Trichocolletes soror, Batley, 2012

Batley, Michael, 2012, Revision of the Australian Bee Genus Trichocolletes Cockerell (Hymenoptera: Colletidae: Paracolletini), Records of the Australian Museum (Rec. Aust. Mus.) 64 (1), pp. 1-50 : 39-40

Trichocolletes soror n.sp.

Figs 76 , 116

Type. Holotype ♂, East Yuna Reserve 34 km WNW Mullewa, Western Australia, 13–16 Sep. 1984, T. F. Houston, on yellow and red pea flowers, in WAM 14002.

Specimens examined. The holotype and the following. Western Australia: 2♀, same data as holtype, WAM (14003–04) ; ♀, East Yuna Reserve 34 km WNW Mullewa, 23–24 Sep. 1983, C. & T . Houston , on flowers of Dampiera near pea flowers, WAM (13999) ; ♀, East Yuna Reserve 34 km WNW Mullewa, 28–29 Aug. 1984, T . F. Houston & B. P. Hanich, on flowers of Comesperma, WAM (14000); ♀, East Yuna Reserve 34 km WNW Mullewa, 24–28 Aug. 1985, T . F. Houston, on flowers of Comesperma scoparium, WAM (14001); ♀, 9 km 13° N of W from Eurardy HS (27.6722°S 114.7167°E), 25 Aug. 1999, T . F. Houston, on flowers of Mirbelia spinosa, WAM (27493); ♀, 13 km 35°S of W Eurardy HS (27.7611°S 114.5694°E), 25–26 Aug. 1999, T . F. Houston, on flowers of Jacksonia velutina, WAM (27494); 3♂, 10 km S Nerren Nerren HS, 19 Aug. 1980, C.A.Howard & T . F. Houston, on flowers of Chorizema ericifolium, WAM (14005–07); ♀, 14 km S Nerren Nerren HS, 28 Aug. 1984, T . F. Houston & B. P.Hanich, on yellow pea flowers, WAM (14008) ; ♀, 8 km NE Tamala HS (c. 27°S 114°E), 21–23 Aug. 1980, C.A. Howard & T . F. Houston, on flowers of Mirbelia ramulosa, WAM (14009).

Diagnosis

Eyes not hairy; metasoma partly or wholly orange or redbrown; metasomal bands gold. Male metasoma slender; T 1,2 usually with large areas of orange-brown; posterior margin of S7 not sinuate ( Fig. 76 ). Female robust; metasoma red-brown with broad tergal bands, occasionally indistinct; pygidial plate with deep emargination; clypeus uniformly convex.

Descriptions

Male (holotype).— Head width 3.80 mm, body length 13.6 mm. Relative dimensions: HW 50, HL 40, UID 32, UFW 32, LID 30, DMA 29, HVO 3, WOC 15, MOD 4, OOD 9, IAD 10, ASD 3, AOD 8, ML 18, BMW 6, MSL 0.5, SL 13, SW 3, FL c. 53.— Eyes not hairy; face wider than long, inner orbits slightly convergent ventrally; malar space short (length c. 0.1× basal mandibular width); length of flagellum greater than head width; middle flagellomeres c. 1.5× as long as wide. Legs slender; mid tibia slightly incrassate; hind tarsus 1.2× as long as hind tibia; length basitarsus 3.6× width; basitibial area short, posterior margin with angular edge but no carina. Genital capsule like that for T. rufibasis (Fig. 39); S7 lateral lobes triangular with strongly rounded corners and smooth posterior margin, basal teeth obsolete ( Fig. 76 ).— Head and mesosoma predominantly black; labrum and ventral half clypeus cream; mandible, scape, flagellum ventrally, tarsi, fore tibia, both ends mid and hind tibiae and distal ends of femora orange-brown; flagellum dorsally dark brown. T 1 orange-brown with broad, transverse dark brown band; T 2 orange-brown with narrow, transverse brown band ending in large patches laterally; lateral margin with large black oval mark. T 1–5 with wide, gold bands; T 7 dull orange-brown; S2,3 mostly yellow-brown; remaining sterna dark brown with yellow-brown areas basally.— Scutum dull with strong pit-reticulation obscuring punctures.— Face densely covered with strongly branched, orange hair, erect on clypeus. Scutum and scutellum openly covered with long plumose dull orange hair; fore basitarsus without plume.

Female ( WAM 14003).—Head width 3.95 mm, body length 12.6 mm. Relative dimensions: HW 50, HL 39, UID 30, UFW 32, LID 31, DMA 30, HVO 4, WOC 14, MOD 4, OOD 8, IAD 8, ASD 3, AOD 9, ML 20, BMW 7, MSL 0.5, SL 15, SW 3, FL c. 27.— Eyes not hairy; face wider than long, inner orbits almost parallel; malar space short (length c. 0.1× basal mandibular width); clypeus transversely convex; middle flagellomeres c. 0.85× as long as wide; inner hind tibial spur with c. 8 long teeth; tarsal claws with large, triangular inner ramus; pygidial plate with deep, narrow emargination.— Head and mesosoma predominantly black; mandible, labrum, tarsal segments 4 and 5 and extreme ventral margin of clypeus orange-brown; ventral half of clypeus and remainder of legs dark brown; metasomal terga red-brown with varible dark suffusions; T 2 with large black oval marks laterally. T 1–4 with broad, gold bands, sometimes indistinct.— Clypeus polished, weakly reticulate basally, with dense, large punctures; supraclypeal area densely covered with smaller punctures; scutal sculpture as for male.— Paraocular areas and frons with long, dense, plumose, orange hair; clypeus, supraclypeal area and gena with sparse, long, orange hair. Scutum and scutellum openly covered with moderately short, plumose, dull orange hair; hind tibial scopa honey-brown; T 1 laterally with sparse, long, pale hair; prepygidial fimbria pale brown.

Remarks. There are many similarities between this species and T. rufibasis . Males may be distinguished from T. rufibasis by the stiffer hair clypeal hair, darker legs, colour of first flagellomere (paler ventrally than in T. rufibasis ) and nonsinuate posterior margin of S7. Females may be distinguished from T. rufibasis by the deep emargination of the pygidial plate, the uniformly convex clypeus and the red, rather than orange, colour on areas of the metasoma.

This species is referred to as F262/M233 (part) in Houston (2000).

Distribution. Coastal Western Australia near Geraldton (GS, YAL) ( Fig. 116 ).

Etymology. The specific name is a Latin noun meaning sister, referring to the similarity between this species and T. rufibasis .

Figures

Figs 68–79. Seventh sternum of Trichocolletes males.

Figs 116–119. Known distribution of Trichocolletes species.