Colletes paratibeticus Kuhlmann, 2002

Ferrari, Rafael R., Niu, Ze-Qing, Kuhlmann, Michael, Zhang, Dan & Zhu, Chao- Dong, 2021, The cellophane bees of Colletes Latreille (Hymenoptera: Colletidae) from Xizang (Tibet), China, Zootaxa 5022 (1), pp. 1-72 : 23

Colletes paratibeticus Kuhlmann, 2002

( Figs 12A–F , 13A )

Colletes paratibeticus Kuhlmann in Kuhlmann & Dorn 2002: 104 (holotype ♂, Nepal, Langtang [ÖOLM]).

Colletes paratibeticus ; Niu et al. 2013b: 108 , 2014b: 476 ; Ascher & Pickering 2021.

Diagnosis. The set of the following features may be used to tell females of C. paratibeticus apart from those of the other Colletes species of Xizang: clypeus broader than long, mesoscutum with pale-yellow and black hairs intermixed and T2–T3 apical bands narrower than MOD in lateral view. Males may be diagnosed by the combination of mesoscutum with off-white and black hairs intermixed, S7 with a sparsely-haired subtriangular apex and gonostylus longer than its basal width. Colletes paratibeticus most closely resembles C. tibeticus , but they can be differentiated from one another by the paraocular area with a distinct longitudinal band of black hairs in both sexes of the former (paraocular area without black hairs in both sexes of the latter). Females of the two species may be further distinguished by the hind basitarsus with dark setae in C. paratibeticus (hind basitarsus with pale setae in C. tibeticus ) and males by the hind basitarsus 3.75× as long as broad in C. paratibeticus (hind basitarsus 4.5× as long as broad in C. tibeticus ).

Material examined. Published records — CHINA, Xizang: Baxoi , 30.00 96.90, 3880 m, 28.viii.1973, FS Huang, 1 ♀ . Yadong Xian , 27.40 88.90, 2800 m, 7.vi.1960, CG Wang, 3 ♀ 1 ♂ . Zham , 27.90 85.90, 3300 m, 7.vii.1975, FS Huang, 2 ♀ .

New records — CHINA, Xizang: Rikaze, Jilong, Public Forest , 28.5221 85.2173, 3448 m, 8.vii.2020, QT Wu & D Zhang, 3 ♂ . Rikaze, Jilong , Road G 318 km 3487, 28.4584 85.2587, 3084 m, 14.vii.2020, QT Wu & D Zhang, 1 ♀ .

Distribution. Western China (Xizang) and eastern and central Nepal (Dudh Kosi Tal, Khumbu, Kyangjin- Gompa, Langtang).

DNA barcode. Available (1 ♀). See also Fig. 1 and Table 1.

Floral hosts. Unknown.

Remarks. Interestingly, the barcode sequence of the female C. paratibeticus was only 0.8–1.2% different from those of its nearest neighbor ( C. tibeticus ) in terms of nucleotide composition ( Fig. 1 ), which suggests that they may have diverged from each other relatively recently. The two species, however, can be easily distinguished morphologically throught the characters listed in the key provided below.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Neighbor-joining tree based on the barcode data of the sequenced specimens of Colletes. Further information on the voucher codes shown on the tree can be found in Table 1.

FIGURE 12. Colletes paratibeticus Kuhlmann, 2002. Female: (A) habitus, lateral view; (C) face, frontal view. Male: (B) habitus, lateral view; (D) face, frontal view; (E) genital capsule, lateral view; (F) S7, ventral view. Scale bars: (A–D) 2 mm; (E, F) 1 mm.

FIGURE 13. Confirmed geographic records of the Colletes species found in Xizang based on the examined material. (A) C. paratibeticus; (B) C. sanctus; (C) C. sidemii; (D) C. splendidus sp. nov.