Megachile rufoscopacea Friese.

Figs 15–16

Megachile laminata rufoscopacea Friese, 1903: 247 –248, two female syntypes (ZMHB) Tanzania.

Megachile rufoscopacea Friese: Cockerell 1933b: 376.

Creightoniella [!] rufoscopacea (Friese): Pasteels 1965: 16, 52–53.

Creightonella rufoscopacea (Friese): Schulten 1977: 47.

Megachile rufoscopacea mesomelaena Cockerell, 1933c: 133, female holotype (MRAC) Democratic Republic of the Congo; Pasteels 1965: 53, syn.

Discussion. This species was described by Friese (1903), as a subspecies of laminata, from Tanzania. Cockerell (1933b) considered it to be a valid species. The type material has been studied and it is distinct. Cockerell (1933c) described rufoscopacea mesomelaena, which was synonymized with rufoscopacea by Pasteels (1965). This synonymy is agreed, after the study of the holotype.

Baker labelled one syntype of M. aculeata as being synonymous with rufoscopacea . These are two distinct species.

Diagnosis. Female. Vestiture, head, mesosoma and metasoma with white and black patches and areas with white and black hairs intermixed; vertex and subapical bands of T2–T3 always black (Fig. 15a–b), scopa orange mediolongitudinally. Lengths: face 3.5–4.3 mm, scutum 2.9–3.5 mm, forewing 12.0– 13.5 mm, body 15.0– 17.5 mm. Structure. Clypeus twice as wide as long, gently raised, densely punctuate, ventral edge straight (Fig. 15a); clypeocellus: clypeus 1:0.8; scopal hairs blunt, some thickened distally.

Male unkown.

Distribution (Fig. 16) Megachile rufoscopacea appears to be East African with its southern limit in Zimbabwe.

Material examined. Type material. One female syntypes of Megachile laminata rufoscopacea: ‘Br. O. Afr Ikutha 1898, Meg. laminata v. rufoscopacea female Fr. 1900 Friese det.’, in ZMHB. Female holotype of Megachile rufoscopacea mesomelaena: ‘H.t. TYPE mesomelaena; MUSEE DU CONGO Katanga: Likulu 1–3.v.1937 G.F. de Witte; Creightonella rufoscopacea Friese det. J, Pasteels 1959; Megachile rufoscopacea mesomelaena Ckll TYPE’, in MRAC. Male syntype Megachile aculeata: ‘ TYPE; MUSEE DU CONGO Dr. Sheffield Neave KIP- AILA –KISINGA IX.07; Megachile aculeata DET. Vachal 1910 Type; Megachile aculeata male Vach; Creightonella aculeata Vachal J. Pasteels det. 1961; Creightonella rufoscopacea (Fr.) Det. D.B. Baker 1978 ’ (four specimens, one has the hand written det label and is here considered to be a syntype), in MRAC.

Additional material. Zimbabwe. Sebakwe [19.02S 30.13E], ii.1902 (3 female, SAMC); Harare [17.50S 31.03E], A. Watsham (2 females, SANC).