Andrena (Aciandrena) longistilus Pisanty & Wood, 2022

Pisanty, Gideon, Scheuchl, Erwin, Martin, Teresa, Cardinal, Sophie & Wood, Thomas James, 2022, Twenty-five new species of mining bees (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae: Andrena) from Israel and the Levant, Zootaxa 5185 (1), pp. 1-109 : 18-20

Andrena (Aciandrena) longistilus Pisanty & Wood sp. nov.

( Figs. 18–26 )

Female ( Fig. 18 ).

Body length: 5–5.5 mm.

Colour. Head and mesosoma dark brown to black ( Fig. 18 ). Metasoma brown to black. Anterior side of flagellomeres 4–10 orange. Legs brown ( Fig. 18 ). Wings hyaline to slightly infuscate, veins light to dark brown, stigma golden. Tergal marginal zones golden, sometimes reddish basally ( Fig. 21 ).

Pubescence. Body hair mostly short and sparse, minutely plumose, white to golden ( Fig. 18 ). Clypeus with sparse, short, thin white to yellowish hair. Paraocular area and scape with moderately dense, short white to yellowish hair ( Fig. 19 ). Facial foveae black in ventral view, white to brownish in dorsal view ( Fig. 20 ). Vertex and genal area with short white to golden hair. Mesonotum, scutellum and metanotum with short whitish to golden hair, sparse on center of mesonotum and anterior half of scutellum, dense and thick (almost scale-like) elsewhere ( Fig. 20 ). Mesepisternum with long white hair. Propodeal corbicula incomplete, dorsoposterior fringe with long white plumose hair, corbicular surface with few long white simple hairs. Leg hair mostly white; scopal hair simple, white; flocculus incomplete, white ( Fig. 18 ). Tergal discs 1–2 hairless, 3–4 with sparse inconspicuous minute white hairs, denser on 4. Tergal marginal zones 2–4 with moderately dense bands of short white hair, interrupted on 2–3, continuous on 4. Prepygidial fimbria white laterally, golden medially; pygidial fimbria golden ( Fig. 21 ).

Head ( Figs. 19–20 ). 1.2 times broader than long. Mandible bidentate. Galea shagreened. Labral process triangular to narrowly trapezoidal. Clypeus strongly flattened medially, finely shagreened, occasionally with a smooth apical region up to 1/3 of clypeus height, shallowly and finely punctured, distance between punctures 1–2 puncture diameters, punctures gradually sparser medially, an impunctate midline is not indicated ( Fig. 19 ). Supraclypeal plate finely and shallowly shagreened, not striated. Flagellomere 1 slightly shorter than 2+3. Frons finely and shallowly longitudinally striated. Facial foveae tapering downwards, extending from level of middle–lower end of lateral ocellus to middle of antennal socket, about 0.4 times as broad as antennocular distance ( Fig. 19 ). Distance of fovea from lateral ocellus 1 ocellus diameter. Ocelloccipital distance about 0.5 ocellus diameter. Vertex moderately carinate ( Fig. 20 ).

Mesosoma ( Fig. 20 ). Mesonotum and scutellum shiny, weakly but uniformly shagreened, punctation fine, extremely shallow and inconspicuous, distance between punctures 1–3 puncture diameters ( Fig. 20 ). Mesepisternum and propodeum finely reticulate-alveolate. Propodeal triangle delineated by carina, sculpturing much coarser than on flanking areas ( Fig. 20 ). Hind pretarsal claw unidentate. Recurrent vein 1 meets submarginal cell 2 at its proximal 1/3–1/2. Submarginal crossvein 1 meets marginal cell 1–2 vein widths from stigma. Nervulus antefurcal.

Metasoma ( Fig. 21 ). Tergal discs impunctate, 1–3 strongly shagreened, 4 more shallowly so. Tergal marginal zones similar, smooth near apex, slightly arched, medially covering 1/3–1/2 of tergum length, 2–4 weakly depressed.

Male ( Fig. 22 ).

Body length: 4.5 mm.

Colour. Similar to female (clypeus and paraocular area dark, one male from Kerak, Jordan with clypeus yellow centrally), generally somewhat darker, flagellum reddish-brown apically, tergal marginal zones more reddish ( Fig. 22 ) .

Pubescence. Clypeus with short white hairs, dense apicolaterally, moderately dense elsewhere. Paraocular area and scape with moderately dense, medium-lengthed white to yellowish hair ( Fig. 23 ). Vertex with short to medium, white to yellowish hair. Genal area with white to yellowish short hair dorsally, short to medium white hair ventrally. Mesonotum, scutellum and metanotum with moderately dense, medium-lengthed white to brownish hair ( Fig. 24 ). Mesepisternum and propodeum with long white hair. Legs with mostly white hair. Tergal discs with short hair laterally, minute inconspicuous white hair medially. Tergal marginal zones 2–4 with moderately dense bands of white hair, interrupted on 2–3, almost continuous on 4 ( Fig. 22 ).

Head ( Figs. 23–24 ). 1.2 times broader than long. Labral process trapezoidal, apex bifurcate. Clypeus strongly flattened medially, weakly shagreened basally, smooth apically, finely punctured, distance between punctures 1–3 puncture diameters, punctation sparser apically, without impunctate midline ( Fig. 23 ). Supraclypeal plate finely and shallowly shagreened, not striated. Flagellomere 1 about as long as 4, 2 slightly shorter than 3. Frons finely and shallowly longitudinally striated ( Fig. 23 ). Ocelloccipital distance 0.7 ocellus diameter. Vertex carinate ( Fig. 24 ).

