Andrena (Hoplandrena) cephalgia, Wood, 2023

Wood, Thomas James, 2023, New Old World Andrena species, with a focus on Turkey (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae), Zootaxa 5266 (1), pp. 1-72 : 12-16

Andrena (Hoplandrena) cephalgia spec. nov.

HOLOTYPE: TAJIKISTAN: Surchobtal [Surkhob valley = Vakhsh], Djiragatal [Dzhergatol, =Vahdat], 39.3508 oN, 71.1402 oE, 2500 m, 14.vi.1990, 1♁, leg. J. Halada, OÖLM.

PARATYPES: KAZAKHSTAN: Almaty reg., Talgar , MT [Malaise Trap], 43.2906 oN, 77.3062 oE, 7–21.v.2013, 39♁, 10♀, leg. Barták, TJWC / OÖLM ; Kazstroj [Kazhtroy, Almaty], 1240 m, MT [Malaise Trap], 21.v–30.viii.2013, 12♁, 6♀, leg. O. Nakládal, SBC ; KYRGYZSTAN: ~ 25 km SSE Kara-Balta town , 1600 m, 27–28.v.1995, 1♁, leg. D. Milko, OÖLM ; Frunze [Bishkek], 50 km S, Alla Arča [Ala Archa National Park], 7.vii.1981, 1♁, 1♀, leg. Kocourek, OÖLM ; Jalal Abad, Arkit env., 1700–1920 m, 8.vi.2019, 5♀, leg. J. & L. Halada, OÖLM ; Naryn, Distr. Naryn, Naryn Too , Salkyn-Tor NP, 2400–2500 m, 12–13.vi.2008, 2♁, leg. H. & R. Rausch, OÖLM ; pr. Talash, Orto- Too Mt, Cheleke env., 1800 m, 31.v.2019, 1♁, 2♀, leg. J. & L. Halada, OÖLM ; prov. Osh, Chauvay-Chay river , 1540 m, 4.vi.2019, 2♀, leg. J. & L. Halada, OÖLM ; Tien-Shan [Tian-Shan], S. slope, Nyldy Rav [Tash-Tyube], 1900 m, 11.vi.1996, 1♁, 1♀, leg. D. Milko, OÖLM ; Ysyk-Kol [Issyk Kul], Jeti-Oguz env., 1870 m, 12.vi.2019, 1♀, leg. leg. J. & L. Halada, OÖLM ; Ak-Suu riv., Tezskey Alatau Mt. Teplokjuchenka vill. [Teploklyuchenka], 1–30.vi.1999, 1♁, leg. V. Gurko, OÖLM ; TAJIKISTAN: Dušambe [Dushanbe], 40 km N, Varzob , 23.vi.1981, 2♀, leg. Kocourek, OÖLM ; Surchobtal [ Surkhob valley = Vakhsh], Djiragatal [Dzhergatol, = Vahdat], 2500 m, 14.vi.1990, 2♁, leg. J. Halada, OÖLM .

Description: Female: Body length: 15–16 mm ( Figure 5A ). Head: Dark, 1.2 times wider than long ( Figure 5B ). Clypeus weakly domed, shallowly punctured, punctures separated by 1–2 puncture diameters, denser laterally, becoming weaker apically; underlying surface shagreened and dull laterally, becoming smooth and shining apically. Process of labrum weakly trapezoidal, twice as wide as long, apical margin very shallowly emarginate. Gena exceeding width of compound eye; ocelloccipital distance equalling 1 diameter of lateral ocellus. Foveae dorsally broad, occupying almost entire space between lateral ocellus and compound eye, slightly narrowed ventrally at level of antennal insertions; ventrally filled with whitish hairs, becoming dark brown in dorsal half. Face, gena, vertex, and scape with long whitish to light brownish hairs, none equalling length of scape, frons and area around ocellar triangle with some intermixed black hairs. Antennae basally dark, A5–12 becoming progressively more extensively lightened orange ventrally, A9–12 extensively orange ventrally; A3 exceeding A4+5, shorter than A4+5+6. Mesosoma: Scutum and scutellum densely microreticulate, completely dull, with shallow but obscure punctures disappearing into microreticulation, punctures separated by 0.5–2 puncture diameters. Pronotum with humeral angle. Mesepisternum and dorsolateral parts of propodeum microreticulate, with obscure narrow punctures, punctures separated by 1–2 puncture diameters; propodeal triangle long, finely granulate, impunctate, clearly differentiated from dorsolateral parts of propodeum due to change in surface sculpture ( Figure 5C ). Mesepisternum with long white hairs, scutum and scutellum with shorter light golden-brown hairs; propodeal corbicula complete, with anterior and dorsal fringes composed of long and very dense whitish yellow plumose hairs, internal surface with obscure simple hairs. Legs basally dark, mid basitarsi obscurely coloured dark orange, hind tibiae and tarsi lightened orange, pubescence golden-orange. Flocculus long and dense, composed of whitish plumose hairs, femoral scopa whitish, tibial scopa golden, composed of short hairs that form a tight, triangular scopa ( Figure 5D ). Hind tarsal claws with inner tooth. Wings hyaline, stigma and venation orange, nervulus interstitial. Metasoma: Terga dark, tergal margins lightened reddish-brown; terga microreticulate, obscurely punctate, punctures separated by 1 puncture diameter, weakly shining. Terga in fresh specimens covered with long brownish-yellow hairs that obscure underlying surface ( Figure 5E ). Apical fringe of T5 and hairs flanking pygidial plate golden, pygidial plate elongate triangular with clearly raised triangular area medially, with narrow depressed marginal area in apical half.

