Colletes tzotzilis Balboa & Ayala, 2017

Ayala, Ricardo, 2017, New dark species of the bee genus Colletes (Hymenoptera, Colletidae) from Mexico and Guatemala, Zootaxa 4320 (3), pp. 401-425 : 402-405

Colletes tzotzilis Balboa & Ayala new species

Figs. 1–7

Diagnosis. This species can be distinguished by having a dense, uniform puncture pattern in the paraocular and interocular areas, which decreases towards the vertex; posterior femur and tibia with brown hairs; tegula amberish ( Fig. 3 ); and anterior femur with tuft of thick, brown bristles and dark hairs, which differs from the tuft of dark and plumose hairs found in C. punctipennis Cresson, 1868 . This species lacks conspicuous apical hair bands on terga as is also the case for C. rugicollis Friese, 1900 , C. jobeli , C. jaliscoensis , C. nigerrima and C. isabelae , but can be differentiated from these by having blue iridescence ( Fig. 4 ). Males of C. tzotzilis can be separated from other species by having vertex with shiny integument and scarce black pubescence, prothoracic spine poorly developed, scutum with small and uniform punctures, faded on anterior margin and S7, S8, and genital capsule as in Figures 5– 7 . It differs from C. jobeli by having malar area with striae of eroded appearance. It differs from C. bombiformis by having thin and less eroded diagonal striae and deeper punctures on clypeus.

Description. Holotype ♀: Integument black; pubescence dark, intermixed with brown hairs in some areas of mesosoma ( Fig. 1 ). Body length 13 mm (12.63 – 13.4 mm; n=8); forewing length 8 mm (7.56 – 8.36 mm, n=8). Head: Mandible with rounded apex; black and reddish integument on basal area and apex, respectively; black band on apical quarter of mandible; subapical tooth projected along internal margin; external ridge slightly projected reaching preapical tooth. Malar space black, with deep, thin striae closer on base, more separated on apex, two and a half times wider than longer. Labrum smooth, black with longitudinal shallow depression on discal area, and small, dense, slightly deep punctures throughout. Clypeus with proximal margin concave; distal margin with small, shallow median notch; shallow depression on discal area of clypeus; brown pubescence with few black hairs; irregular and shallow punctures with diagonally oriented striae of shinny appearance throughout. Supraclypeal area with conic elevation; few striae not reaching proximal margin of clypeus; dense, superficial punctures. Paraocular area and vertex with smaller, denser, deeper punctures than supraclypeal area. Facial pubescence black with brown hairs intermixed, more abundant on frontal area; facial pubescence denser around antennal sockets, less dense towards vertex. Genal area striate toward malar area, with shiny black integument, whitish pubescence and small, dense punctures. Antenna black from scape to F2. Scape with shallow punctures, denser toward apex; F2 wider than F1. Facial fovea with shiny black integument and sparse and shallow punctures throughout; slightly broadened towards upper paraocular area. Mesosoma: Dark brown pubescence with black hairs becoming ochre towards scutellum, metanotum, and propodeum. Scutum with shiny integument and dense, separated punctures. Scutellum shiny with shallow, contiguous, coarse punctures. Metanotum shiny with punctures similar to scutellum. Sides of mesosoma with shiny integument and uniform punctures; black pubescence, lighter toward episternum. Propodeum triangle with shiny integument; protruded on anterior median region, with some lateral ridges; dorsal basal area of with irregular crests not forming pits posterior region smooth. Pronotal lobe with ochre tuft. Prothoracic spine poorly developed. Wings: Tegula amber ( Fig. 3 ), anteriorly narrowed, angled, posteriorly rounded with small, separated, shallow punctures. Wings hyaline, amberish tonality, veins light brown ( Figs. 1, 2 ). First, second, and third submarginal cells lengths 1.46 mm, 0.77 mm, and 0.7 mm (1.23 – 1,56 mm; 0.61 – 0.78 mm; 0.67 – 0.73 mm, n=8), respectively. Marginal cell length 2.19 mm. Legs: Dark brown integument and brown pubescence. Malus light brown, pectinate. Anterior femur and coxa with long tufts of light pubescence intermixed with black hairs. Middle and posterior femora and coxae with long, whitish hairs. Basal part of middle femur with short tuft of light brown bristles, different from plumose hairs of femur and coxa. Spurs of posterior tibia dark brown, internal spur simple, serrated. Posterior basitarsus length 1.5 mm, width 0.6 mm. Claws bifurcate apically, light brown and reddish on basal and apical areas, respectively. Metasoma: Terga with black integument, dark brown toward marginal zone; no apical hair bands ( Fig. 4 ); T1 with strong depression on anterior median region and brown pubescence, denser on sides; T1 and T2 with sparse, shallow punctures, denser toward distal margins. S1–S5 with whitish apical hair bands.

