair-bearing punctures with slightly raised rims, punctures separated by 1 puncture diameter. Dorsolateral parts of propodeum microreticulate, microreticulation overlain by network of raised reticulation; propodeal triangle broad, internal surface with even granular microreticulation, thus defined by change in surface sculpture. Mesepisternum with long black hairs, slightly exceeding length of scape, scutum and scutellum with shorter golden-brown hairs. Propodeal corbicula incomplete, dorsal fringe composed of intermixed black and golden-brown weakly plumose hairs, internal surface with very short black hairs. Legs dark, apical tarsal segments lightened reddish, pubescence black. Flocculus black, short and dense, femoral and tibial scopa black, tibial scopa composed of loose, moderately long black hairs ( Figure 27D ). Hind tarsal claws with short inner tooth. Wings hyaline, stigma dark brown to orange, venation orange, nervulus weakly antefurcal. Metasoma: Terga dark, marginal areas with apical rim lightened hyaline-brown. Tergal discs microreticulate, weakly shining, microreticulation becoming weaker on marginal areas, here shining more strongly; tergal discs with fine crater punctures, basally separated by 1–2 puncture diameters, becoming sparser apically, apical parts of marginal areas impunctate. T 1–4 in fresh individuals with long golden brown hairs that cover entire tergal disc and margin and obscure the underlying surface ( Figure 27E ). T5 with shorter black hairs, apical fringe of T5 and hairs flanking pygidial plate dark brown, pygidial plate relatively narrow, apically rounded, internal surface with elevated area medially, elevated areas with surface flat and featureless.

Male: Body length: 10 mm ( Figure 27F ). Head: Dark, 1.2 times wider than long ( Figure 28A ). Clypeus marked with yellow over majority of area with exception of two small mediolateral spots, yellow markings not extending to clypeal margins, these dark. Clypeus domed, regularly punctate, punctures separated by 0.5–1 puncture diameters with exception of narrow longitudinal impunctate line medially; underlying surface finely shagreened, weakly shining. Process of labrum rounded trapezoidal, twice as wide as long. Gena exceeding width of compound eye; ocelloccipital distance equalling 2 times diameter of lateral ocellus. Clypeus medially, antennal insertions, and scape with white hairs, inner margin of compound eye and frons with black hairs, intermixing slightly medially; gena ventrally with long white hairs, longest exceeding length of scape, becoming light brown dorsally on vertex. Antennae basally dark, A4–13 ventrally lightened by presence of grey scales; A3 exceeding A4+5, shorter than A4+5+6;A4 slightly longer than broad, shorter than A5. Scutum and scutellum densely punctate, punctures separated by <0.5 puncture diameters over majority of disc, becoming slightly sparser medially, at most separated by 1 puncture diameter; underlying surface shagreened and weakly shining anteriorly and laterally, smooth and shining medially. Pronotum with humeral angle. Mesepisternum microreticulate, with dense but poorly defined elongate punctures, punctures separated by 0.5 puncture diameters. Dorsolateral parts of propodeum microreticulate, microreticulation overlain by network of raised reticulation; propodeal triangle broad, slightly depressed below level of dorsolateral parts of propodeum, with network of raised fine rugosity over basal two thirds. Mesepisternum and propodeum with long yellowish hairs, clearly exceeding length of scape, scutum and scutellum with shorter yellowish hairs ( Figure 28B ). Legs basally dark, tarsi lightened orange, pubescence whitish. Hind tarsal claws with inner tooth. Wings hyaline, stigma dark brown to orange, venation orange, nervulus interstitial to weakly antefurcal. Metasoma: Terga dark, marginal areas with apical rim lightened hyaline-brown ( Figure 28C ). Terga very finely shagreened, broadly shining; tergal discs with crater punctures, basally punctures separated by 1–2 puncture diameters, becoming sparser apically, apical parts of marginal areas impunctate. T 1–4 in fresh individuals with long yellowish hairs that cover terga but do not obscure underlying surface, T5 with black hairs. S8 columnar, ventrally with short dark brown hairs. Genital capsule compact, rounded, gonocoxae produced into long, apically rounded teeth; gonostyli narrow, strongly arched, apically slightly broadened and weakly spatulate, with strongly raised internal margin ( Figure 28D ). Penis valves basally broad, with laterally produced rounded hyaline extensions, basal part thus appearing rounded.

Diagnosis: Andrena palliata females are covered in a mixture of long orange and black hairs ( Figures 27A,

27E) and have a weak humeral angle on the pronotum, and therefore superficially resemble Andrena s. str. or Cnemidandrena species such as A. fulva (M̧ller, 1766) or A. nigriceps (Kirby, 1802) . However, the tibial scopa is composed of loose hairs ( Figure 27D ; tibial scopa typically with short dense hairs in Cnemidandrena , with the hind tibia itself being noticeably broader apically than basally) which is more typical of Andrena s. str., but material has been collected in the late summer, which is more typical of Cnemidandrena . Association with male material reveals the true phylogenetic affinity which is in the subgenus Tarsandrena due to the yellow-marked clypeus ( Figure 28A ), slightly broadened gena, humeral angle, finely rugose propodeal triangle that is slightly depressed below the level of the dorsolateral parts of the propodeum, and compact genital capsule with strongly produced gonocoxal teeth ( Figure 28D ). Tarsandrena are currently represented by eight Palaearctic species, with the highest diversity in the Eastern Palaearctic ( Table 3), with only one species clearly passing the Ural mountains and entering the Western Palaearctic ( A. tarsata Nylander, 1848 ).

