Megachile laniventris Praz, 2021

Praz, Christophe, Al-Shahat, Ahmed M. & Gadallah, Neveen S., 2021, Taxonomic revision of the subgenus Eutricharaea Thomson in Egypt, with a key to the species and the description of two new species (Hymenoptera, Anthophila Megachilidae, genus Megachile Latreille), Zootaxa 5032 (3), pp. 301-330 : 314-316

Megachile laniventris Praz sp. nov.

http://zoobank.org/ 5FD18FD3-F42F-4843-82C0-FD18EA9CFCBB

Figs 24–34 .

Type material: Holotype ♂ ( Figs 24–29 ): OMAN: Ad Dakhiliyah Pr., Al Hamra env. 23°05N 57°19E, 670 m, 5.4.2013, leg. J. Halada ( OLML) . Paratypes 4 ♂ 3 ♀ OMAN : 2 ♂, as holotype ( OLML, CPCN) ; 1 ♀ 2 ♂, Al Hamra 23°06’37’’N 57°17’35’’E, 650 m, 05.iii.2008, leg. D. Michez & S. Patiny, DM33 ( CPCN, BMNH) ; EGYPT: 1 ♀, Kerdasa , 5.1929, leg. D. Priesner ( OLML) ; 1 ♀, Kairo Mochi (?) iii.[19]35, leg. Nadig ( CPCN) .

Diagnosis: Female: Easily recognizable by the following combination of morphological traits: body length 12–14 mm, integument dark brown, including legs. Clypeus with conspicuous, straight, elevated apical margin ( Fig. 33 ). Supraclypeal area largely impunctate ( Fig. 32 ). Ocelloccipital distance longer than interocellar distance ( Fig. 31 ). Vertex with particularly coarse punctures, punctures twice as large as mesonotal punctures, vertex punctation sparse with interspaces frequently exceeding 1.0–1.5 puncture diameters ( Fig. 31 ). T2 with ill-defined fovea laterally ( Fig. 34 ). T6 without any white vestiture ( Fig. 34 ). Scopa white, black on S6 only.

Male: Large-sized Eutricharaea , easily recognizable by the dense and long vestiture on S2-S4 ( Fig. 29 ); on S2 the hairs are longer than the length of the hind basitarsus. Front legs modified, front coxal spine comparatively short, femur and tibia largely orange ( Fig. 25 ), front tarsi yellowish-white with orange margins, with dense fringe of hairs along posterior margin ( Fig. 26 ), segment 2 ventrally with distinct dark maculation ( Fig. 27 ). Femora 2 and 3 partly orange dorsally ( Fig. 24 ). Femur 3 strongly swollen dorsally.

Description: Male: Body length approximately 12–13 mm; ocelloccipital distance approximately equal to interocellar distance ( Fig. 28 ), and to 2 ocellus diameters. Integument dark brown, except front legs (see below); tibia 2 and 3 partly orange dorsally ( Fig. 24 ).

Structure: Mandible as in regular-looking Eutricharaea , 3-toothed, upper tooth larger than inferior teeth, inferior margin basally with triangular projection. T2 laterally with rounded fovea. Preapical carina of T6 with 5–7 very irregular teeth, the two median ones forming broad, truncate teeth separated by an emargination. Front legs modified as follows: front coxal spine comparatively short, shorter than basally broad, apically with small spot of orange setae; anterior surface of front coxa with broad spot of short, orange setae anteriorly to coxal spine; front femur predominantly orange ( Fig. 25 ); front tibia partly orange; anterior tarsal segments yellowish-white, margin slightly orange, as broad as tibia anteriorly, segments 1–4 with a conspicuous fringe of white hairs posteriorly, hairs as long as the width of tarsal segments ( Fig. 26 ); segment 2 with conspicuous black dot on its ventral surface ( Fig. 27 ). Femur 3 strongly swollen dorsally (best visible in front view). Last antennal segment not broadened apically. Gonostylus similar to other members of the rotundata -group ( Fig. 30 ).