Mesosoma ( Fig. 24 ). Similar to female, but hind leg pretarsal claw bidentate.

Metasoma. Similar to female.

Genitalia and hidden sterna ( Figs. 25–26 ). Dorsal lobe of gonoxocite not developed. Gonostyli very elongate, almost straight, spatulate, gradually broadening apically. Penis valves narrow, tapering apically ( Fig. 25 ). Sternum 8 simple, columnar, apical process slightly and gradually broadened ( Fig. 26 ).

Diagnosis. For the female of A. longistilus , see corresponding section in A. anathema sp. nov. The males of A. longistilus are easily identified by their elongate gonostyli ( Fig. 25 ), which are unique among Aciandrena species.

Distribution: Semi-arid to arid habitats in central and southern Israel, Jordan, Syria and the West Bank. Seems to exhibit a vicariance pattern with A. anathema sp. nov., with A. anathema mostly occupying more mesic habitats in north and central Israel. The two species are sympatric along the Mediterranean-desert transition zone.

Flight period: January–May.

Flower records: Undetermined A. anathema / A. longistilus females were collected from Brassicaceae : Erucaria microcarpa , Erucaria rostrata , Rapistrum rugosum , Sinapis arvensis , and Plantaginaceae : Plantago lagopus .

Holotype: ISRAEL: Shivta Junction , 30.941ºN 34.597ºE, 17.iii.2017, G. Pisanty, pan trap, ♂ ( SMNHTAU:269112).

Paratypes: ISRAEL: Arad , 570 m, 31°15.346’N 35°11.958’E, 7.iii.2010, A. Freidberg (1♂) ; Avdat [Avedat], 16.iii.1988, A. Freidberg (1♂) & A. Shlagman (2♂) ; 10.iv.1990, K. Warncke (1♂) ( A. avedata paratype label); Bor Hemet , 19.iv.2001, L. Friedman (1♂) ; Borot Loz , 930 m, 23.iii.2020, L. Friedman (1♀) ; Ein Yahav [‘En Yahav], 8.iii.2009, A. Gotlieb (1♀) ; Har Horesha, Rt. 171, 930 m, 2.iv.2014, L. Friedman (1♀) ; Holot Mash’abbim Nature Reserve [Holot Mash’abbim], 30.999°N 34.7575°E, 13.ii.2022, L. Friedman (2♂) ; 30.999°N 34.7578°E, 18.ii.2022, G. Pisanty, pan trap (1♂); 31.000°N 34.756°E, 16.iii.2020, G. Pisanty, pan traps (1♂); Kiryat Gat – Beit Kama [Qiryat Gat – Bet Qama], ca. i.2011, I. Van Rijn (2♂) ; Lakhish , 4.ii.2013, T. Shapira, pan trap (1♂) ; [ Lachish ], 9.iii.2020, K. Levy, pan trap (1♂) ; Lehavim , 31.365°N 34.830°E, 28.i.2015, G. Pisanty, partly from pan traps (1♀, 23♂) ; 31.370°N 34.8257°E, 7.iii.2015, G. Pisanty, pan traps (1♂); Nahal Zin , 15.iv.2007, I. Lalzar (1♀) ; Retamim , 273 m, 31°03’N 34°41.5’E, 3.iv.2009, A. Freidberg (2♂) ; Sa’ad , 31.468°N 34.5287°E, 21.i.2015, G. Pisanty, pan traps (2♂) ; Sde Boker [Sde Boqer], 28.iii.1978, D. Furth (1♂) ; 3 km N [ Sede-Boqer ], 19.ii.1995, R. Kasher (3♂) ; Shivta , 17.iii.1977, A. Freidberg (1♂) ; Shivta Junction [Holot Shunera], 30.941°N 34.597°E, 10.iii.2017, G. Pisanty (2♂) ; 17.iii.2017, G. Pisanty (5♂); JORDAN: Dana , 3.v.2012, M. Kafka (3♂) ; Kerak, 1000 m, 27.ii.1986, K.M. Guichard (1♂) ; Kerak env. [Al Karak env.], 6.iv.2013, M. Snižek (3♂) ; SYRIA: 110 km E of Palmyra , 350 m, 21–22.iv.1992, K. Warncke (3♂) ; WEST BANK: Kfar Adumim [NahalPerat, north-facing slope, Kefar Adummim], 27.ii.2007, A. Freidberg (2♂) ; [NofePerat, Kefar Adummim, north-facing slope of Nahal Perat ], 27.ii.2007, L. Friedman (1♂) ( ES, NHMUK, OLML, RMNH, SMNHTAU, TJW, ZSMC) .

Etymology. longistilus = Latin for “long stick”, referring to the notable length of the gonostyli in the male genital capsule. The species epithet is a noun in apposition.

Other material examined (undetermined A. anathema / A. longistilus females): see corresponding section in A. anathema sp. nov.

Remarks. This taxon was recognised as new by Klaus Warncke under the name A. avedata , though he died in 1993 before he could publish a description of this species (see Pisanty et al. 2016). Andrena avedata is therefore a nomen nudum, and we have chosen a clearly different name to avoid confusion.

Figures

FIGURES 18–26. Andrena (Aciandrena) longistilus sp. nov. 18. female habitus, 19. female head, 20. female vertex and mesosoma, 21. female metasoma, 22. male habitus, 23. male head, 24. male vertex and mesosoma, 25. male genitalia, 26. male eighth sternum.