Austrosphecodes balrog, Gonçalves & Pereira, 2022

Gonçalves, Rodrigo Barbosa & Pereira, Felipe Walter, 2022, New species of the cuckoo bee genus Austrosphecodes Michener, 1978 (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Sphecodini) and a key for Brazilian species, European Journal of Taxonomy 819, pp. 55-89 : 63-65

Austrosphecodes balrog sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:CF0AD167-C63B-4241-8391-E38D0340A26F

Figs 2 , 10A

Diagnosis

The frons sparsely punctate, with variable interspaces among coarse punctures, is a distinctive character for this species; on other examined Austrosphecodes the frons is densely punctate, except near antennal alveoli. The two known females have only two submarginal cells, with a vestige of 1 r-m in the holotype left fore wing. Its females have the T1 mostly impunctate and the anterior surface of the mesoscutum rugulose by crowded punctures, a combination only otherwise found in A. brasiliensis . The body length of more than 7 mm, the mesoscutum disc sparsely punctate and polished, and the scutellum homogeneously rugose easily separate A. balrog sp. nov. from A. brasiliensis . Males not known.

Etymology

A tall and menacing being who can shroud itself in fire, darkness, and shadow, created by J.R.R. Tolkien. The name is used as a proper noun in apposition.

Material examined

Holotype BRAZIL – Paraná • ♀; “DZUP\ 568513” “Brasil, Paraná, 10Km N de\ Bocaiúva do Sul, Santana \ 25 06 S, 49 06W, 900m,\ 12.x.2002, GMelo, L.Zanette \ and AJAguiar ”; deposited in the Coleção Entomológica Pe. Jesus Santiago Moure, Curitiba, Brazil; DZUP 568513 .

Paratype BRAZIL – Paraná • 1 ♀; “DZUP\568514” “Brasil, Paraná,\ Rio Capivari , 670m, 25 05S, 48 48W, 22.i.2004, G. Melo ”; DZUP 568514 .

Description

Female

MEASUREMENTS. Head width 2.1 mm, length 1.7 mm; intertegular distance 1.3 mm; body length about 5.0 mm.

HEAD. Labrum dark amber to black. Mandible dark amber, darker apex; long setae on outer and ventral margin, more concentrated on base. Clypeus black; sulcate; basal margin arcuate in the middle; loosely punctate to rugose; sparse long decumbent setae on middle; small concentration of long decumbent setae on lateral apexes. Supraclypeal area black; densely punctate (i<pd); dull interspaces; plumose decumbent setae absent in the middle, present on middle of antennae insertions and below antennae. Paraocular area black; densely punctate; dull interspaces; weakly covered with whitish decumbent plumose setae on middle to bottom; upper densely punctate (i<pd) to rugose, punctures almost touching themselves; few short erect setae. Antennae mostly black; brownish on ventral surfaces of flagellomeres; scape long, almost reaching mid ocellus; few erect setae on scape; scape punctate to sparsely punctate, mostly polished; flagellomeres homogeneous covered with short whitish setae. Frons black; densely punctate (i<pd); dull interspaces; sparse long erect setae; weakly depressed above supraclypeal area. Vertex punctate to rugose, rugose-carinate on back of ocelli. Gena imbricate; loosely rugose on lateral view, imbricate; weakly covered with decumbent whitish setae.

MESOSOMA. Pronotum rugose; covered with long whitish setae dorsally; weakly covered with tomentum as seen as lateral view; imbricate near pronotal lobe. Posterior margin of pronotum covered with tomentum. Prosternum black; imbricate; weakly covered with tomentum in the middle. Fore coxa black; dull; imbricate; covered with whitish long setae; trochanter dark amber; imbricate; few setae; femur dark brown on base and lighter on apex; imbricate; sparse erect setae; tibia amber; tibial spur serrate on apex, with one sharp tooth. Mesoscutum black; anterior border rugose; disc punctate (i =pd), polished; median sulcus weak. Mesepisternum black; coarsely rugose, not polished; sparse whitish long setae on lateral view; weakly covered with whitish setae on ventral surface. Mid coxa black; dull; imbricate; covered with whitish long setae; trochanter dark amber; imbricate; few setae; femur dark brown on base and lighter on apex; imbricate; sparse erect setae; tibia amber; one simple tibial spur. Tegula dark amber; concentric lineolate; polished in the middle. Fore wing with 2 submarginal cells. Scutellum black; polished; few sparse punctures on disc. Metanotum black; rugulose; mostly covered with tomentum. Metepisternum rugose and dull; more carinate near tegula; weakly covered with tomentum. Hind coxa black to dark amber; dull; imbricate; presence of long whitish setae; trochanter dark amber; imbricate; few setae; femur dark brown on base and lighter on apex; imbricate; sparse erect setae; tibia amber. Hind wing with five hamuli. Metapostnotum weakly concave; margin rounded; areolate. Latero-dorsal surface gently declivitous, scrobiculate. Propodeum densely covered with tomentum.

METASOMA. T1 amber; puncticulate only in the middle disc, polished on apex and imbricate on base. T2 dark amber; puncticulate on anterior margin to middle; short setae on anterior margin; posterior margin mostly polished. T3 dark amber; imbricate; setae on anterior margin to middle; longer sparse setae on middle; T4 black; imbricate; setae on anterior margin to middle; longer sparse setae on middle. T5 black; mostly imbricate; weakly covered with long setae. S1–S3 amber; imbricate; few sparse setae. S4 black on posterior margin; imbricate; sparse setae. S5–S6 black; imbricate; few sparse long erect setae.

Male

Unknown.

Figures

Fig. 2. Austrosphecodes balrog sp. nov., holotype ♀ (DZUP 568513). A. Head. B. Mesosoma, red arrow: crowded punctures on anterior margin of mesoscutum. C. Propodeum and metasoma, red arrow: metapostnotum triangular. Scale bar =1 mm.

Fig. 10. Geographic records map. A. Austrosphecodes asmodeus sp. nov., A. balrog sp. nov., A. brasiliensis (Schrottky, 1910). B. A. cerberus sp. nov., A gorgon sp. nov., A. inornatus (Schrottky, 1902). C. A. jurupari sp. nov., A. krampus sp. nov., A. lucifer sp. nov. D. A. minarum (Schrottky, 1910), A. orcus sp. nov., A. tartarus sp. nov.