Vestiture: Nearly entirely snow-white, T1-T5 with a conspicuous fringe of hairs apically; disc of T2-T4 with short, erect dark hairs; S1-S3 with particularly long, white hairs ( Fig. 29 ); S4 laterally with white hairs that are shorter than those on S3, hairs gradually becoming very short medially, forming a small patch of appressed, yellowish hairs ( Fig. 29 ). First tarsal segment of mid-leg with fringe of long hairs along posterior margin, hairs more than four times longer than width of tarsus, tarsal segments 2–4 with long fringe of hairs, hairs twice as long as width of tarsal segment ( Fig. 25 ); tibia 3 and first tarsal segment of hind leg with conspicuous fringe of hairs along anterior margin, hairs on anterior margin of tibia as long as maximal width of tibia ( Fig. 25 ).

Female: Body length approximately 12 mm; ocelloccipital distance longer than interocellar distance ( Fig. 31 ), nearly equal to three ocellus diameters. Integument dark brown, tarsal segments and antennal segments 4–12 reddish brown.

Structure: Mandible approaching the 5-toothed condition, as in M. rotundata (Fabricius 1793) , upper two teeth close to each other but well-separated; partial cutting edge (not visible in front view) in interspace 2, complete cutting edge in interspaces 3 and 4 ( Fig. 32 ). Clypeus with conspicuous, straight, elevated apical margin, densely punctate with narrow impunctate median line ( Fig. 33 ). Supraclypeal area strongly convex and largely impunctate medially ( Fig. 32 ). Ocelloccipital distance longer than interocellar distance ( Fig. 31 ). Vertex with particularly coarse punctures, punctures twice as large as mesonotal punctures, vertex punctation sparse with interspaces frequently over 1.0–1.5 puncture diameters ( Fig. 31 ). T2 with ill-defined fovea laterally ( Fig. 34 ). Tergites moderately coarsely punctate, densely so on disc of T2 (interspaces equal to puncture diameters), becoming more sparsely punctate until T5 (T3: interspaces approximately 2 puncture diameters; T4 and T5: 2–3 puncture diameters, even 4 puncture diameters apically ( Fig. 34 ).

Vestiture: Entirely snow-white, except: yellow on inner sides of all tarsal segments; some yellowish white hairs on vertex, hairs partly appressed, but not obscuring cuticula; very short yellowish-brown vestiture on disc of T2-T5; T2-T5 laterally with short, erect orange to brown hairs ( Fig. 34 ). Tergal fasciae forming dense and continuous bands of white hairs on T1-T5. Disc of T6 without white hairs, with numerous, short, dark erect hairs ( Fig. 34 ). Scopa white, dark only on S6. S2-S4 apically with fringe of short white hairs beneath scopa.

Etymology: The name laniventris , “with a wooly gaster”, refers to the conspicuous vestiture under S1-S 3 in the male, unknown to us from any other species of Megachile .

Distribution: Oman, Egypt.

Note: Like other medium- to large-sized species of Megachile , this species may be present in tropical Africa. It would run to the malangensis -group of Eutricharaea in keys to African Megachile ( Pasteels 1965) , in particular to M. albicaudella Pasteels 1965 , M. gowdeyi Cockerell 1931 or M. krebsiana Strand 1911 in the key to the females, or to M. stellarum Cockerell 1920 or M. astridella Pasteels 1965 in the key to the males. The descriptions of M. albicaudella , M. gowdeyi or M. astridella do not match that of M. laniventris sp. nov., especially in the color of the vestiture of the female ( M. albicaudella , M. gowdeyi ) or the sternal vestiture of the male ( M. astridella ); the type specimens of M. krebsiana and M. stellarum were examined; the male of these species do not have the long vestiture under S1-S3.

Figures

FIGURES 24–34. Megachile laniventris sp. nov. 24. Dorsal view of male holotype. 25. Lateral view of male holotype. 26. Front tarsus of male. 27. Ventral view of front tarsus of male. 28. Dorsal view of mesosoma and head of male. 29. Ventral view of metasoma of male. 30. Male genitalia. 31. Dorsal view of mesosoma and head of female. 32. Front view of head of female. 33. Female clypeus. 34. Dorsal view of mesosoma of female.