Amegilla (Asaropoda) calva (Rayment, 1935)

Leijs, Remko, Dorey, James & Hogendoorn, Katja, 2020, The genus Amegilla (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Anthophorini) in Australia: a revision of the subgenus Asaropoda, ZooKeys 908, pp. 45-122 : 45

Amegilla (Asaropoda) calva (Rayment, 1935) Figure 8A-M

Asaropoda calva Rayment, 1935: 712.

Amegilla (Asaropoda) paracalva Brooks 1993: 279, syn. nov.

Specimens examined.

55 males, 49 females

Types.

Holotype of A. calva , female, Davis Creek, NSW, ANIC.

Holotype of A. paracalva , male, 16 km WSW of Lyons River HS (24°38'S; 115°20'E) 30 Aug.-1 Sep. 1980, CA Howard & TF Houston, 344-27, Reared from brood cell. Became adult 5 Sept. 1983, WAM 90/879, Reg no. E5430.

Decision for synonymy was based on careful examination of the characters mentioned by Brooks (1993) to distinguish A. calva from A. paracalva . The types of A. paracalva were from freshly emerged reared specimens. The creamy integumental facial marks of these specimens suggests that they were killed before they had fully coloured out to the adult pale yellow observed in other specimens examined. Further, while the male apicomedial emargination of S5 and S6 varied slightly among specimens, consistent differences between East and West Australia, as suggested by Brooks, were not found. Additionally, there were no differences in male genital characters between East and West Australian specimens. The number of specimens examined by Brooks to support his decision to raise the new species is unclear.

Diagnosis.

Male with small round patch of black bristles on S4 and triangular emarginated apicomedial area of S5. Female paraclypeal mark absent, supraclypeal mark present, tibial scopa white, T2 without black hairs anteriorly, process on S6 irregular striate and punctate, not defined posteriorly (Fig. 8L ).

Redescription.

Male holotype paracalva : Body length 15 mm, forewing length 10 mm.

Structure: Inner orbits of eyes parallel; head wider than long; clypeal protuberance in profile 0.67 × eye width; mandible with weak subapical tooth; F1 equal to combined length of next 1.5 flagellomeres; F1 0.68 × as long as scape; F2 equal to 0.77 length of F3; F3-F10 gradually increasing in length, subequal to length of F1; distance between posterior ocelli 1.1 ocellocular distance; distance from median ocellus to posterior ocellus 0.68 ocellocular distance; marginal cell length 0.82 distance from apex of cell to wing tip; cu-v of hind wing equal to length of second abscissa of M+Cu; S5 with apicomedial emargination narrow (Figure 8C ); S6 with apicomedial emargination narrow (Figure 8C ).

Genitalia: penis valves laterally with rounded shoulders; volsella with circa 12 long setae (Fig. 8H ); gonocoxa laterally with setae lacking; outer gonostylus long, circa as long as width of penis valve base, with long setae on inner and outer surface; inner gonostylus very small, circa as long as width of outer gonostylus at apex (Fig. 8G ); S7 (Fig. 8E ); S8 apex slender, emarginated (Fig. 8F ).

Pubescence: Head with pale buff hair, lighter on lower half; scutum with light orange brown and scattered black hairs; scutellum and metanotum with light orange-brown hair; mesosoma laterally and ventrally with pale hair; fore leg with pale hair on outer surface; fore leg inner surfaces of tibia and tarsus with dark orange-brown hair; mid femur anterior and posterior surfaces pale; mid tibia pale; mid metatarsus with mixture of dark and pale hair; mid tarsus all dark on inner surface; hind leg outer surface of femur, tibia and metatarsus pale, hind leg inner surface dark; metasomal terga with adpressed orange brown hair that is lighter and longer laterally but with a few dark hairs laterally on T6; T2 anteriorly with a few black hairs in lateral corners, T7 apicolaterally with dark dense patch; S1-S5 with pale apical fringes which are longer laterally; S4 apicomedial area with round patch of black apically directed bristles; S6 with basal band of pale hair.

Colouration: Integument black, with pale yellow facial marks on mandibular base, labrum, clypeus, paraclypeal and supraclypeal areas and anteriorly on scape; proboscis reddish-brown.

Female redescription (SAMA RL0462): Body length 16 mm, forewing length 11 mm, head width 5.3 mm.

Structure: Inner orbits of eyes parallel; head wider than long; clypeal protuberance in profile 0.63 × eye width; mandible with weak subapical tooth; F1 equal to combined length of next 2.7 flagellomeres; F1 circa as long as scape; F2 equal to 0.92 length of F3; F3-F10 circa 1.15 × as long as wide; last flagellomere 0.6 length of F1; distance between posterior ocelli circa equal to ocellocular distance; distance from median ocellus to posterior ocellus 0.64 ocellocular distance; marginal cell length 0.69 × distance from apex of cell to wing tip; cu-v of hind wing 1.26 × length of second abscissa of M+Cu; S6 with small raised ridge (Fig. 8L ).

Pubescence: Head white, with some grey hairs on vertex; scutum, scutellum and metanotum grey intermixed brown hairs; mesosoma laterally and ventrally white; fore leg: outer posterior surface of fore tarsus with long curved dark hairs; fore leg inner surfaces of tibia and tarsus with dark hair; mid femur anterior and posterior surfaces pale; mid tibia outer surface pale with dark band on apico-posterior surface; mid metatarsus with scattered white hairs on anterior surface; mid tarsus with white posterior band; hind leg outer surface of femur, tibia and metatarsus white except anterior edge of tarsus black; scopa white; hind leg inner surface black; metasomal terga with pale yellow adpressed hairs; white hairs laterally below gradulus, T2 anteriorly without dark hairs, T5 with brown-black prepygidial fimbria, T6 all black; S1-S5 with long dark hairs medially, pale hairs laterally.

Colouration: Integument head black, apart from: scape brown; flagellum brown below dark above, labrum ivory with translucent dots in dorsolateral corners, clypeus ivory with two linear brown patches in dorsolateral corners leaving wide ivory midline; supraclypeal area ivory, paraclypeal area black, mandible ivory at base brown-black at tip, proboscis orange brown; mesosoma black, metasoma brown with wide orange translucent posterior margins.

Flower records.

Eremophila polyclada, Eremophila polyclada bignoniiflora, Eremophila , stenophylla, Eremophila maculata ( Scrophulariaceae ), Trichodesma zeylanica ( Boraginaceae ), Cassia ( Fabaceae ).

Distribution.

When Brooks (1993) described A. paracalva he mentioned that calva was restricted to New South Wales and Queensland and A. paracalva to Western Australia. As we now understand A. calva , including A. paracalva , has a wide central distribution. Figure 8I .

Figures

Figure 8. Amegilla (Asaropoda) calva (Rayment, 1935).