Allotype ♂: Coloration and pubescence similar to female ( Fig. 2 ). Body length 13 mm (12.5 – 13.2 mm, n=4), forewing length 8 mm (7.67 – 8.4 mm, n=4). Head: Labrum black, smooth, shiny; wider than long. Clypeus black, shiny integument; with thin, diagonal striae and shallow longitudinal depression on discal area; sparse light brown pubescence, punctures shallow, denser towards dorsal margin. Malar area with striae of eroded appearance, one and a half times longer than wider. F1 black, shorter than other flagellomeres which are dark brown. Facial fovea similar to female but smaller; with shiny integument and with no conspicuous punctuation. Facial pubescence light, dense with black hairs intermixed, denser near internal margin of eyes. Supraclypeal area with shallow, dense punctures and conic elevation. Vertex with shiny integument and scarce black pubescence, mainly on ocellocular area; punctures smaller, less dense than facial area. Mesosoma: Pubescence similar to female without ochre coloration. Pronotum with shiny black integument. Prothoracic spine poorly developed. Integument of sides of mesosoma shiny black; punctures sparse, with shallow and uniformly arranged. Scutum shiny black with small and uniform punctures, faded on anterior margin. Scutellum shiny black with coarse microsculpture. Metanotum with integument similar to scutellum. Propodeum with ochre hairs and shiny black integument; punctures dense, shallow. Wings: Tegula amberish with posterior end rounded whilst anterior end angled; punctures sparse, shallow and dense. Wings hyaline with amberish coloration. Veins light brown. First, second, third submarginal cells with lengths of 1.27 mm, 0.73 mm, and 0.5 mm (1.19 – 1,36 mm; 0.69 – 0.74 mm; 0.47 – 0.52 mm, n=4), respectively. Marginal cell length 1.92 mm. Legs: Shiny dark brown integument and brown pubescence. Pubescence of posterior trochanter and femur longer than in tibia. Tibia with spurs simple and serrated, dark brown on apex. Claws bifurcate apically, light brown and reddish in basal and apical regions, respectively. Arolium light brown and well developed. Metasoma: T1 with punctures sparser, deeper than on other terga; discal and pregradular areas with less dense punctures; shallow depression on anterior median region; tufts of light hairs on median part of anterior margin and whitish on sides. T2 with gradulus. T1–T5 with black integument and purple iridescence, mainly in discal area. S1–S5 with bands of whitish hairs on marginal zone. S7, S8, and genital capsule as in Figures 5–7 .

Type material. Holotype ♀: Mexico: Chiapas: San Cristóbal de las Casas, Huitepec. 16.4442, -92.4105; 04- III-2009 ; 2500 m; P. Sagot. Allotype ♂: Tzontehuitz. 16.7963, -92.5938; 20-XII-2011 ; 2732 m; P. Sagot. Paratypes: 1♂: Huitepec. 16.4442, -92.4105; 16-IV-2009 ; 2500 m. 1♀: 16.4440, -92.4106; 20-IV-2010; 2560 m. 2♀: 16.4435, -92.4117; 20-IV-2010; 2560 m. 1♀: 16.7514, -92.6769; 05-VI-2012; 2286 m. 1♀: 16.4435, -92.4117; 16-VI-2012; 2560 m; P. Sagot. 1♂: Tzontehuitz. 16.4750, -92.3530; 16-VI-2012, 2620 m. 1♂, 1♀: 16.796336, - 92.593883; 20-XII-2011 ; 2732 m: 1♀: 16.8114, -92.5855; 20-XII-2011, 2615 m; P. Sagot. Holotype and allotype deposited at CNIN, paratypes at ECO–TAP–E.

Etymology. The epithet references the ethnic group Tzotzil from the Altos de Chiapas region.

Distribution. Pine-oak and tropical montane rain forests of Chiapas, suggesting its distribution may include mountains of Oaxaca in the Chimalapas region and Chiapas province (s. Morrone 2005) to Guatemala ( Fig. 58 ). Remarks. Some females have a small notch on the anterior margin of clypeus and punctures on scape. Basal area of propodeum with longitudinal striae, which form pits with horizontal striae. Males may present scutum with shallower and sparse punctures on the anterior margin, mesosoma with shallower punctures on the lateral region, and metasomal terga with duller iridescence.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 7. Colletes tzotzilis Balboa & Ayala sp. n. 1 — female holotype: habitus, lateral view; 2 — male allotype: habitus, lateral view; 3 — female paratype: dorsolateral view of mesosoma; 4 — female holotype: dorsal view of mesosoma; 5 — male allotype: S 7; 6 — male allotype: S 8; 7 — male allotype: genital capsule.

FIGURES 57 – 58. 57 — Map of collecting localities for Colletes jobeli, C. isabelae, C. jaliscoensis and C. nigerrima. 58 — Map of collecting localities for C. solari, C. tzotzilis, C. chiaPensis, and C. guatemalensis.