Male: Body length: 13–15 mm ( Figure 5F ). Head: Dark, 1.3 times wider than long ( Figure 6A ). Clypeus weakly domed, densely punctate, punctures separated by 0.5–1 puncture diameters, with exception of impunctate longitudinal line medially; underlying surface shagreened and dull basally and laterally, smooth and shining medially and apically. Process of labrum weakly trapezoidal, twice as wide as long, apical margin very shallowly emarginate. Size of male head strongly variable (see Remarks); gena strongly broadened, 1.5–2.5 times wider than width of compound eye ( Figures 6B–D ); ocelloccipital distance equalling 1–2 times diameter of lateral ocellus. Face, gena, vertex, and scape with long light brownish hairs, some exceeding length of scape, with scattered darker hairs along inner margin of compound eye and around antennal insertions. Antennae basally dark, A4–13 lightened ventrally by presence of greyish scales; A3 exceeding A4, slightly shorter than A4+5. Mesosoma: Mesosoma structurally as in female with exception of pronotum with strongly pronounced humeral angle, with deep vertical furrow, surface of furrow more or less polished and shining. Mesosoma covered in long golden-brownish hairs, many exceeding length of scape. All tarsi and hind tibiae lightened orange, pubescence whitish; hind tarsal claws with strong inner tooth. Wings hyaline, stigma and venation orange, nervulus interstitial. Metasoma: Terga dark, marginal areas with narrow rim lightened yellow-hyaline; terga very finely shagreened, shining, finely and regularly punctate, punctures separated by 1–2 puncture diameters ( Figure 6E ). T1 and base of T2 with long, erect golden-brown hairs, remaining part of T2 and T3–5 covered with short and fine golden hair, underlying cuticle visible. S8 narrow, apically truncate, entirely covered ventrally with short and dense golden hairs. Genital capsule more or less elongate triangular, gonocoxae strongly produced into apically projecting teeth, gonostyli broadened and flattened apically, with strong raised internal margin basally; gonostyli with strong apical hair tuft at apex of inner margin ( Figure 6F ). Penis valves with laterally-projecting hyaline extensions basally, with broadened valve medially, penis valves gradually narrowing apically.

Diagnosis: Andrena cephalgia can be recognised as a Hoplandrena due to the elongate A3 of the female ( Figure 5B , exceeding length of A4+5), the broad facial foveae, occupying almost the entire space between the lateral ocellus and the compound eye, the male mandibles long and falcate, strongly crossing apically ( Figure 6A ), the broad male gena ( Figures 6C–D , exceeding width of compound eye), the long A3 of the male ( Figures 6C–D , exceeding length of A4; note that in several species of Hoplandrena A3 is much shorter than A4), and the humeral angle of the pronotum (very strongly pronounced in the male). The female is somewhat atypical for a Hoplandrena because the flocculus is moderately developed (normally composed of only short and weak hairs), the clypeus is comparatively weakly and sparsely punctate, and the dorsolateral parts of the propodeum lack shallow but clear punctures that contrast with the impunctate propodeal triangle ( Figure 5C ). However, the male morphology clearly places this taxon in the subgenus Hoplandrena .

This Palaearctic subgenus contains 23 species ( Gusenleitner & Schwarz 2002; Xu & Tadauchi 2005; Osytshnjuk et al. 2008), when excluding A. grozdanici Osytshnjuk, 1975 which belongs to the subgenus Hamandrena (see Dubitzky et al. 2010; the species status of A. grozdanici is also unclear and it may be a synonym of A. nasuta Giraud, 1863 ) and also A. schoenitzeri Gusenleitner, 1998 which was found to be a synonym of A. rosae Panzer, 1801 (see below). Only four species have been reported from Central Asia: A. clusia Warncke, 1965 , A. mordax Morawitz, 1876 , A. rosae Panzer, 1801 , and A. trimmerana (Kirby, 1802) ( Osytshnjuk et al. 2008) .

