Leptometriella tucumana (Brèthes), Brethes

A. Roig-Alsina, 2008, A revision of the South American bee genus Leptometriella Roig-Alsina (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Emphorini), Zootaxa 1688, pp. 20-36 : 24-26

Leptometriella tucumana (Brèthes)

(Figs. 3, 10)

Leptometria tucumana Brèthes, 1910: 297 . Holotype male, Tucumán, Argentina (MACN, examined). Ancyloscelis tucumana: Schrottky, 1913: 254 .

Diadasia tucumana: Schrottky, 1920: 173 .

Leptometriella tucumana: Roig Alsina, 1999: 24 , figs. 11–13.

Diadasina (Leptometriella) tucumana: Michener, 2000: 683 ; Michener, 2007: 704.

Diagnosis. This species is distinguished by the contrasting dark and pale vestiture of the metasomal terga, the apical bands being whitish to yellowish, and the hairs basally to the bands black. Some specimens of L. monteana from the provinces of Mendoza to Río Negro may also have a similar color pattern on the metasoma (although the hairs on entire T2 are always pale) but these specimens are not sympatric with L. tucumana . Males are also distinguished by the dense pubescence of the basitarsi, which hides the underlying cuticle.

FIGURES 3–13. Leptometriella males, T7: 3, L. tucumana ; 4, L. nigra ; 5, L. hirsutula ; 6, L. monteana ; 7, L. boliviana ; 8, L. minima ; 9, L. separata . Leptometriella males, mandible: 10, L. tucumana ; 11, L. monteana . Leptometriella females, T6: 12, L. nigra ; 13, L. separata . Scale lines = 0.1 mm.

Redescription. Female. Length 6.5–7.7 mm; length of forewing 5.8–6.5 mm.

Black, except apex of mandible, flagellomeres 3–10, and tegula dark reddish-brown, distal tarsomeres and translucent apical margin of S1–S5 yellowish brown, and tibial spurs yellowish. Wings yellowish with veins and pterostigma brown. Vestiture whitish on face, underside of head, sides and venter of thorax, metanotum, propodeum and base of T1; brown on vertex of head, dorsum of thorax, and most of metasomal sterna; yellowish brown on legs; black to brown on basal part of T2–T5; yellowish white on apical bands of T1–T4. Prepygidial fimbria brown medially and yellowish white at sides; S2–S 4 may bear whitish hairs at sides. Hairs on face of moderate length, on clypeus 0.5–1.7 times MOD, between antennal sockets up to 2.3 times MOD. Hairs on scutum 1.3–2.1 times MOD; on mesopleuron 2.0–3.0 times MOD; metapostnotum with short hairs (0.2–0.4 times MOD) close to propodeal margin, remainder of metapostnotum glabrous. T1 at extreme sides and T2–T4 with sharply defined apical band of dense, appressed hairs; T2–T4 basally to apical band with mostly erect hairs of two types: short, finely plumose hairs 0.2–0.3 times MOD, and stiff, simple, longer hairs 0.5–0.6 times MOD; T3–T4 also with two strata of hairs basally to apical band. Punctures on clypeus and labrum larger than those on rest of body, on clypeus 0.20–0.25 times MOD, separated by 0.5–1.0 times their diameter. Margins of scutum with punctures dense, but median part of posterior half with punctures irregularly distributed, separated by 1–5 times their diameter; basal part of scutellum polished, with few scattered punctures; punctures on mesopleuron finer than those of scutum; upper part of metapostnotum glabrous, polished. Vertex of head moderately elevated behind ocelli, distance from median ocellus to vertex in frontal view as long as 0.9 ocellar diameters. Proportion of UID to LID 1:0.9; IAD to AOD 1:0.46. Proportion of scape, pedicel and first three flagellomeres 3:0.8:1:0.45:0.55; first flagellomere as long as 1.25 times its apical width. Mandible narrowly pointed apically; preapical tooth distinct, small. Metapostnotum nearly vertical, in same plane as metanotum. T6 basally with gradular carina, continuing raised margin of pygidial plate laterally and fading at side, also with short gradular carina on apical portion of tergum.

Male. Length 5.8–6.8 mm; length of forewing 5.7–6.2 mm.

Color of cuticle and vestiture similar to that of female, with well-defined yellowish apical bands at sides of T1 and on T2–T6. Distribution of vestiture and punctation similar to that of female, although denser; punctures on clypeus and labrum 0.05–0.15 times MOD. Hairs of scutum 1.5–2.5 times MOD. Apical bands on T2–T6 dense, contrasting with basal pubescence, which is formed by appressed, short hairs (those on T2 0.25–0.35 times MOD) and scattered, erect, longer hairs (on T2 0.5–0.6 times MOD). Hairs of S2– S5 1.1 –1.8 times MOD. S6 evenly covered with short hairs, 0.25 times MOD. Proportion of first three flagellomeres, 1:0.5:0.75; length of first flagellomere 1.3 times its apical width. Mandible broadened preapically. T7 with two apical points separated distally by a distance similar to their length, forming medially a U-shaped notch. S7, S8 and genital capsule figured in Roig-Alsina (1999, figs. 11–13).

Material studied. Argentina: Jujuy: 1 male, Río Chico, 18-II-1955, J. F. ( MLP). Salta: 5 females, Sumalao, 17-III-1993, P. Hazeldine ( MACN); 1 male, Sumalao, III-1993, M. Fritz ( MACN); 1 female, Tablillas, 15-II-1945, A. Martínez ( MLP). Tucumán: 1 male, Tucumán, holotype ( MACN). La Rioja: 1 male, no precise locality or date, E. Giacomelli ( MACN).