Due to their large size (other Tarsandrena males clearly <10 mm in length), males are comparable only to A. ehnbergi Morawitz, 1888 and A. sarydzhasi Osytshnjuk, 2005 . Andrena palliata can easily be separated from A. sarydzhasi (male described below) as the gena is as wide as the width of the compound eye and the head is more or less as long as broad (gena strongly broadened and clearly wider than the width of the compound eye, head short, clearly much wider than long in A. sarydzhasi ). The genital capsule of A. palliata is similar, but the gonocoxal teeth are more strongly pronounced and the gonostyli have their external margin clearly constricted subapically, with their apexes small, clearly smaller than the maximal breadth of the penis valves (genital capsule with external margin of gonostyli not constricted, gonostyli apically large, apexes each of comparable size to the maximal breadth of the penis valves in A. sarydzhasi ). Separation from A. ehnbergi can be made by the shape of the yellow clypeal markings, being more or less circular and not covering the entire clypeal surface ( Figure 28A ), with the lower paraocular areas black (clypeus with yellow markings extending to its edge, lower paraocular areas with small yellow spot in A. ehnbergi ), by the more scattered and more crater-like tergal punctures, punctures separated by 1–2 puncture diameters on tergal discs, tergal margins with punctures very scattered (tergal punctures regular, not craterlike, separated by 1 puncture diameter on tergal discs and margins), and by the gena which is only as wide as the width of the compound eye (clearly wider than the width of the compound eye in A. ehnbergi ). The genital capsule is also diagnostic, as A. ehnbergi have the genital capsule close to A. sarydzhasi with the apexes of the gonostyli large and spatulate, with the outer margin straight, lacking the subapical contraction that is present in A. palliata .

Females do not resemble any known Tarsandrena due to the extensive long and dense hairs covering the terga, most species instead displaying complete or interrupted white apical hairbands. Additionally, the clypeus is domed ( Figure 27B ), with punctures becoming sparse medially, here smooth and shining; other Tarsandrena species typically display a more or less flattened clypeus. Female A. palliata should be primarily diagnosed against Andrena s. str. or Cnemidandrena using the characters detailed above.

Remarks: Andrena palliata was found in sympatry with two other Tarsandrena species in Mongolia at its two collecting sites: A. ehnbergi and A. tarsata . These species appear to be specialists of Potentilla (Rosaceae) . Study is required to establish whether A. palliata shares this pollen foraging niche.

Etymology: Feminine form of the Latin adjective palliatus meaning ‘to cloak’ (from pallium meaning cloak), thus meaning cloaked, covered, or protected, in reference to the dense hairs covering the female terga, and also to the somewhat obscure phylogenetic affinities of the female.

Distribution: China (Xinjiang) and Mongolia.

Comparative material examined. Andrena ehnbergi : KYRGYZSTAN: Kungei-Alatau , 2200 m, 14.vii.2001, 1♀, leg. Z. Klyuchko, OÖLM ; MONGOLIA: Arkhangay, 90 km NE Tsetserleg , 1400 m, 24.vii.2004, 1♁, 2♀, leg. M. Kadelcová, OÖLM ; Arkhangay, 90 km NE Tsetserleg , 1400 m, 27.vii.2005, 1♁, 5♀, leg. P. Tymer & J. Halada, OÖLM ; Arkhangay, 25 km NE Tsetserlg , 1730 m, 23.vii.2004, 3♁, 10♀, leg. M. Kadelcová, OÖLM .

Andrena tarsata : MONGOLIA: Arkhangay, 25 km NE Tsetserlg , 1730 m, 23.vii.2004, 1♁, 1♀, leg. J. Straka & M. Kadelcová, OÖLM .

Andrena truncatella : CHINA: Beijing, Xiaolongmen N. Park, 1300 m, 4–10.vi.2016, 8♁, 1♀, leg. E. Jendek & O. Sauša, OÖLM ; Shaanxi, Qinling mts, Xunyangba (6 km E), [Xunyangbazhen] 1000–1300 m, 23.v–13.vi.1998; 1♁, leg. I.H. Marshal, OÖLM ; Zhaoyi, Zhongtiao Shan mt. , 21.v.1996, 22♁, leg. J. Halada, OÖLM ; NORTH KOREA: Myohyangsan Mts., Hyangean [Hyangsan], 650 m, 28.v–2.vi.1986, 1♁, leg. Dr. T. Soldán, OÖLM .

Figures

FIGURE 27. Andrena (Tarsandrena) palliata spec. nov. female. A. Habitus, lateral view, B. Face, frontal view, C. Scutum, dorsal view, D. Tibial scopa, lateral view, E. Dorsum. Male. F. Habitus, lateral view.

FIGURE 28. Andrena (Tarsandrena) palliata spec. nov. male. A. Face, frontal view, B. Dorsum, C. Terga, dorsolateral view, D. Genital capsule, dorsal view.