The female of A. cephalgia can be identified because of its unusual characters for a Hoplandrena , specifically the long and relatively dense flocculus, the sparsely punctate clypeus with punctures separated by 1–2 puncture diameters (normally densely punctate with punctures separated by 0.5–1 puncture diameters), the weakly punctate dorsolateral parts of the propodeum ( Figure 5C ). In addition, the propodeal corbicula is also complete, with an anterior as well as dorsal fringe; this character is unknown in West Palaearctic Hoplandrena species. The tibial scopa is also composed of very short hairs ( Figure 5D ), similar to the situation in Tarsandrena and some Truncandrena, whereas it is normally composed of longer and looser hairs in Hoplandrena . This combination of characters therefore makes it unique within the Hoplandrena .

The male of A. cephalgia can be recognised because A3 is clearly longer than A4 (A3 clearly shorter than A 4 in A. rosae and A. trimmerana ), the body is covered with light hairs, with entirely light hairs on the face, and the genital capsule is distinct, with the penis valves possessing hyaline lateral extensions ( Figure 6F ) and the gonostyli are produced into apical points with a clear tuft of hairs on their inner apical margin (in A. clusia and A. mordax with extensive black hairs on the face, genital capsules otherwise, lacking lateral hyaline extensions to the penis valves, gonostyli without apical hair tufts, see Astafurova et al. 2022). The male is similar to A. schuberthi Gusenleitner, 1998 from eastern Turkey (Hakkâri) and newly reported from Iran (see below) because of the long A3 which exceeds the length of A4 ( Figure 6G ) and the pale pubescence of the body. However, A. cephalgia can be separated by its mandible with an inner subapical tooth (unidentate in A. schuberthi ; Figure 6G ) and by the complex genital capsule with 1) strongly produced gonocoxal teeth, 2) penis valves with laterally projecting hyaline extensions, 3) apically strongly flattened gonostyli with rounded lamellate inner margin, and 4) gonostyli apically with apical tuft of hairs on its inner margin ( A. schuberthi with gonocoxae apically rounded, penis valves without lateral extensions, gonostyli not noticeably flattened, lacking any hair tufts on their inner margins; Figure 6H ).

Remarks. The size of the male head is highly variable, with the ocelloccipital distance varying from 1 to 2 times the diameter of the lateral ocellus and the genal width varying from 1.5 to 2.5 times the width of the compound eye ( Figures 6C–D ). Such variation has been reported from males of other Hoplandrena species, and it may be related to mating structure and inter-male competition for species that nest in aggregations and mate within the nest (Paxton & Tenĝ 1994; Paxton et al. 1996).

Etymology: Deriving from the Greek cephalus (head) and algos (pain), therefore meaning head-pain, in reference to the often grossly expanded head of the male. It is a noun in apposition.

Distribution: Southern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, typically at altitudes of 1500–2500 m.

Comparative material examined. Andrena schuberthi : IRAN: 20 km NW Neyriz / Fars Steppe , 1550 m, 18.v.1978, 1♀, leg. M. Kraus, OÖLM ; TURKEY: Hakkâri, 18 km NW Yüksekova , 1800 m, 13.vi.1981, 1♀, leg. K. Warncke, OÖLM (holotype) ; Hakkâri, 18 km NW Yüksekova , 1800 m, 13.vi.1981, 1♁, 5♀, leg. K. Warncke & M. Kraus, OÖLM (paratypes) ; Hakkâri, S. Varegös / Mt. Sat , 2000 m, 17.vi.1984, 4♀, leg. K. Warncke, OÖLM ; Hakkâri, Suvari Halil-Pass , 2300 m, 14.vi.1981, 9♁, 5♀, leg. K. Warncke & M. Kraus, OÖLM (paratypes) .

Figures

FIGURE 5. Andrena (Hoplandrena) cephalgia spec. nov. A. Female Habitus, lateral view, B. Female face, frontal view, C. Female propodeum, dorsal view, D. Female tibial scopa, lateral view, E. Female dorsum, F. Male habitus, lateral view.

FIGURE 6. Andrena (Hoplandrena) cephalgia spec. nov. male. A. Face, frontal view, B. Dorsum, C. Male head, small variation, dorsal view, D. Male head, large variation, dorsal view, E. Terga, dorsal view, F. Genital capsule, dorsal view. Andrena (Hoplandrena) schuberthi Gusenleitner, 1998 male. G. Face, frontal view, H. Genital capsule, dorsal view.